There are not a lot of quarterbacks on the Jayhawks 2022 radar but the one that matters most might be right up the road.
This summer the Kansas coaches extended an offer to Mikey Pauley, a quarterback at Blue Valley Northwest. Pauley, a division one baseball prospect, had committed to play baseball at Nebraska. But the offers from Kansas and Kansas State are giving him something else to think about.
Pauley picked up his offer from Kansas shortly after his performance at the summer camp. Ever since he has been staying in contact with the coaches.
“I’ve definitely been staying in touch with a few of the coaches there and working out what's going to happen this fall and just see what we're going to do coming forward and with all the recruiting,” Pauley said. “I’ve been staying in touch with those guys often.”
The coaches involved have been Andy Kotelnicki, Jim Zebrowski, and Lance Leipold. If there was one he hears from the most it is the Jayhawks offensive coordinator.
“I would say Coach K,” Pauley said. “We've had a lot of texts back and forth, couple of FaceTimes just to get to know each other. And it's been good so far.”
Kotelnicki has been selling the changes coming in the program.
“I like him, he's a great guy and he doesn't pressure me at all,” Pauley said. “He sees some big changes coming to KU and I believe him.”
There are parallels to what Kanas is trying to build and what Pauley has experienced at Blue Valley Northwest.
“I would say they like how I came from a team that struggled in the future and brought them to be a solid program to what it is today,” he said.
Northwest started their season out with a benchmark win over Blue Valley in week one. Pauley had a 30-yard touchdown run that helped seal the win.
“We're looking to do something we haven't done in school history, and that's to win every game including the state championship game,” he said. “It started in the summer with all of the workouts.”
The next step for Pauley after football is deciding what he wants to do for college. He is committed to play baseball for the Huskers, but the recent football offers have given him something more to think about.
“It's definitely making me think a little bit more than I was expecting, but it's a good problem to have,” he said. “Right now, if I had the chance to play both, that'd be what I'd be looking to do. I’ve been in contact a lot with Kansas and Kansas State. I've talked to the guys at Nebraska (for football) a few times and we're looking to set some stuff up this fall.”
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