Jaren Kanak talks recruiting, ready to start season

On the first day high school recruits in the 2022 class could be contacted by college coaches, Jaren Kanak spoke with coaches from Kansas.

Kanak, a 6-foot-2, 200 pound receiver from Hays (Kan.) admitted he had some nerves waiting for the first day coaches could reach out. When he received his offer he spoke with defensive coordinator D.J Eliot.

On Tuesday he talked with Josh Eargle and Luke Meadows.

“I was very nervous and exited to get the call,” Kanak said. “I talked with the coaches the phone and we basically just talked about me as a player and how I could contribute to KU.”

Kanak has been receiving interest from multiple Power Five programs. After Tuesday, he has more phone numbers stored in his phone.

“It was important to me and was totally awesome to hear from all these coaches and to get them in my contacts,” he said. “It’s kind of crazy to think about and I feel truly blessed with the opportunities I’ve been given. It is really motivating me to keep getting better every day.”

July 16th is a day that Kanak will always remember. That’s when two offers came on the same day from the in-state schools.

“It was very exciting,” Kanak said. “It was unexpected and a crazy day. I was really excited and my family was excited. It was just a cool experience and a fun day. Something I probably won't forget anytime soon.”

Tonight is also an important day for Kanak and his teammates. They open-up the season against Goddard and ends a long off-season waiting for the opening kickoff.

Kanak said they were fortunate to start weights early in the summer, but before that they had to quarantine. After a summer of uncertainty around the state whether high school will be played or not, Kanak is ready to take the field with his teammates.

“We've actually been pretty lucky in our area because we were able to start weights June 1st,” Kanak said. “During the quarantine me and my buddies would work out two, three times a day. Whether it be out doing drills, running sprints, in the weight room.

“Most of us got our track and baseball season canceled. So, we were like ‘okay, this season is canceled. Now it's time for football.’”