Jaiden Bender got his first look at KU
Jaiden Bender is just a short drive away from Lawrence. He plays at Eudora High which is about a 15-minute car ride and recently he got to see the Kansas facilities up close for the first time.
Even though he is close by, he said it was first visit in the Anderson Family Football Complex.
“That was my first time in their football facility,” Bender said. “It's definitely nice being so close like a hometown. So, I've always been around Lawrence and such, always been around the campus, and just to finally get to go inside and talk to the coaches, it was pretty nice.”
Jake Schoonover has been recruiting Eudora, and that will be a school that offensive line coach Scott Fuchs will take over.
“When we first got there, Coach Schoonover was there,” Bender said. “He's the one that toured us around the entire time. He’s a pretty good guy and I liked talking to him. I talked to him a little bit on the phone beforehand. And then, also with Coach Emmett Jones, he was the one showing us around too, and a lot of the players.”
Bender has caught the attention of college recruiters especially the ones close by. He has picked up offers from Kansas and Kansas State.
His high school coach Sean Hayden said he can be a weapon in their flexbone system. Hayden admitted he will not get as many balls thrown his way like some other teams, but he can still be very effective.
“Jaiden has straight-on speed, has height, and he can jump,” Hayden said. “And he's becoming a really good blocker. We went up to a camp the other day and his blocks were fricking jumping off the film. So, he’s doing those little things right.
“We preach that all the time. We're a high school football team that's not going to throw the ball around. He's never going to have big stats like that. But when we were padded up almost every time he caught the ball, it was going to be a touchdown.”
The 6-foot-4, 190 pound wide receiver spent a lot of time around Jones on his visit.
“We sat in his office for a long time watching different drills that he does, just different drills that they do in practice and stuff like that,” he said. “He said he likes my athleticism, height, length, explosiveness, and how I am able to get the ball.”
Bender met with Kansas head coach Lance Leipold for about 20 minutes after his session with Jones.
It is the second time the Kansas coaches have hosted a recruit from Eudora. Before Bender went to Kansas his teammate Jaden Hamm took an unofficial visit to Lawrence. They also have Silas Etter who already gave his commitment to Kansas State.
It is rare to see a 4A program with multiple Power Five prospects.
“It's definitely fun with all three of us so far,” Bender said. “Hopefully, there is more to come. There's this really good sophomore coming up. He's going to be pretty good. But we're really just focusing on our season, trying to try to get further than we did last year.”