After visit to Lawrence, Larson Workman picks the Jayhawks
Larson Workman always knew he was serious about Kansas after he got an offer from the coaching staff. Last weekend he took an unofficial visit to get a closer look at Lawrence.
Even though the NCAA is not allowing coaches to host visitors, Workman took the visit with his family to get a feel for the town.
“We toured the campus and the town of Lawrence,” Workman said. “The campus is beautiful and very nice. All of the buildings were awesome. I loved the stadium and the indoor facility.”
Since coaches or the recruiting staff couldn’t meet with him, Workman had to look at the new indoor facility through the windows. But he was able to get a good view of the building that was constructed for last season.
“The town of Lawrence had everything you need,” he said. “Me and my family were very surprised how clean it was and how clean everything looked.”
After he returned home, he talked to his parents and made the decision Kansas is where he wanted to be. The next step was talking with the coaching staff. On Monday he did a Zoom with the coaches and several of the recruits who are committed to Kansas.
“Coach Meadows asked me to get on it,” Workman said. “He wanted me to see some of the people on it and react with them. We set something up and he just passed the mic over to me and I told everyone that I wanted to be a Jayhawk and I want to be part of something special. Everyone was very happy. Coach Miles was also on the call too.”
On Sunday after returning, he told Meadows and Brent Dearmon he was getting close to committing. His relationship with Meadows was a key factor in picking the Jayhawks. Once he saw Lawrence everything fell into place.
“I really liked Coach Meadows,” he said. “He's great. I feel like I can be successful with his coaching and being able to do what I need to do. I wanted to make the trip to make sure it's a place I wanted to be. I've never been to Lawrence and neither has any of my family, or anyone I know. We wanted to make a trip and make sure it's the right place for me.”
Kansas safeties coach Jordan Peterson played a part in the recruiting since he recruits the area and has contacts at Ganado High.
Workman weighed 240 pounds when the basketball season ended. Since then he has added 30 pounds to his frame and checks in at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds.
“I was on a 5,000 calorie diet for about three months,” he said. “In March and then throughout the whole quarantine I worked out by myself. That really gave me some time to just put on weight. I didn't run as much as I do with the team or with the coaching staff. When I was working out on my own, I was just doing weights and that actually helped me put on a lot of healthy weight.”
And Workman doesn’t think he will stop at 270. He said it will be a good weight to play his senior season, but his frame can handle a lot more for his college days.
“I want to be able to eat and I don't want to get too big this year,” he said. “I'm not going to go out of my way to gain any more weight. I've had multiple people telling me that they think I could be 315 if I need to.”
Last year Workman was an all-district selection at tackle, and also holds a 4.02 GPA. He knew Kansas was the place he wanted to be and after taking a visit was solid on his decision.
“I'm very excited,” he said. “I'm happy the recruiting process is over. I'm not really interested in any school, no matter who it is. I'm 100% committed to Kansas.”