Jayhawks land commitment from dual-threat QB Davonshai Harden
The Jayhawks are continuing to add local recruits to their commitment list.
On Monday morning Davonshai Harden called Les Miles and gave him his verbal commitment. Harden announced his commitment on Twitter and thanked all the coaches recruiting him along with Tobian Thomas for being a father-figure.
"With that being said I am 100% committed to the University of Kansas," Harden said.
Shortly after Harden committed he told Jayhawk Slant he knew early KU was the best place for him.
"I just felt that Kansas was the place for me because the love they’ve showed me and how caring they are," he said. "I just love the place a lot and everything about it, and I just know it’s the place for me."
The 6-foot-4, 200-pound quarterback visited campus almost a month ago to this day. The Kansas staff already offered him a scholarship and compared him to Dak Prescott. The Jayhawks offensive coordinator Les Koenning coached Prescott when he was the offensive coordinator at Mississippi State.
"He's real cool,” Harden said of Koenning. “A lot of those (KU) coaches there are some real funny dudes. Coach Koenning told me how much I reminded them of Dak Prescott. That really stood out to me. I was just thinking of myself as a good player, but I wasn't thinking someone like Dak.”
Kansas assistant Clint Bowen was the lead recruiter for Harden. Bowen has ties to Topeka and a long relationship with Tobian Thomas.
"Our relationship is great and we both see eye-to-eye," Harden said after he committed. "We are both on the same team and both of us know what KU is really going to turn out to be in a few years or maybe less than that."
After Harden's visit to Kansas he also came away impressed with how much time Les Miles spent with him.
"What really stood out to me the most was really Coach Les Miles and how much love he showed,” Harden said after his visit. “He showed the most love out of all the schools, and he just showed that he really wants me. And I just liked the environment around KU, and how everybody treats you fair. It seemed like a good place to go to."
Another important key in Harden's recruiting was the fact the Jayhawks were the first to offer. After his initial visit to Kansas he talked about what it meant.
"Getting the first offer from KU is really special because it's only 20 minutes away from Topeka” he said. “All my family can come to watch me. That means a lot to me because it shows Kansas has their eye on me and they know what I can do.”
Making an early commitment will allow Harden time to focus on the off-season and not worry about what will happen with recruiting.
"It feels really good to be committed so I don’t really have to worry about getting offers," Harden said. "I can just play my game and do what I do best."