It looked a lot like a typical practice for Kansas University’s football team.
The seven assistant coaches were scattered across three practice fields adjacent to Hoglund Ballpark, using whistles, voice boxes – even an air horn – to keep things running.
Head coach Mark Mangino, meanwhile, moved between stations during the day, supervising, saying hello and keeping a close eye on some good-looking players.
It wasn’t Mangino’s current team, though. Instead, close to 130 high school seniors were taking part in the Super Jayhawk Camp, a one-day event that wrapped up the KU football camp season on Saturday.
“Kids coming up on their senior years, we want them to consider the University of Kansas,” Mangino said. “It’s a way for us to bring them on campus and see our beautiful campus and community. More than anything, we want them to have fun and make it be a positive experience for them.”
Not all of the 130 are on KU’s recruiting radar, but a few might have snuck in just by doing well at camps like this. Players who stood out Saturday included cornerback Joshua Hill out of Klein Forest High in Houston, lineman John Williams out of Tulsa, Okla., and Ross Brenneman out of Millard West High in Omaha, Neb.
In all, 13 different states were represented, and many coaches and parents stuck around to watch the workouts.
It proved to be a booming finish to an otherwise typically strong camp season.
“The camps overall were pretty steady,” Mangino said of the numbers. “Our satellite camp in Wichita was probably down about 20 kids, but there were other camps in that area.
“This particular camp here has had a big increase. We probably increased about 50 or 60 campers.”
