Alex Raich commits to Kansas, will join the program soon

Although fall camp is underway, the Kansas coaching staff has not stopped recruiting. Jayhawk Slant learned that Alex Raich from Golden West Community College will report to camp as early as today.

The Kansas coaches have been recruiting Raich since the end of the spring and he gave them a recent commitment.

“I am most definitely very excited to start this new chapter in my life,” Raich said. “Getting to play for a big D1 school was one of the reasons I started this football journey in the US. I can’t wait to see how it is to play and work out on such a professional level.”

Raich is a unique story because he grew up playing football in Switzerland. He decided to move to the United States to further his football career. He said a good friend took the same route and that encouraged him to try it.

“Growing up in Switzerland and playing football is a rare combination,” Raich said. “Football isn’t a very popular sport there and therefore very small. With that said the level we play at is not comparable to the US. Although I started playing with as a 12-year-old and fell in love with the sport immediately. As I kept playing and got better my competitive mindset drove me to a bigger challenge.”

When he made the move, it took time to make the adjustment to football in America.

“I had to adjust to the American life and culture,” he said. “It is completely different to what I have seen in Europe which made it hard for me at the beginning feeling truly comfortable. As time went by, I adjusted myself to the new lifestyle and also how football was managed and played in the US. I learned a lot about football at Golden west. Especially about techniques, personnel, formations, coverages, lineups, and many small details. When it comes to this kind of things the gap between Switzerland, and I would say Europe overall is huge.”

The Kansas staff started evaluating his film last spring. They believed he could help in several areas since he is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds and can play several positions. At Golden West College he played all over the field as a safety and moving up on the line to blitz.

“What the coaches liked most about my film is my physicality and speed,” Raich said. “Also, the versatility I have from playing two positions at Golden West. I played safety and a kind of outside linebacker which makes me stop the run and cover a tight end or receiver.”

Raich is likely to start out as a linebacker and during the recruiting process he talked with Chris Simpson and Rob Ianello. The recruiting part was different because not being in the country made it more challenging, but they made him feel comfortable with Kansas.

“I mainly spoke to Coach Simpson and Rob Ianello,” Raich said. “They have been starting this whole recruiting process with me, and I’m very glad they did so. These two have been doing a tremendous job on making me feel comfortable and be part of this organization. Obviously, me being on another continent didn’t make things easier, but we managed to stay in contact during the whole process with FaceTime and text messages.”

When Raich went to Golden West his main position was wide receiver. The coaches made the decision to put him on defense. Nick Mitchell is the head coach and once he saw him play, he was not going to let the offensive coaches get him back.

“He was raw, but he flew around, and he was not afraid, and he would stick his face right in there,” Mitchell said. “He had some ball skills from playing wideout and he caught on quick. And it was a situation where we weren't going to let him slide back over. I'm a defensive coach, so we kept him over on our side and he just continued to get better.

“Just being in an organization like that (at Kansas) where he will continue to grow and excel in the game. He will be excellent as far as continuing to grow. He wants to be good, and he cares. He cares about getting better and being a good teammate and those things.”