Duece Mayberry lands KU offer, ready to attend spring game

The Kansas coaching staff has offered Duece Mayberry a scholarship. For those who follow the program and wonder if the last name sounds familiar it does because his older brother Kyle is a cornerback for the Jayhawks.

When the Kansas coaches were in the process of extending a scholarship offer it was Kyle who tried to hint and offer might be on the way.

“My brother called and was like has mom and dad told you anything?” he recalled. “I said no they haven’t. And he told me he would call me later, but he thought they were going to offer.”

Then the message came Mayberry was to call defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot.

“I was on the phone with him when he said they were going to offer me,” Mayberry said. “It was exciting. I just got a burst of energy, and it was just exciting. I’m happy he took a chance on me. I had a lot of joy getting the offer because playing college football is my dream.”

Mayberry said cornerbacks coach Chevis Jackson is the lead recruiter and has been building a relationship with him. He said the fact Jackson played at LSU and has coached under Miles is a good sign.

“He told me he likes the way I play press man, and he liked my size and speed,” Mayberry said.

He has also heard a lot about the program from his brother, Kyle.

“He has said a lot of good things,” he said. “He told me good things about the school. He has talked about the tools they give you. You have to go to tutoring at night and how much that helps and he talks about how fun the campus is.

“My freshman year, I went down there with my brother, for four weeks. I got to experience college life as a freshman in high school. It was nice. And I really like KU.”

One thing his brother has is speed. And he says that part of their game is very similar. Both players coming out of high school had speed that attracted attention from college recruiters. His gives some of that credit to their mother, Lisa.

“She was a track star and we had no choice but to have speed,” he said. “When he (Kyle) was in high school he wasn't as big as I was, so I have a little bit more size on him, but other than that our speed is our strength.”

Mayberry has been to every spring game at Kansas since his brother arrived and this year will be no different. With the announcement of Rick Ross performing and kicking off under the lights he is looking forward to another trip back to Lawrence.

“It's going to be great,” he said of the spring game. “I can tell it's going to be better. I have been to every one, but I feel like this one is going to be different. Since I'm a recruit, it's going to be more exciting. I can't wait to come up there.”

There are several schools recruiting him including Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Wyoming, and Houston. Although he is early in the recruiting process, he had a good idea what to expect after watching Kyle go through it.

“What is comes down to for me are the relationships,” he said. “I want to feel like the coaches are genuine. Then I will know if that school is the right place for me. And I kind of went through the recruiting process with my brother. I was right by his side, so I know how exactly it is.”