Kansas’ Killeen connection is alive and well.
Kansas University’s football team, which opened a pipeline to Killeen, Texas, with the help of native son Darrell Wyatt, has landed its first Killeen product without Wyatt.
Here is a list of the players known to have given Kansas University’s football team nonbinding oral commitments, with name, height, weight, position and previous school:High SchoolTim Allen, 6-3, 255, DT, Dallas CarterRonnie Amadi, 6-0, 174, CB, Aleif (Texas) HastingsJohn Beck, 6-1, 200, PK, KC PiperAnthony Brown, 6-1, 205, LB, Grandview (Mo.)Marshell Chiles, 5-10, 205, RB, El Reno (Okla.)Nick Clapp, 6-1, 235, LB, Paradise Valley (Ariz.)Jeremy Freeman, 6-2, 220, LB, Dibol (Texas)Banks Floodman, 6-3, 195 S-TB, Wichita CollegiateJoey Guzman, 6-5, 270, DL, Tulsa (Okla.) UnionGreg Heaggans, 6-1, 185, WR, KC SchlagleJustin Henry, 6-4, 235, LB, Holt-Royal ValleyBrian Luke, 6-5, 215, QB, Los Lomas (Calif.)Robert Sanders, 5-10, 190, RB, Killeen (Texas) EllisonDeShawn Spivey, 6-3, 225, DE, KC WashingtonJohnnie Watkins, 5-10, 170, CB, Kirkwood (Mo.)Keith Watts, 6-5, 250, DE, Tampa (Fla.) Armwood HighJunior CollegeCurtis Ansel, 6-1, 185, P, Garden City Community CollegeGreg Cole, 6-3, 230, DE/OLB, Hutchinson CCCharlie Dennis, 6-5, 240, DE, Butler County CCLeo Etienne, 6-1, 210, LB, Hutchinson CCJohn Harvey, 6-6, 305, OL Mesa (Ariz.) CCDan Lewis, 6-5, 295, OL, Phoenix CollegeJawad Pearson, 6-5, 300, OL, Chaffey (Calif.) CollegeBrock Teddleton, 6-6, 340, OL, Coffeyville CC
Robert Sanders, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back from Killeen Ellison High, has given the Jayhawks a nonbinding oral commitment.
Another Texan, Tim Allen, a 6-3, 255-pound defensive tackle from Dallas, also reportedly committed to KU.
Sanders is the latest of several Killeen natives to pick KU, but the first since Wyatt left for Oklahoma State.
“When I went up there, they gave me a great home atmosphere,” said Sanders, who rushed for 1,436 yards in 10 games last season. “I noticed their offense revolves around the tailback, and that helped my decision. I saw how I could fit well into that program, how I could prosper.”
Originally recruited to KU by Wyatt, Sanders thought he had been forgotten by the Jayhawks when Wyatt, Kansas’ associate head coach, left for OSU just before Christmas.
“It’s like when he left, he didn’t tell any of the other coaches about me,” Sanders said. “Coach (Clarence) James stumbled up on one of my films, and he said I had a lot of talent. I guess when coach Wyatt left, the Kansas staff lost track of me. He called me at Oklahoma State and said he was new to the program and didn’t have that much influence but he’d see what he could do.”
Regardless, James Wyatt’s replacement, who also has extensive Texas prep ties was able to lure Sanders away from Sam Houston State, the other school recruiting him heavily. Sanders also received some interest from TCU, SMU, Rice, Iowa and Iowa State.
“Kansas got a great one,” Ellison running backs coach Tim Ray said. “He’s an awesome kid, the greatest student with the best character I’ve been around. And he’s a great runner after the hit. He made most of his yards after the first hit. We played probably the toughest schedule in Texas Class 5A, and there was only one game he didn’t run for over 100 yards, and that was because he had a concussion and we held him out. He led central Texas in rushing. He has a great sense for finding the open hole.”
In that regard, he’s more like Ellison grad David Winbush who just concluded his KU career with 2,600 yards than Ellison alumnus Reggie Duncan, a KU red-shirt freshman who just started his collegiate career.
“I didn’t know David, but I know Reggie, and we’re different runners,” Sanders said. “He’s more of a power runner who runs over people. I’m a little more elusive.”
Kansas’ other Killeen products are Demond Benford, Carl Ivey, Johnny McCoy, David McMillan and Jason Stephenson.
“I played with Carl and Reggie and played against McCoy,” Sanders said. “That played a big part in my decision. It’s that home atmosphere. I just felt really comfortable there.”
Allen originally had committed to Arizona, but changed his mind in KU’s favor, online recruiting service MoKan Football reported Monday. He picked KU over Arizona, Oklahoma State and Purdue.
The national letter-of-intent signing period begins Wednesday.
