Big 12 Recruiting Update: Les Miles and Kansas Surging in the Rankings

Maybe it’s the grass-fed diet (literally), or the Hair Club For Men subscription. Whatever the explanation for Kansas’ surge in the recruiting world, it seems the Mad Hatter is behind it all.

Les Miles and his Jayhawks have landed 15 — 15!! — commitments since the month of June rolled around, going from quite literally last in the recruiting rankings within the conference to No. 3 after another strong weekend. That puts KU behind only OU and OSU, and ahead of K-State, Texas, Iowa State … everyone else.

Yes, Kansas is beating Texas again.

The Jayhawks and their most recent surge came, most notably, via a handful of talented defensive players committing. Cornerback JaCobee Bryant, defensive end Khari Coleman, linebacker Krishawn Brown, and defensive tackle Kenean Caldwell all committed over the last week, giving KU its four highest-rated commitments in the cycle.

Here’s how the Big 12 recruiting rankings look now, with KU the obvious big mover and OU, OSU, Baylor, West Virginia and Texas Tech staying stagnant.

Here’s a look at some other notable storylines that unfolded in the past week.

1. OSU still cranking

OSU had a strong week, landing cornerback Korie Black, tight end Quinton Stewart and cornerback Jordan Reagan within a span of days. The Cowboys are holding firm at No. 2 in the Big 12 rankings for now and with 13 commitments on board for the cycle.

2. OSU falls to OU

Covington, Louisiana outside linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, a Class of 2020 prospect who OSU offered in May and welcomed for an official visit last week, committed on June 21 to OU. The Sooners extended him an offer just weeks before his OSU official.

3. Les Miles, the builder

Based off KU’s current class and national ranking, KU’s surge up the recruiting rankings is based almost purely on volume; they have more commitments than any other Big 12 school, with 19 three-stars and one two-star. By the time the cycle is over, they’ll likely finish closer to sixth or seventh in the conference — but Les is having himself a successful month on the recruiting trail and building awareness about his downtrodden program.

4. Kansas State, Iowa State gets their quarterback

Kansas State’s class is now up to 16 commitments, and the biggest came on Sunday when pro style quarterback Will Howard, a Pennsylvania native, committed to the Wildcats over offers from Kansas, Cincinnati, Harvard, Bowling Green, Minnesota, Maryland and others. He’s a three-star recruit but at 6-3.5, 210 pounds, has some interesting upside with a perfect frame.

Iowa State also landed its quarterback for the class over the weekend, snagging pro style quarterback Aidan Bouman, a 6-foot-5 prospect, out of Buffalo, Minnesota. Bouman is the highest-rated commitment for ISU in its 11-pledge class to date.

5. Texas strikes again

Tom Herman and Co. have built with quality over quantity in this cycle; they only have seven commitments, but six are inside the top-300 national rankings (and two are top-60 recruits).

After a few week standstill, the staff struck again over the weekend by landing four-star athlete Kitan Crawford, who chose Texas over Tennessee, Baylor, Arkansas and a slew of other programs. He’s expected to play cornerback at the next level.