Four-star DE D.J. Wesolak talks about recruiting, Jayhawks

Kansas was one of the first offers for D.J. Wesolak back in September. Since then, the defensive end/outside linebacker from Missouri has been a hot commodity.

Wesolak now holds over 30 scholarship offers and there is no sign it will slow down for him.

“It's amazing,” he said. “I love every part of it. It gets crazy at times but it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and it's also defining your next three to four years in the next stage in your life. So, it's amazing.”

College coaches were allowed to start contacting juniors in a rule allowed by the NCAA, which has made handling the recruiting even busier. Wesolak is juggling the phone calls from college coaches along with playing basketball.

“Ever since they can call us now, it's been really crazy,” Wesolak said. “I probably get 10 calls a day, maybe more. But it really doesn’t affect me, nothing's got in the way, and I’m really not caught up in the moment or having to be stressed. So, it really hasn't been that bad.”

The four-star recruit has been hearing from college coaches all over the country including Kansas. The Jayhawks were one of the teams there from the beginning and have been consistently staying in touch with him. The two coaches he’s hearing the most from are D.J. Eliot and Kwahn Drake.

“Coach Eliot is really a great guy,” he said. “I love talking to him. He has great things he wants to do with me along with Coach Drake. They want me to be great. They have great plans for me for the future. They're really humble. They talk to me daily, they try to reach out, try to call me, and I enjoy every moment talking to them.”

Eliot has coached at Florida State, Kentucky, and Colorado before taking the job at Kansas. He’s been around a lot of good defensive players and has talked to Wesolak how he can develop in the future.

“With our relationship, he knows people that have been in my life,” Wesolak said. “He knows them personally. So, we just catch up and we have a lot of things in common. He's not trying to sell me or anything in this process. He's just honestly trying to be genuine and get to know me.

“He just loves that I can do everything. I could play inside, outside, backer, outside backer. He told me I can be a phenomenal player and be one of their best players.”

When it comes to recruiting Wesolak is taking in a lot of information and building relationships with coaches. He looks forward to the day recruits can visit campus, but said he is still able to get a good feel with the recruiting process during phone calls and virtual information.

He isn’t in a hurry to make a decision and will start focusing more on recruiting once basketball is over.

“Honestly, my process is so strong, and it's just been blowing up,” he said. “I haven't had time to sit down since I went from football straight to basketball. I haven't had time to look at all the schools and see what opportunities I get. Hopefully after basketball slows up and we end our season I'll get time to narrow the list down.”