Published Jan 13, 2022
Kansas coaches earn high grades for transfer portal recruiting
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Jon Kirby  •  JayhawkSlant
Publisher- Football Editor
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The Kansas coaching staff is looking to put an exclamation point on their early recruiting this weekend and wrap up what is a successful group using the transfer portal.

I said from the beginning this class would be measured more about how they handled transfers than anything else. We knew from the start they were going to use the 2022 class to focus on the transfer portal.

The expectations for the 2023 class will have an emphasis on high school players. The staff has already offered over 200 high school prospects for 2023.

But back to this year. This weekend could go a long way to determine whether this class is really good or special. It is already a good class and will earn a successful grade, but if they can wrap up a few final pieces from the transfer portal, this class could go from the B+/A- range to an A.

When it comes to the portal there are two, important visitors who will be in Lawrence this weekend.

Lonnie Phelps- An explosive edge rusher from Miami, Ohio, who had 13.5 tackles for a loss, and 9.5 sacks this season. Phelps would be a big addition since the staff has been looking for a defensive end. Kyron Johnson graduated who was the starter. Four-star recruit Steven Parker entered the portal, so Phelps would immediately be in the mix to start if he chose Kansas.

Ky Thomas- The former local star from Topeka High school entered the portal after leading Minnesota in rushing this season. He was also the MVP of their bowl game. Thomas was a big target for the Jayhawks coming out of high school when he chose Minnesota.

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Phelps will start his visit today and stay for two days and will go from Kansas to Virginia Tech. There were several schools pushing for a visit but the final two appear to the Jayhawks and the Hokies.

Thomas had a lot of schools trying to get in on him since he entered the portal less than two weeks ago. There are multiple schools from the Big 12, Big 10, and Pac 12 who pursued him.

Time is going to be a factor since classes start at Kansas on Tuesday. Players will have to make their final decisions within the next four days.

We will cover other players who will visit this weekend tomorrow, but a time crunch is coming down with the players who are in the portal and want to enroll at a school for the spring semester.

The Kansas staff has done a solid job using the portal and five players have already arrived on campus. If the KU coaches can finish this weekend this portal class could exceed all expectations.