Jayhawks first to offer in-state prospect Brandon Schmelzle

Brandon Schmelzle is officially on the radar as one of the top players in the Kansas class of 2025. The attention from college coaches has been increasing and one of the big developments came last week.

Schmelzle took an unofficial visit to Kansas to watch the team practice and meet with the coaches. After practice he earned his first division one offer from the Jayhawks.

“It will be a day I remember for the rest of my life,” Schmelzle said.

He arrived in the morning for practice and then stayed to talk with the coaching staff and hear more about the KU program.

“The visit was great,” he said. “I met a lot of KU football staff today and they all made me feel welcomed. The atmosphere at practice was amazing. It was competitive and coming from a small school that’s what I’m used to.

“Watching the team was great, it made me want to strap the pads up and go play. I could feel the intensity and the competitiveness.”

The coaches showed Schmelzle a lot of attention and he got to meet several staff members. They did a good job of making him feel at home and one of his conversations was with defensive coordinator Brian Borland.

“I spent the entire day with Billy Bonneau,” he said. “He made myself and my parents feel like KU was home. I also spent time with Coach Borland going over expectations they have at KU, and we spent time going over defenses. I also enjoyed spending time and meeting with Scott Aligo, Greg Svarczkopf, Jim Zebrowski, and Rob Ianello.”

Schmelzle is a rare four-sport athlete for Axtell High. Last fall he led Axtell to their third straight state title in football. He ran for 112 yards in the championship game and scored four touchdowns.

Kansas is looking at him on the defensive side of the ball. They referred to him as a ball hawk type of player on defense.

“All the coaches loved that I played a lot of positions in high school,” he said. “They loved my versatility, speed, nose for the ball and size.”

He has been on visits to Nebraska, Kansas State, and South Dakota State. He said he plans to take a visit to North Dakota State. Following his offer from Kansas he picked up his second offer from South Dakota State.