Josiah Hammond cancels remaining visits, commits to Kansas
Josiah Hammond planned on taking five official visits. He visited Arizona, Iowa State, and Utah. After his visit to Kansas, he had a visit set with Washington.
But after his official visit to Kansas, he decided to shut down his recruiting and commit to the Jayhawks.
Hammond, from Tulsa Union had a big list of division one offers, but it was the relationship he built with Jim Panagos that played a big difference.
“Coach P is truly a gem,” Hammond said. “That’s my guy. He was the first coach to come in before my recruitment jumped off and kept it real with me. He told me what I needed to do to earn an offer and become a great player. He kept it real about where he wants me to play in his defense and didn’t sugarcoat anything with me.”
There was another strong connection to Hammond. Kansas running back Sevion Morrison is his cousin and was the host on his visit. Morrison signed with KU after transferring from Nebraska. Like Hammond, Morrison played his high school football in Tulsa.
“Sevy told me a lot of great things about the program and how much they’ve done for him,” Hammond said. “It was great to have him as my host because he understands what I’m going through as a recruit as well as a person because coming from north Tulsa a lot of people aren’t in positions like this.”
Morrison introduced him to players on the team including several who play defensive line.
“The vibe with the players was great,” Hammond said. “I could definitely see myself being in that DL room and being coached up not just by my coaches but veteran teammates as well.”
Hammond, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound defensive lineman, said before the visit he liked the plan Panagos told him they have in place to develop him. After listening to the coaching staff and seeing what the program has to offer, he was on board.
“Some things that really stood out to me is how close Coach Leipold’s relationship is with the team,” he said. “It is very rare to find a head coach who actually has a true relationship with his team also how close the team is with each other in general.”
When Hammond gave his commitment to the coaching staff he got a warm reaction.
“The coaching staff’s reaction was electric,” he said. “Everybody came and hugged me and told me congratulations and I love my Jayhawk family.”
After three unofficial visits and over 15 division one offers, Hammond said he is happy with his decision to pick Kansas.
“It feels wonderful to be committed,” Hammond said. “KU is a school I’ve always loved, and I can’t wait to continue my academic and athletic future as a Jayhawk. Rock Chalk.”