KU's first big recruiting this weekend was the Week 6 victory over Colorado. The following players all committed after attending that conference tilt.
MLB
#1455 #62MLBA former 5-star high school prospect who has spent the last two years in the California JUCO system, Ben Babcock was the first to sign with the Jayhawks this season. Babcock will fill a needed role, after the Jayhawks misssed out on an MLB signee last season.
Babcock may be needed on special teams as early as next season. He chose KU over Stanford and Cal.MLB
#213 #10SSWhile Rodney Jackson is nominally a strong safety for his high school, because of his speed and in-the-box tackling skills, his coaches deploy him in much the same way that Jabrill Peppers was deployed for Michigan by Don Brown. Jackson will be moved to MLB in order to continue his development playing in the box.
Jackson will redshirt next season in order to adjust to his new position. He chose KU over Western Kentcuky, Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati and Kentucky.CB
#176 #4CBFor a couple of seasons now, Kansas coaches and fans have lamented the lack of speed in the defensive backfield, primarily at the cornerback position. Kearney's recruitment was primarily an effort to change that trend, as he brings a combination of speed and coverage skills not seen in Lawrence since star JUCO transfer Pat Chambers joined the team in Coach Brawner's first season.
Kearney will come in expecting to challenge for playing time at the nickelback and dimeback positions. He chose KU over Minnesota.SS
#81 #1SS
The #1 Strong Safety in this year's class, Steve Drew will come to Lawrence as the embodiment of what Jayhawk coaches consider the prototypical out-of-the-box safety. Drew will not be likely to be featured in the 4-2-5 scheme that the Jayhawks are relying on this season, but could see playing time in a future typical 3-4 deployment.
Drew will be behind incumbent starters Mark Higgins and Lance Quinn, so he will redshirt next season. He chose KU over Northwestern, USF and UCF.POS
#88 #2FS
Eric Overstreet is another top defensive back prospect who was targeted to add speed to the defensive backfield. Overstreet is in the mold of previous free safety starter Donte Harrison, but he comes to Lawrence with a better initial grasp of the position.
With JR Malone entrenched as the incumbent starter, Overstreet doesn't have the simplest path to playing time. Barring some surprise transfers, Overstreet will redshirt next season. He chose KU over West Virginia, Ohio State, Alabama and Minnesota.
Name Pos (Orig) Caliber OVR Committed Ben Babcock MLB
JUNIOR79 Week 6 Eric Overstreet CB 78 Week 6 Travis Kearney CB 78 Week 6 Steve Drew SS 77 Week 6 Rodney Jackson MLB (SS) 77 Week 6
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