WR Darious Crawley picks Kansas over Michigan State

By Matt Tait     Jan 25, 2014

Kansas University football recruiting.

After visiting Kansas University last weekend and hosting in-home visits with his two finalists — KU and Michigan State — during the week, wide receiver Darious Crawley orally committed to KU late Friday night.

Crawley, a three-star wide receiver from Houston’s Cypress Ridge High, credited his connection with the KU coaching staff as the deciding factor along with KU’s presence in the Big 12, which will bring Crawley back to his home state multiple times throughout his career.

Yet again, KU recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello played a big role in landing Crawley, who told JayhawkSlant.com’s Jon Kirby that his decision created a heck of a reaction from the KU coaches.

“They were fired up,” Crawley said. “I could tell they were happy. I really felt I had a good connection with the coaches the whole time and then the players on the visit. The Big 12 is a good conference.”

Crawley, 5-foot-11, 191 pounds, spent his senior season splitting time between quarterback and wide receiver. He has been clocked in the 4.55-second range in the 40-yard dash and also played running back and returned punts during his prep career.

Crawley told Kirby that he picked Kansas simply because it was the place where he felt more comfortable.

Crawley becomes the 21st player and fourth wide receiver in the Class of 2014 to commit to Kansas.

Here’s a quick look at the rest of the class, which includes three players who signed national letters of intent during the midyear signing period in December:

• Matthew Boateng — 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Two-star prospect committed to KU in December and picked the Jayhawks over Ball State, Indiana, Marshall, Nevada and Wake Forest.

• Jacob Bragg — 6-4, 308-pound center from Nacogdoches (Texas) High who is ranked as the 11th best center in the country. Three-star offensive lineman committed to KU last June and played in the UnderArmor All-American game this winter.

• Ronnie Davis – 6-1, 170-pound defensive back from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Three-star prospect committed to KU in December after originally being committed to Utah State. Seems poised to come in as a nickelback. Already signed letter of intent and is on campus.

• Joe Dineen — 6-2, 197-pound defensive back from Free State High in Lawrence. Three-star athlete was the Gatorade Kansas player of the year in 2013.

• Josh Ehambe — 6-3, 230-pound linebacker from Prime Prep Academy in Arlington, Texas. Two-star prospect committed to KU last week and picked the Jayhawks over offers from Colorado State, Louisiana Tech, New Mexico, SMU, Washington State and others.

• Kapil Fletcher — 6-4, 255-pound defensive end from Hartnell Community College in California. Two-star player committed to KU last week and picked Kansas over offers from Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi State, New Mexico and others.

• Bobby Hartzog – 5-11, 182-pound wide receiver from Westside High in Houston. Two-star athlete committed to KU in September, picking Kansas over Houston, Iowa State, Utah and others. Has been clocked in the 4.46-second 40-yard dash range.

• Keyon Haughton – 6-2, 295-pound offensive guard from Georgia Military College. Two-star prospect picked Kansas last December and signed with the Jayhawks on the first day of the midyear signing period. Haughton, who picked KU over Florida A&M, Louisiana Lafayette, Southern Miss and others, already is on campus.

• Lay’Trion Jones – 6-3, 285-pound defensive tackle from Garland (Texas) High. Three-star prospect committed to KU earlier this week and chose Kansas over New Mexico, UTEP and others. Comes from a big-time high school program.

• Damani Mosby – 6-3, 235-pound defensive end from Mesa Community College. Three-star prospect committed to KU in November, picking Kansas over Hawaii, Kansas State, New Mexico and North Texas.

• Derrick Neal – 5-10, 155-pound wide receiver from Lincoln High in Dallas. Three-star prospect is ranked as the 90th best player in Texas. Committed to KU last weekend after official visit over offers from New Mexico and interest from Baylor and TCU.

• Tyler Patrick – 5-11, 171-pound wide receiver from The Woodlands (Texas) High. Two-star prospect with great athleticism committed to KU last July.

• Anthony “Fish” Smithson – 6-foot, 180-pound defensive back from Hartnell Community College in California. Smithson chose Kansas after commitment to Utah fell through due to the departure of the coach recruiting him. Three-star prospect gives KU good size and depth an already stacked secondary. Committed and signed in December and is already on campus.

• Kent Taylor – 6-5, 224-pound tight end from the University of Florida. Once regarded as the top tight end prospect in the country out of high school, Taylor spent two seasons at UF (playing in six games in 2012 and red-shirting in 2013) and chose to transfer to KU in the offseason. He is on campus and will participate in spring ball but will have to sit out the 2014 season because of NCAA transfer rules.

• Apa Visinia – 6-5, 380-pound offensive lineman from Grandview (Mo.) High. Two-star prospect regarded as one of the strongest players in the state, picked KU over Oklahoma State. Visinia committed to KU last June.

• Kyron Watson – 6-foot, 226-pound linebacker from East St. Louis High. Three-star prospect is the 22nd ranked linebacker in the nation according to Rivals.com and the 21st-rated player in Illinois. Committed to KU last May over offers from Cal, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Purdue, Syracuse and TCU. Without question one of the gems of this class.

• D.J. Williams – 6-3, 270-pound defensive tackle from Lufkin (Texas) High. Three-star monster ranked as the 38th best DT in the country and 78th best player in Texas chose KU over Houston, Miami (Fla.), Missouri and Oklahoma. Another big-time pick-up for KU.

• Devon Williams — 6-5, 335-pound offensive tackle from Georgia Military College. One of two GMC linemen to commit to Kansas (Keyon Haughton), the two-star Williams picked KU over Florida A&M, South Alabama, Troy and Tulane.

• Daniel Wise – 6-2, 242-pound defensive end from Hebron High in Lewisville, Texas. Two-star prospect committed to KU last week and picked the Jayhawks over Colorado, Louisiana Tech, Missouri, SMU and Texas Tech.

• Traevohn Wrench – 6-foot, 180-pound running back from nearby Gardner-Edgerton High. Four-star back had offers from Iowa, Kansas State, Missouri and Nebraska and interest from seemingly everyone on the planet. Ranked as the 25th best running back in the country and the second best player in Kansas, Wrench is definitely a headliner in KU’s current class.

Don’t forget to check out our recruiting page, which includes links to all of the stories about these prospects and their commitments during the past several months.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.