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Published Sep 21, 2018
Building pipeline to Louisiana, players feel at home at KU
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Jon Kirby  •  JayhawkSlant
Publisher- Football Editor
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@jayhawkslant

In the second quarter against Rutgers last weekend Mike Lee picked off a pass from quarterback Artur Sitkowski and after some nifty moves returned it for a touchdown.

A quarter later Corione Harris got into the action and got an interception of his own.

It wasn’t long ago Harris and Lee were playing in the same backfield at Landry-Walker High in New Orleans.

The hot name circulating among Kansas fans has been Pooka Williams who has back-to-back 100-yard rushing games.

The Louisiana connections didn’t stop there on Saturday afternoon. Malik Clark from Warren Easton High got the start at right guard. Ricky Thomas from New Orleans started at safety. and had an interception against Central Michigan. Wide receiver Takulve Williams, a freshman, has caught passes in the last two games. And true freshman running back Ryan Malbrough got carries in the fourth quarter. There is former four-star recruit Daylon Charlot, who has played wide receiver the last three games.

It has always been said, and there is probably a lot of truth to it, Kansas has to recruit outside their home state to fill their recruiting class. You always start at home in the state and branch out from there. The numbers just aren’t there for a division one school like Kansas or Kansas State to rely solely on local players.

That’s why David Beaty hired Tony Hull. He wanted to make a run at an area that hasn’t been a focus for the Jayhawks.

Hull was the head coach at Warren Easton when Beaty hired him. After hurricane Katrina Hull led Easton to the state playoffs in seven of his nine seasons. But more importantly when it comes to recruiting he knows Louisiana and is trusted by recruits and parents.

“There aren't a lot of places kids in Louisiana can go because we are different personalities,” Hull said. “Our culture is different. The way we talk, way we walk, the way we act, the way we think, it's totally different from outside the rest of the country. So there’s not many places you can go outside the state of Louisiana or the city of New Orleans and feel like you belong.”

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But Hull has changed that at Kansas, and so has the community.

“Having a coach from New Orleans like Coach Hull who was my high school head coach meant a lot,” Malik Clark said. “We tell those guys back home if they come to KU they have our word it would be a good place for them.”

Clark played at Warren Easton while Hull was the head coach and followed him to Kansas. Now Hull has proof to show recruits from Louisiana if they are good enough they will play early as Jayhawks like several players on the roster.

“It's big because I feel like Louisiana has some of the best athletes,” Ricky Thomas said. “It continues to keep growing here (at KU) and the program continues to get better each and every year.”

Now that the number of players from Louisiana is growing each year it could be easier for Hull and the current players to sell the program to future recruits.

“I think it is the pipeline we've been able to set up here to the state that has been our biggest asset to show players from there,” Hull said. “It's not just about getting kids on campus it is about how you treat them when they get on campus. The KU community has done a great job allowing these guys to feel accepted.”