Jake Sharp built a successful platform that helps promoting high school football players in the state of Kansas. Last week he held the Sharp Top Prospects Combine that attracted close to 200 players giving them the ability to showcase their talents.

Sharp is a former team captain for the Jayhawks and ranks 12th on the all-time rushing list. Coming out of Salina Central he was the number one ranked player in the state by Rivals.com and the Gatorade Player of the Year.

He was happy to see the turnout and the quality of players in-state.

“It was a career day for us,” Sharp said following the event. “There was more talent on one field than we've ever had at any of our events. I think we had more kids with FCS and FBS offers actually coming into the events. So, we're very thankful and excited to have that much talent in the state. And it was a great day to have them out here working with the Sharp Performance football academy coaches.”

The event attracted some of the top prospects in the state, but Sharp hopes it highlights some of the players who might be flying under the radar.

“There were a lot of kids that came in that didn't have any offers,” he said. “I think in the next couple days, as the social media and the word of mouth gets out, as well as the coaches that saw them today, I think some kids are going to pick up some offers, but it was a great day.”

Sharp has followed the Jayhawks and watched the program since Lance Leipold took over last year. Their staff is working to build relationships in the state and Sharp likes the building blocks in place.

“I love the culture that Lance is building and starting from the ground up with culture,” he said. “I think we've had a culture problem there. And I think the only way to fix that is identifying it and attacking it and going after it every day with aggressive patience, which he understands, and he's instilling that in our athletes and our players.”

Sharp played at Kansas under Mark Mangino when those teams always played with an edge. He was on the Orange Bowl team in 2007 and the following season they won the Insight Bowl. He believes Leipold is in the beginning phases of building toughness in the program.

“We've got to get some toughness back,” he said. “Young athletes and young men can be as tough as we want them to be if we hold them to that standard and accountable. And I don't think accountability has necessarily been quite where we all want it to be. So, he's (Leipold) implementing those things. I'm very excited to see what happens this season. There's definitely going to be improvement and progress.”