Recruiting a fair share of quality in-state players is critical to building a successful major-college football program.
Kansas University coach Mark Mangino is expected to do just that today when three of the state’s best prospects — Silver Lake offensive lineman Scott Haverkamp, Olathe East lineman Todd Haselhorst and Shawnee Mission Northwest linebacker Mike Rivera — deliver their letters of intent on national signing day.
“I’m ready to sign on the dotted line,” Haverkamp said.
While some recruits change their non-binding oral commitments and others make last-minute decisions, all three of Mangino’s in-state signees have been locked in for months.
Haselhorst and Haverkamp committed to KU soon after attending summer camps, and neither lineman made official visits to other schools. Rivera made only one trip — to Missouri — before making up his mind.
“It was a good school,” Rivera said of Mizzou. “I just didn’t get the right vibe from them. KU caught my eye from the very beginning.”
All three all-staters were impressed by KU’s leap from 2-10 in 2002 to 6-7, including a loss in the Tangerine Bowl in 2003. All will enjoy the benefit of being close to home.
Olathe East’s 6-foot-5, 307-pounder could be a key addition to Mangino’s rebuilding effort.
The big question for the big lineman is, where will he line up?
“He has potential to make an immediate impact on KU football,” Olathe East coach Jeff Meyers said. “He has great size. He’s strong, he’s very agile and intelligent. Those things put together can make for a pretty good football player.
“He was recruited by a lot of people, and most recruited him as a tackle. I think he could play either position, which is valuable in itself. He’s most comfortable at tackle because that’s what he’s done the most. It will be interesting to see what KU has in store for him.”
Kansas must replace starting offensive tackles Adrian Jones and Danny Lewis, who were seniors last season. While Haselhorst could play either tackle or guard on the offensive line, it’s possible he could end up on defense.
Haselhorst was a two-time all-state and all-metro selection, and he earned the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive lineman in the metro area.
Defensive line is a pressing concern for the Jayhawks, and coaches have told Haselhorst he could be needed there.
“I’m more prepared for offensive line because I’ve been doing that my whole life,” he said. “I have a quite a lot more experience on offensive line.
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“If I don’t get a tackle spot, I’ll try defense. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll red-shirt.”
Standing on the sideline would be a new experience for Haselhorst, a three-year starter who played both ways. He helped East reach the Class 6A state semifinals in 2002, and the Hawks reached the quarterfinals last fall when they were 10-1.
Haselhorst was able to enjoy the near-perfect season without the distraction of college recruiters because he made his oral commitment in early August and stuck to it.
“He could have gone about anywhere he wanted,” Meyers said. “There were all kinds of people that wanted him.”
Haselhorst made unofficial visits to Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska during the spring and summer.
“I took a look around, and I really thought that nobody else had anything better to offer,” said Haselhorst, who plans to move to Lawrence this summer. “I decided that before the season. I had a chance to go into a Big 12 school and get playing time early.
“The season solidified my commitment even more. After I committed, everybody saw the 2-10 record and thought, ‘Well, that’s a bad choice.’ But now people are starting to jump on the bandwagon.”
Like Haselhorst, Haverkmap’s ideal position is left tackle. Unlike Haselhorst, Haverkamp was not swayed by the opportunity to make an immediate impact.
“I really want to red-shirt,” he said. “It will give me a chance to start lifting and get used to my surroundings before I start playing.”
KU’s state-of-the-art Anderson Strength and Conditioning Center might be just the place to get started.
“It’s a real nice weight room,” Haverkamp said. “I’m one of those guys that likes lifting and improving myself. I’m eager to get in there.”
And, he admitted, he needs to.
Haverkamp, a two-time all-state selection for two-time Class 3A state runner-up Silver Lake, weighed 275 pounds at the end of football season, but the 6-4 center lost 25 pounds playing basketball.
After dipping to 250, he’s back up to 260 and hopes to be at 285 by the time he plays in the Shrine Bowl in late July.
“It’s going to be hard for him to put on weight now because he’s playing basketball,” said Silver Lake coach C.J. Hamilton. “Once basketball is over, he’s got a great work ethic, and he’ll put on the weight.”
In his final semester of high school, the senior leaves school at 12:30 p.m. every day, leaving time for 90-minute lifting sessions and hour-long runs.
And plenty of time to eat.
“I’m going to eat as many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as I can,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge. I don’t want to add fat or bad weight. I want to get bigger, but I want to be able to move as well as I can now. I definitely think I can do it.”
Haverkamp, who attended two KU camps last summer, committed to Kansas in June.
“A lot of people questioned my decision because they were 2-10 last season, but it’s pretty evident that they made strides,” said Haverkamp, who also attended camps at Arizona State, Missouri and Kansas State. “A lot of people told me I rushed into it, but I don’t think I did. I was 100 percent in my decision. I was KU all the way.
“I was getting a lot of mail from other schools. I think I would have gotten other offers. I don’t care. I made my decision based on the idea of, where would I want to go if I had offers from all of them?”
Haverkamp said he would make the 45-minute drive to campus during the summer to work out with the team before moving in August.
“He has the potential to put on a lot of weight,” Hamilton said of the three-year starter who played both sides of the line. “He could be 310, 315 pretty easily.”
Linebacker was the strength of an otherwise shaky KU defense in 2003. All three starters — Gabriel Toomey, Nick Reid and Banks Floodman — were sophomores, as were backups Brandon Perkins and Kevin Kane.
That logjam of talent didn’t stop Northwest’s all-state and all-metro pick from selecting KU.
“There’s a lot of talk about who will play there because some of those guys are playing out of position,” Rivera said. “I think I might have a chance, but they’re good linebackers, and I look up to them. I hope I don’t red-shirt, but if I do that’s another year to develop.”
Rivera (6-3, 230) attended three KU camps the previous two summers and made his decision early in the season.
“I wanted to get it out of the way so I wouldn’t have to talk to a bunch of college recruiters during the season,” Rivera said. “I wanted to have college squared away in case I got hurt or something.”
Rivera will run track for Northwest this spring, but he hopes to make it to Lawrence as often as possible to watch KU’s spring drills. He plans to move to campus during the summer to prepare for his freshman season. After all, he’ll have some talented juniors to compete with in the fall.
“They’re all crazy,” said Rivera, whose hosts were Reid and Kane on his campus visit. “They’re tough and have a great mentality.”
Mangino is expected to reveal a class of 21 or 22 players this afternoon.
