Updated 11:05 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20:
The Kansas football team lost a key recruit in its 2025 class on Sunday afternoon when Julian “Juju” Marks, an offensive lineman from Olathe South High School, announced on Sunday that he is instead going to play at Nebraska.
Marks, who was one of 15 high school commitments for the Jayhawks and three from the state of Kansas, had committed back on June 9. He had been the highest-rated player in KU’s class as assessed by Rivals.
Marks previously played at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Overland Park before transferring to Olathe South this season.
Anderson Kopp, from Phoenix, is now the lone offensive lineman KU has committed for 2025, and the remaining Kansans are athletes Tate Nagy of Overland Park and Brandon Schmelzle of Axtell. Quarterback David McComb of Edmond, Oklahoma, and linebacker Malachi Curvey of Waukee, Iowa, now share the highest grade among KU commits on Rivals.
The Jayhawks have a number of seniors on their offensive line, including Shane Bumgardner, Bryce Cabeldue, Michael Ford Jr. and Darrell Simmons Jr., with Cabeldue and Ford serving as starters.
While KU did beat Houston on Saturday, the Jayhawks have still begun their 2024 season a disappointing 2-5, though these are the first tangible, public consequences they have faced in recruiting as a result. That said, committed tight end Joeseph Skipworth did recently visit struggling Mississippi State, 247Sports reported.
This story has been updated to remove a quote attributed to Marks in a social media post that has since been deleted.
