A look at KU’s recruiting class

The top five

Williams is the No. 10 career rusher in Texas high school history and improved after he added weight between his junior and senior year. “He’s always had good moves and vision,” Rivals.com recruiting analyst Jon Kirby said. “This year he ran with more power, which I think made him more of a complete back.”

KU coach David Beaty said Defense, who signed with KU in mid-December, should give KU size and speed on the outside. “I think that he's a guy that's going to help us fill that void that our two senior corners left,” Beaty said. “I think that he can come in and compete to win that job.”

In December, Beaty described McCaleb as a dynamic player who has the potential to take away attention from KU’s other defensive end, All-Big 12 first-teamer Dorance Armstrong. “Man, we're going to like Willie McCaleb,” Beaty said. “He can run.”

Beaty has already announced that Bender will compete in the spring with Carter Stanley for the starting quarterback position. Bender, who previously played under coach Mike Leach at Washington State for two seasons, has a quick release and also familiarity with the type of spread offense Beaty wants to run at KU.

In December, Beaty described Holmes as a big, strong, fast defensive lineman with an impressive first step. The staff’s hope is that he can become similar to teammate Daniel Wise, who earned Pro Football Focus All-Big 12 honors last season.

One who got away

There were actually a few. Offensive lineman Grant Polley (Colorado), defensive end Troy James (Oklahoma) and Zack McKinney (Oklahoma) all originally committed to Kansas before choosing other programs. This perhaps can be seen as a positive, as KU’s coaches appear to be diagnosing talented guys early in the process.

Still fishing for

KU still could be searching for more depth at defensive end or safety after losing players like Fish Smithson, Greg Allen, Damani Mosby and Cameron Rosser to graduation.

Position answered

The Jayhawks needed to restock at cornerback after losing its two starters there along with a nickel back, and they did a good job with four players in the class, including two juco transfers. One to watch is 6-foot-2 high-schooler Robert Topps from Chicago, a Rivals three-star player. “He has long arms and is incredibly strong,” Kirby said.

Position unanswered

Though KU has only two offensive linemen in the class, it appears the team is counting on previous additions to fill in gaps. The Jayhawks received a boost last year from freshman walk-on Hakeem Adeniji, who started at left tackle, and also picked up Alabama transfer Charles Baldwin, who will be eligible in 2017 and should compete for a starting role.

The class

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 7:10 PM with the headline "A look at KU’s recruiting class."