He used to scout football players in Kansas. Now he’s recruiting for KU Jayhawks

There’s a booming pipeline of people who have transitioned from working for a football team to covering one as a member of the media. But the reverse progression — going from member of the media to working for a football program — is far less common.

Yet it’s the latter career path for which Kevin Flaherty yearned.

His friend Barton Simmons is one of the biggest names to lead the way.

The two worked for the national recruiting service 247Sports. Simmons left his 15-year post as a national scout for a media company to bring players to Vanderbilt as the program’s general manager in 2021.

That’s worked out pretty well for Vandy so far, as the Commodores went from Southeastern Conference doormat to playing for a spot in last year’s College Football Playoff.

College football adopts some NFL attributes

Such moves represent a shift in college football.

Some athletic departments — football programs, specifically — are modeling themselves after a typical NFL team’s personnel system. They’re designating entire departments to scouting and recruiting in the age of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal.

While Simmons and Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea were childhood friends, the former’s hire in Nashville illustrates the high regard that some in the greater football community are affording select members of the media.

Flaherty graduated from University of Kansas in 2004 and had covered the school as a student and a professional reporter. His 20-plus years in the business took him all over the state and country as he wrote about everything from small-town politics to national college football and basketball topics.

College sports fans likely recognize his name from his nearly decade-long tenure at 247 Sports, 2014-24. He also was a part of the Kansas City Sports Network family, hosting podcasts on KU sports and local recruits.

When KU football coach Lance Leipold was hired in 2021, Flaherty reached out to him and planted the seed: He was interested in working in the recruiting office for Leipold.

But Leipold was the newest big fish in town and Flaherty was just a reporter, so he expected nothing from it.

Five years later, however, it was obvious Flaherty left quite a first impression. In February, Leipold approached him at the Kansas Football Coaches Association clinic in Mulvane about his interest in a position within the KU athletic department.

Previous director of high school and junior college relations Brice Vignery was moving on to a coaching role. And it didn’t take much for Flaherty to accept the position, which he started in March.

He joined a staff of more than 30 staffers, including coaches and player personnel figures.

“”Looking back at that initial text, I didn’t quite put it this way, but if he would have asked what my level of interest was, or what it would have taken, I would ask if he had about half of his grilled cheese sandwich left for lunch,” Flaherty said with a laugh.

“I think I got to know Coach (Leipold) a little bit, both on the press conference side and know the staff a little bit. But also, he saw that I was out there talking to high school coaches across Kansas and Kansas City, and talking to kids across the state.”

From ball-knower to recruiter

Flaherty said he has always wanted to be that bridge between college and high school programs. He co-hosted the Verbal Commitment podcast on KCSN, which focused on recruitment, hoping it would lead to this kind of opportunity.

Simmons helped Flaherty get started in scouting players for 247Sports; Flaherty credits him for helping lead him to his current position. He gets to use the relationships he’s built with high schools and junior colleges to find players interested in suiting up for the Jayhawks.

“The primary reason that you land people to your program is still relationships,” Flaherty said. “You’re going to do some scouting, you’re going to do some recruiting, and the things that go along with that, because that’s part of how everybody kind of teams up.”

Gathering intel on recruits is similar to how Flaherty went about his job as a reporter.

“You’re making the calls,” he explained, “and then you’re asking questions and saying ‘OK, so you say you have a 2029 player. How big is he? Is he running track? Is he doing other sports?’ So I think that’s the part where then I can get a lot of that information. I can take it to our player personnel department.”

For the short-term future, Flaherty is focused on bringing the best players from the Kansas/Missouri area to KU’s summer camps. With new rules limiting college rosters to 105 scholarship players, teams can’t afford to have unproductive walk-ons, he said.

For prospective college players, attendance at such college camps is regarded as the best way to get recruited. Flaherty hopes to bring some gems to the Jayhawk program.

“I want to make our camps the most competitive camps for local kids, where you can have guys from across Kansas and Kansas City come out and try and prove that they’re the best players in the area,” Flaherty said. “I‘m really hoping that our camps by, reaching out and inviting so many local guys to come out, can not only help us from a scholarship standpoint, but can also give us a really good look at guys who are maybe going to be that wave of walk-ons, who can come out and play really well.”

Under Leipold’s leadership, KU football has seen its most success since the days of Mark Mangino. But the more recent Jayhawks teams haven’t come close to their nine-win season in 2023, winning just five games in each of the past two seasons.

Flaherty is eager to do his part: find the best players and help restore the enthusiasm around KU football that swept through Lawrence a few years ago.

And nope, he doesn’t regret leaving the world of sports media at all. Not yet, at least.

“They’re not far off,” Flaherty said about the Jayhawks. “It’s a play here or there. And I think that’s the exciting thing about being here.

“If I can make the building 1% better, where a play goes our way because we get a different player in, or whatever else, then that job security is going to come along with that.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 11:01 AM with the headline "He used to scout football players in Kansas. Now he’s recruiting for KU Jayhawks."