After receiving commitments from four offensive linemen in a six-day stretch last month, the Kansas University football program had to wait nine whole days for its next.
That came Thursday, when Roeland Park Bishop Miege High’s Phil Ford became the sixth lineman in the Class of 2011 to orally commit to KU.
Ford, 6-foot-6, 342 pounds, told Rivals.com last week that he would make his decision on July 26, his birthday. But a couple of recent visits to campus fast-tracked the decision.
Ford has made no secret about his desire to head to Kansas all along. Now that he’s committed, his plan is to get as many of his football-playing friends to come with him.
“I’m going to try and get all the other players I know to come to KU,” Ford told Rivals on Thursday.
According to Ford, that idea was just fine with KU coach Turner Gill.
“He was pretty excited, and he told me they want to get all of the good local players and contend for a Big 12 title,” Ford told Rivals.
The two-star lineman becomes the 12th member of KU’s Class of 2011. He chose KU over Minnesota, a school that, at one point, was the leader for his services. He joins Damon Martin (6-5, 265), Nick Johnson (6-3, 290), Bryan Peters (6-5, 305), Travis Bodenstein (6-5, 295) and Luke Luhrsen (6-5, 275) as the latest member of KU’s 2011 crop of offensive lineman, the biggest such class at that position since 2003, when former KU coach Mark Mangino signed six offensive linemen.
“It feels good,” Ford said. “It was getting kind of crazy going to sleep and thinking about the two schools. I always dreamed about making a big play for KU on the video game to win at the end. I know a lot of people from my school that are going to KU. A lot of them will be happy that’s where I’m going.”
