KU football receives commitment from Texas kicker

By Matt Tait     Sep 11, 2010

Kansas University’s football program on Thursday received an oral commitment from Class of 2011 place kicker Alex Mueller, a 5-foot-10, 155-pound senior from Grapevine (Texas) High.

Mueller, who was recruited primarily by KU special teams coordinator Aaron Stamn, is rated as the fifth-best kicker in the country by Chris Sailer, a kicking expert who hosts many kicking camps throughout the year.

Of Mueller, Sailer writes: “Alex is an outstanding kicker. He has a strong leg, gets great height, and is very accurate off the ground. He’s perhaps the best field goal kicker in the class of 2011. He’s solid on kickoffs. Alex is a fine young man with a great attitude and work ethic. He has all the tools to be a great college kicker and is a great performer under pressure.”

As a junior at Grapevine High, Mueller made nine of 12 field goals and connected on all 32 extra point attempts.

In the first game of his senior season, Mueller connected on field goals of 27 and 44 yards. The 27-yarder sent the game to overtime and the 44-yarder was the game-winner.

Mueller told Rivals.com that KU had always been his first choice. He also received interest from Kansas State, Baylor, Florida, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. He informed KU coach Turner Gill and Stamn of his decision Thursday night.

“Coach Gill seemed real excited,” Mueller told Rivals. “I told him that Kansas was always my first choice. I told him I was excited to get the opportunity to go to Kansas.”

Georgia Tech injury update

Gill said Tuesday that red-shirt freshman defensive end Tyrone Sellers would be out three to four weeks because of a leg injury. Gill also said Tuesday that red-shirt freshman running back Deshaun Sands was questionable with a leg injury. Sands practiced throughout the week, though, and is expected to be a game-time decision.

Sophomore linebacker Toben Opurum suffered a sprained ankle late in the week and is unlikely to play.

As for Georgia Tech, Doug Roberson of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia Tech safety Cooper Taylor is “highly doubtful” for today’s game, according to coach Paul Johnson.

Taylor, a third-year sophomore and regular starter, missed the second half of last week’s 41-10 victory against South Carolina State because of heat-related issues. He did not practice this week.

Starting left guard Will Jackson, 6-3, 285, also did not practice this week because of a knee injury. Jackson, a red-shirt freshman, likely will be replaced by third-year sophomore Nick McRae, 6-3, 291.

Defensive end Emmanuel Dieke, 6-6, 264, is listed as doubtful, while A-back Chris Jackson, 6-1, 205, and wideout Jeremy Moore, 6-3, 180, have been declared out.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.