While the Kansas University football program has turned its attention toward the Class of 2012, Turner Gill and company are not finished with the Class of 2011 just yet.
Rivals.com reported Sunday that Tanner Gibas, a long snapper from Charter Oak High in Covina, Calif., signed a letter of intent with the Jayhawks late Saturday, making him the 28th member of the 34th-ranked class in the country.
Serious interest between Gibas and KU first surfaced on signing day, Feb. 2, when KU received official commitments from one of its strongest classes in the past decade.
Gibas had a scholarship offer from Colorado State and was set to sign with the Rams, but a call from KU special-teams coordinator Aaron Stamn inspired Gibas to put things on hold so he could visit Kansas, which previously had shown interest in the long snapper who figures compete for the starting spot immediately.
Gibas researched the Jayhawks and found everything he learned online to be true when he got to town.
“It was good to get to see everything,” Gibas told Jon Kirby of Rivals. “It just confirmed everything for me and my parents. I loved the town and all the hills. I liked being on Mass. Street. All of the coaches were like one big family.”
Gibas, whose brother was a long snapper at Texas A&M, already knows two members of KU’s incoming class. He and Grapevine, Texas, place kicker Alex Mueller worked together at a skills camp last summer, and he recently got to know La Mirada (Calif.) High offensive lineman Bryan Peters at a recruiting day in California.
Junior Day attracts talent
Saturday was the second Junior Day of the year for the Jayhawks, who welcomed a handful of recruits from the Class of 2012 to town for a tour of campus and an introduction to Kansas football.
While signing day for these guys is still a year away, Gill and company know there’s no such thing as an day off when it comes to enticing future players to come to campus.
As Gill put it last fall, “If you’re awake, you’re recruiting.”
The list of names in town this weekend included two of the top defensive tackles from Missouri, Ondre Pipkins, 6-3, 325 pounds, from Park Hill in Kansas City, and Edmund Ray, 6-5, 290, from St. Louis.
Also visiting from the Show-Me State were Luke Knott, a 6-1, 185-pound quarterback who led Lee’s Summit West to the state title last fall, and Rockhurst High teammates Jordan Walker and Michael Rose. Walker is a running back, and Rose is a 6-foot, 210-pound linebacker who has committed orally to Nebraska.
Kansans in town this weekend included Liberal running back, Justin McPhail, 6-2, 220; Wichita Northwest linebacker, Bennett Moore, 6-2, 210; and K.C. Sumner tight end Vernon Vaughn, 6-3, 185.
Other recruits who toured KU’s facilities, met with coaches and took in the KU-Iowa State basketball game at Allen Fieldhouse included: Garrett Adcock, a 6-3, 275-pound offensive lineman from Dallas Christian; Tavarius Bender, a 6-2, 195-pound quarterback from Lincoln (Neb.) Southwest; Boone Feldt, a 6-3, 275-pound offensive lineman from Pilot Point, Texas; Jermane Littell, a 6-4, 190-pound QB from Stillwater, Okla.; Riley Nolan, a 6-3, 280-pound O-lineman from Norman (Okla.) North High; Donovan Roberts, a 6-foot, 220-pound running back from Norman High, who is known as one of the top running backs in Oklahoma; and Quan West, a 6-5, 200-pound receiver from Willis, Texas.
