Jackson Stoefen talks about his commitment to Kansas

Jackson Stoefen was close to committing to the Jayhawks on his most recent to Lawrence. It was his second trip to see the Kansas program within three weeks of each other.

But Stoefen had been thorough through the recruiting process and wanted to be sure he was making the right decision.

On Wednesday Kansas head coach Les Miles reached out to him via text and asked him if he wanted to schedule a phone call for Thursday.

That made for a long night sleep on Wednesday evening because Stoefen knew the time was coming to give Miles some good news.

“Coach Miles text me and said let’s set up a phone call and what time worked,” Stoefen said. “I had coaches from Iowa in the other day and a couple of other teams and I was sitting there thinking about it until 12:30 or 1:00 a.m last night. I had some other schools come in this morning and it didn’t feel the same.”

When Stoefen, an offensive tackle, got the opportunity to speak with Miles on the phone he told him he was ready to commit to the Jayhawks.

“I almost broke down it was so surreal,” he said. “Every kid dreams of committing like that. It was awesome Coach Miles was super excited and he walked into the staff room where they were in a meeting and put me on speakerphone and all of the coaches were yelling and rah-rah. It was cool to see that excitement.”

Stoefen visited Kansas on April 27th and was close to committing. But he went back home and continued to do his homework before making the final decision.

“I had over 20 phone calls with family and coaches and the discussion was what do I really want,” he said. “I don’t think I could’ve done and this without my parents. They were the ones who said if it feels good two weeks later then go ahead and pull the trigger.

“I took my Easter weekend and went to my grandparents’ farm. I took a little time hunting and rode on my dirt bike to time to decompress and thought about it. I just surrounded myself with people who will help me make the best decision.”

In the end it was the feeling Stoefen had around Miles and with Kansas offensive line coach Luke Meadows. Both of them handled the recruiting for Kansas. And it also came down to feeling important and wanted by the staff.

“I took one look at Lawrence and I can see myself being happy there," Stoefen said. "Coach Miles added that personal touch that made me and my family feel welcome. At some places I felt like I and may have been a second-tier guy and at Kansas I knew I was their guy. They made that evident.”

Stoefen plays baseball for North Scott and in Iowa they play their high school season in the summer. From there he will move right into football for his senior season. Making a decision to commit to Kansas will help him enjoy and focus on his last year.

“I feel a giant weight lifted off and I am no longer thinking about what can happen next,” Stoefen said. “It took awhile but at the same time I needed to make sure that it was right for me and my family and the school that I chose hit all of those boxes. Even tonight at baseball practice it was different. I wasn’t worried about after practice who I was going to need to talk to on the phone or what coaches are coming in the next morning.

“Now I can finally take a deep breath and go out and play my senior year and my last year of baseball.”

Stoefen said he can likely graduate early but he and his family are still discussing that option.