Tuesday, the Kansas University football staff received yet another oral commitment from an offensive lineman in the Class of 2011.
That makes four commitments in six days at the position, unprecedented progress for the KU program, according to Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jon Kirby.
“There may have been times where I’ve seen commitments come in like this, at this type of pace,” Kirby said. “It doesn’t happen very often. But I’ve never seen it like this at one position.”
Tuesday, Luke Luhrsen, 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, of Wheaton (Illinois) South High, added his name to the list of linemen to pick KU before the start of their senior seasons.
When Luhrsen attended KU’s Friday Night Lights camp earlier this month, he came to town without a single offer. Three days later, he had his first — from Kansas — and less than two weeks after that he chose to commit.
Part of the reason for Luhrsen’s decision to move fast was the recent rush at his position.
“I saw that they were getting commitments, and I didn’t want to pass on a school like that,” Luhrsen said.
Added Kirby: “Because of the Internet, all of these guys can see what these other guys are doing. He had KU on his list all along. But he did notice the flurry of linemen coming in, and he did say that it sped up his decision-making process because all of these O-line commitments were coming in.”
In the past week, KU has received commitments from offensive linemen Damon Martin (6-5, 265), Nick Johnson (6-3, 290) and Bryan Peters (6-5, 305). Add to that the June 12 commitment from Travis Bodenstein (6-5, 295), and the position looks stacked.
“Not only are they commitments, these are good football players,” Kirby said. “These are not marginal kids that they’re picking up.”
Bodenstein, Peters and Martin are three-star talents, according to Rivals. Johnson is not ranked because he’s a junior-college transfer, and Luhrsen also has no ranking.
Luhrsen, who hails from the same hometown as KU offensive coordinator Chuck Long, chose Kansas over Louisville and Bowling Green. He also received interest from Arizona, Indiana , Illinois, Iowa and Northwestern.
Despite receiving commitments from five offensive linemen so far, several others remain on KU’s radar, including local prospects Phil Ford, of Bishop Miege High, who measures 6-6, 342, and Jordon McCallister, of Junction City High, who measures 6-3, 302. Both are two-star prospects, according to Rivals.
The latest lineman to commit to KU brings the total in the Class of 2011 to 11. Included among them are: running back Dreamius Smith, quarterback Michael Cummings, linebacker Jake Love and defensive backs Alex Matlock, Chris Robinson and Victor Simmons.
