Bear Anderson visits Kansas, will make a decision in July

Jarra Anderson took his official visit last weekend to Kansas. The defensive lineman from Cypress, Tex., gave good reviews about his trip from the food to the coaches and meeting the players.

And there was something else that caught his attention.

“I really liked the facilities, and I even liked the part that stood out about my last name being on their facility doors and building,” Anderson said.

The Anderson Family Football Complex houses the coaching staff, meeting rooms, strength and conditioning and all areas of Kansas football. It was named after Dana Anderson and his family, but Jarra liked that it had it had his last name everywhere.

“The visit was great,” he said. “They had me eating high end restaurant foods both days, like steak and potatoes, lobster, shrimp, and everything. And it was all around a cool place.”

Jarra goes by the first name Bear. It was a name his grandmother gave him, and he has used it ever since he was born.

Kansas cornerbacks Jordan Peterson has been recruiting Anderson for the last five months. Peterson is familiar with the area and brought his name to the coaching staff.

After months of talking to him, Anderson got time to meet with Peterson.

“It was good to finally have some chill, laid back time and not structured time with him,” Anderson said. “You can only talk to him for certain amount of time type talking. It was good to be able to sit down and talk with him.”

The defensive lineman is being recruited to play multiple positions on the defensive line. He said Jim Panagos said that makes him valuable because he can play inside and out. He met with Panagos and Taiwo Onatolu.

“I learned that they're both some really, really cool guys,” he said. “They really want to work with me and bring me to my fullest potential. I feel like, since I had some days to sit and talk with them, I feel like our relationship got really close within that time.”

Anderson said his mother and younger brother, JayTaylor went on the visit with him. His brother is in the 2024 class and will be on the radar of college recruiters.

He revealed some big news following his visit to Kansas. He was scheduled to have a busy week with two more official visits.

“I canceled both my other visits and I'm just chilling right now,” he said.

He was supposed to visit Colorado today and Washington State later in the week. Over the next couple weeks, he said he will talk with family and make a decision.

“I’m going to talk with them and then I will announce my final decision sometime in July,” he said.