Jayhawks go west to Utah extending an offer to Tyler Knaak

The Kansas coaches have not offered a lot of prospects from the state of Utah. Last week Kansas extended an offer to Tyler Knaak, an offensive lineman from Brighton High in Salt Lake City.

At first glance one might think Kansas is starting a pipeline into the state because BYU recently joined the Big 12. But Knaak said he does not know if that played a factor.

“I don't know if it did,” Knaak said. “I talked to the coaches before the Big 12 thing got announced, but I think it did help their whole offer part of it and the fact that it was a lot easier for me to process it. And I think it's a great thing for kids out here in Utah to be able to be looked at by Big 12 schools if they weren’t recruiting here before.”

Knaak said the Kansas coaches watched his film on Hudl and started making contact. He said he had communication with Greg Svarczkopf, who is the Director of Recruiting. From there offensive line coach Scott Fuchs got involved.

“Coach Fuchs called me, and we were just talking about how they're rebuilding a program and how they are doing it and it is a program going through that,” Knaak said.

The Jayhawks offer is still new and Knaak is getting to know the staff but likes what he hears from Fuchs.

“He’s a really down-to-earth kind of guy,” Knaak said. “Really focused on the goals of rebuilding. He's focused on a successful program and the success of the players, rather than himself and his personal interests. He really seemed a player motivated kind of coach. And I really liked that.”

Knaak said Fuchs likes how he plays to whistle and sometimes past it. That was one of the reasons the offer was extended. He admitted he was excited to get his first Power Five offer.

“It was great, honestly,” Knaak said. “I can't really lie that I was jumping up and down in my room and going and hugging my mom after I got off the phone. It was pretty exciting.”

After football is over Knaak will turn his focus to wrestling where he was an all-region selection in the heavyweight division.

“All three years I've been injured in some point through the season,” he said. “Sophomore year got fully canceled about halfway through and then I broke my elbow. Last year, I hurt my knee. Halfway through the season I was able to come back and wrestle for state. I love wrestling.”

He will continue the talks with the Kansas coaches and see what the future brings. The talks have happened so quick, he has not had the chance to talk about taking a visit.

“I don’t have anything at the moment,” he said. “It's still all pretty new. But I'd love to take a visit out there, experience the campus, look at the student life, and go to a game.”