Jayhawks land two recruits, lose one

By Matt Tait     Jan 30, 2012

The final recruiting weekend for the Class of 2012 produced some mixed results for the Kansas University football team, as KU coach Charlie Weis picked up two commitments and may have lost another.

Dallas linebacker Courtney Arnick orally committed to KU in Weis’ office at the end of his weekend visit; El Camino Community College defensive tackle Jordan Tavai committed to KU late Sunday night; and Butler County CC defensive lineman Chaquil Reed appears to have switched his commitment from KU to Kansas State. Reed visited Manhattan over the weekend.

The addition of Arnick helps Kansas more than the loss of Reed hurts. For starters, Reed has not officially committed to KSU yet — though that’s expected to happen Tuesday — and, with the addition of Tavai, 6-foot-3, 280 pounds, KU now has five other defensive linemen committed in this class. So far, Arnick is the only linebacker committed in KU’s 13-man class.

New KU recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello was the lead recruiter for Tavai, who chose KU over Texas Tech.

Arnick, 6-2, 200 pounds, hails from Dallas’ Carter High, where he was a first team all-district selection last season. He chose KU over offers from Boise State, Houston and Memphis, among others, and he visited all three in the past week. His decision to choose Kansas came down to the positive vibe he got from KU’s coaches, players and facilities.

KU assistant Clint Bowen was the lead recruiter for the three-star linebacker, but it’s clear the addition of defensive coordinator Dave Campo played a part as well.

“He was a real nice guy and welcomed me into the program,” Arnick said of Campo in an interview with Jon Kirby of JayhawkSlant.com. “He told me they needed speed on defense and I could help them out. I know he can make me a better player.”

Campo, who was hired a little more than two weeks ago, has been active on the recruiting trail since arriving at Kansas, and Kirby said the former Dallas Cowboys coach’s name has done wonders to help sell KU.

“It absolutely has,” Kirby said. “I’ve talked to several kids who have met with (Campo) and had in-home visits with him, and they all love him. The one thing that almost every recruit I’ve talked to has said about him is how much they like his enthusiasm.”

A couple of other developments from the weekend include:

• Tyree Williams, a 6-foot, 190-pound athlete from Dulles High in Sugar Land, Texas, has narrowed his list to KU and SMU and appears to be leaning toward Kansas. Williams also visited Kansas over the weekend.

• Cleveland cornerback Sean Draper, who was scheduled to visit KU last weekend but wound up not making it, seems to have eliminated KU from his list. No word on Draper’s Glenville teammate, V’Angelo Bentley, who was able to make it to Lawrence over the weekend.

• City College of San Francisco quarterback Turner Baty spent the past couple of days Tweeting about the Jayhawks. Baty, who also recently visited KU, says he has not committed anywhere yet.

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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.