Jackson Stoefen liked atmosphere at KSU game

Jackson Stoefen has watched the Jayhawks play in several home games, but he saw a different atmosphere last Saturday.

The offensive lineman made the trip from Iowa like he has several times this season for the Kansas State game.

“I've never actually seen that many people fill up that stadium before,” Stoefen said. “It was a cool atmosphere, and everybody was super excited to be there.”

Stoefen said he was in Rally House buying some new KU gear before the game and was recognized by fans.

“I had a couple of people like, ‘Hey that's that Stoefen kid from Iowa’, and it was pretty neat to be down there during all that,” he said.

On the way to Kansas, Stoefen and his friends picked up Leif Magnuson who is another offensive lineman being recruited by the Jayhawks. Magnuson is from Canada and was staying in Iowa.

Stoefen said he recently got some good news on his knee injury that ended his senior season. His doctors told him they believe he could be ready for spring football since Stoefen can enroll in January.

“Most everything's ahead of schedule, and I'm looking to start doing hydrotherapy next week,” he said. “We're looking to speed my process ahead by a couple of weeks and get into hydrotherapy, and do a little underwater treadmill work.”

The doctors told Stoefen the strength in his leg is better than what they thought it would be and the swelling has reduced.

Over the last few months Stoefen has met a lot of recruits who are committed to KU. They have all formed a bond and stayed in touch over the course of the season.

“It's really been awesome,” he said. “Every time I go down there, I see Jaylin Richardson, Trevor Kardell and Will Huggins. Essentially, it's that kind of bond that we already have in the group chats that we have started.”