Harry Stewart felt he was a priority at Kansas, talks about committing

The Jayhawks have added one of the top running backs in the country to their commitment list.

Just moments ago, Harry Stewart, one of the top 50 running backs in the country, announced he committed to Kansas.

Stewart took his official visit over the weekend.

“It was just the way they prioritized me,” Stewart said. “The way they wanted me. I liked the scheme and how they're going to use me there. And just overall the vision and the hunger that they have in the program. I feel like that was the best fit for me.”

A large part of the connection to Kansas is running backs coach Jonathan Wallace. Stewart was meeting with Wallace on the visit when he talked to him about committing.

“Coach Wallace was the first to know,” Stewart said. “We were in his office in meetings. He gave me a whole presentation of what he wants to do with me, my development plan, the schemes and everything. It came down to the question, why not Kansas? And on the spot, I said, "Hey, I don't have a reason really. And I want to commit.

“He stood up and we hugged. He was like, ‘Hey man, can't wait to get to work. And you're going to change the program around.’”

Wallace has been recruiting Stewart for months, but the official visit gave him a chance to see Wallace and hear everything up close.

“Just going over everything we went through on the phone,” Stewart said. “Seeing him in person, meeting his family, staying through dinner, just talking about the program and him getting to know my mom more. It was a great weekend, just getting to know him, getting closer, and just building that relationship.”

The next step was telling Lance Leipold. During his meeting with Leipold, Stewart told him he was ready to be a Jayhawk. After that he walked out into the hallway where he was greeted by several members of the coaching staff.

“We walked out of the office, all the coaches that were sitting there, waiting if it was good news or not,” Stewart said. “Coach Leipold told them, and they all started congratulating me. They were all positive and all energetic. It was great.”

Stewart spent time around several players including his host running back Devin Neal. He got a good perspective on the program from Neal, and what is like to be a running back at Kansas.

“Oh yeah, he’s a cool dude,” Stewart said of Neal. “I got to meet Devin, Tommy, some other players that we all hung out. They're very welcoming. They were great hosts for me. They were just showing me around, asking if I need anything, making sure I'm good. I had a great time getting to know them. Just great guys overall.”

Stewart had offers from Cal, BYU, Baylor, Michigan, Missouri, Texas A&M and a host of other schools. It was a long recruiting process with calls and texts from coaches all over the country.

“It's like a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders for sure,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about it, and I have been stressing about the decision for a long time wondering where I'm going to go. I feel like I can just focus on football and my team this season. I feel relaxed and I'm real relieved right now.”