KU football remains committed to Kansans, David Beaty tells Wichita boosters (+video)

After promising to scour the state of Kansas in search of a future foundation, the first football recruiting class by Kansas coach David Beaty featured just two players from the Sunflower state.

But he said it wasn’t for lack of trying.

Beaty, who was in Wichita to speak to Kansas boosters at Deano’s Grill & Tapworks on Wednesday night, said that he and his staff had been to every high school in the state during his first round of recruiting.

“Some of which didn’t even play football,” Beaty said. “We didn’t know that until we got there.”

How to keep the Kansas kids at home was a main topic of discussion when Beaty opened up the floor to questions from fans. Beaty signed safety Bryce Torneden, from Lawrence Free State, and junior-college defensive lineman DeeIsaac Davis, who played for Andover, in the recruiting class announceed last week.

Winning is the solution, or at least a major one, according to Beaty. Kansas recruits were receptive to his staff’s advances, but it’s difficult to recruit players who value winning when KU was in the midst of what became an 0-12 season.

But Beaty remains committed to building a foundation in his backyard.

“It didn’t show this year in the numbers of guys we signed out of this class,” Beaty said. “But we feel like that’s something we’ve got to earn. We have to give them a reason to want to stay here and stay at their home university. And we will.”

Beaty had unwavering support from Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger, who also spoke at the event. Making Kansas a priority is something Zenger has noticed with this staff and he is confident that the results will come in time.

“The effort is there and that’s important,” Zenger said. “I’m not sure that’s always been the case in the past. But now we’ve got to earn it. Earn their respect so we can see the fruit of our labors.”

Beaty told fans that he rates this recruiting class “very highly” and that he has been amazed at the difference a full year has made with his team. When he watches them on the field now, he sees players that look the part: bigger, stronger, faster.

In what he admitted might not be easy to hear for KU fans, Beaty said he has been modeling his program after “the dude down the street” – a reference to Kansas State’s Bill Snyder.

“We want to make good fathers, good citizens, and the byproduct of that is going to be championships,” Beaty said. “That’s how it works. You don’t cut corners. We’re going to do very things in a very similar way.”

And to follow that plan a step further, it will feature Kansas-born players leading the way.

“When we get one, we’ll get two and when we get two, we’ll get four,” Beaty told the fans. “And when we get four … then watch out.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "KU football remains committed to Kansans, David Beaty tells Wichita boosters (+video)."