Elmore Hempstead gives KU coaches Thanksgiving commitment

December was supposed to be a busy month for Elmore Hempstead. The corner from Fort Scott held offers from several college programs and he was expecting to take official visits to some of those schools.

But Hempstead had another plan in place. He wanted to give someone an early commitment on Thanksgiving. The coaches at Kansas got their Thanksgiving morning off to a great start after hearing that Hempstead was committing to them.

“I wanted to commit on Thanksgiving,” Hempstead said. “The I sat down with my family and talked about it and looked at all of the offers that I had. My mom told me to pick the best school that was right for me.”

In the summer the Jayhawks held their first-ever junior college combine that was attended by 300 prospects. Hempstead participated in the event and Kansas was high on his listed ever since.

“The day that I came on campus for the camp coach Beaty and Coach Bowen were all watching me close at the camp,” he said. “The way they talked to me it felt like family up there. So that’s where I wanted to commit. It felt like a dream come true. From the first time I went to camp there I knew I wanted to be a Jayhawk.”

Hempstead held offers from Kansas, Arizona State, Iowa State, Central Florida, and several other schools.

“Having more offers sometimes makes it hard to know what you want to do and it puts more stress on you,” Hempstead said. “After committing for me, it feels good. It feels good to know I have somewhere that is going to put me in the right place to help me do good on and off the field.”

Kale Pick, a former wide receiver and quarterback for the Jayhawks is the head coach at Fort Scott. Hempstead took some of the information from Pick when he went into the decision-making process.

“He told me it is one of the best places to be,” Hempstead said. “He said the fan base was good and everyone will treat you like family. I listened to what he said. When I went to the summer camp I knew what he was saying was true.”

The Kansas coaches have been targeting a junior college corner and Hempstead has been near the top of their list since the summer camp.

“Coach Bowen said that I can come in and play the man-to-man corner,” Hempstead said. “He said he has been looking for a player like me. He said he likes my size and my ability to turn and that I had fluid hips. He likes how I can turn with the receivers and run with them. He also said he likes my ball skills.”

Hempstead could have picked different schools who are headed to a bowl game this year. But he wanted to go to a place that was the best fit for him.

“I didn’t care about the record,” he said. “I want to go in and play and contribute to the team and help them win games. I liked the fan base and the family culture. They kept telling me to come to Kansas and it will be a great place for me. Coach Bowen and coach Beaty have told me the truth about everything.”

Hempstead will be a mid-year graduate and will arrive on campus in January.

He’s very polished for a player his age. His transition out of his backpedal is very quick, with no waste of movement. He can play man coverage (press or soft) and he’s very comfortable doing both.

He’s knowledgeable with pass concepts and does a great job baiting quarterbacks when playing in zone coverage. He also led the Jayhawk conference in both kickoff and punt return yards this season.