Jayhawks land in-state offensive lineman

By Matt Tait     Jun 20, 2016

Kansas University football recruiting

It did not take the Kansas University football program long to move on from recent de-commitments from a couple of Texas offensive linemen in the Class of 2017.

With Grant Polley and Jared Hocker recently backing out of pledges to join the Jayhawks, that opened the door for a Kansas kid to accept an offer from the KU coaching staff.

Joey Gilbertson, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound tackle from Wichita’s Northwest High, on Monday announced via Twitter that he had orally committed to KU.

Gilbertson said his recent visit to campus for KU’s Friday Night Lights camp helped seal the deal and he credited O-Line coach Zach Yenser and recruiting coordinator Kenny Perry for convincing him that KU was the right fit.

“He always tells me I am a defensive lineman playing offensive line,” Gilbertson told JayhawkSlant.com’s Jon Kirby of Yenser. “He said he likes how I fire off the ball and hit people. He loves my physicality.”

Named to the Wichita Eagle’s 2015 All-Metro squad, Gilbertson is merely the latest in a long line of Kansas prospects being pursued by the Jayhawks. When he was introduced as KU’s new head coach back in December of 2014, David Beaty said recruiting the state would be a priority and although last year’s scholarship class featured just one Kansan (Free State High safety Bryce Torneden), the Jayhawks have sent out offers and made runs at several Sunflower State players during Beaty’s first two recruiting classes, coming close on more than a few of them.

“I hope that opens doors to KU,” Gilbertson told Kirby about being the latest in-state athlete to pick Kansas. “I hope recruits realize it’s not about winning now but also winning later.”

While the 2017 class remains unfinished, it already is off to a promising start, with half of the commitments carrying three or more stars according to the Rivals.com ratings.

Gilbertson becomes the eighth member of KU’s 2017 class to commit to the Jayhawks and he is the second Kansan to commit to the Jayhawks this offseason, joining Free State High linebacker Jay Dineen.

The Wichita Northwest lineman chose Kansas over interest from K-State, Louisville, Tulane and Tulsa.

PREV POST

Say something nice about Kansas football: Offense returns more experience than a year ago

NEXT POST

98854Jayhawks land in-state offensive lineman

Author Photo

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.