John Nielsen, a quarterback from Palomar (Calif.) College, has joined the Jayhawks.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound signal-caller completed 53.3 percent of his passes last season for Palomar, which went 10-1 en route to winning the Mission Conference and finishing ranked No. 4 in the nation by J.C. Grid-Wire.
“The first thing that stands out about John is his field presence,” Palomar coach Joe Early said. “He just doesn’t get rattled. John’s got a great work ethic, is an intelligent player and really coachable. John’s got deceptive speed. He’s 6-4, but he can get out and move. His arm strength is pretty good and should get better as he gets more repetitions.”
Nielsen suffered a hand injury in the first game of the season and spent most of the year as a backup to Roman Ybarra, who transfered from UCLA and now attends Idaho State.
An honorable mention J.C. Grid-Wire Academic All-American, Nielsen has a 3.815 grade-point average. He was the Eastern League Player of the Year at Mira Mesa High School in 2001, and also considered Pittsburgh and Utah.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino will not comment on recruits until a Feb. 5 press conference.
Baldwin to visit: Bryan Baldwin, a wide receiver and defensive back at St. Louis Cardinal Ritter High, will visit KU on Saturday. The 6-foot, 172-pound receiver who runs a 4.48-second 40-yard dash will be in attendance at the Kansas-Arizona game.
