Kansas makes strong, early impression with Eian Pugh

Emmett Jones built his reputation recruiting Texas, but it is also known wherever there are good receivers he will find them.

For the second time in two weeks the Kansas wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator has moved fast offering prospects from Illinois.

The latest is Eian Pugh from Fenwick High.

“The recruiting started about a month ago,” he said. “They had contacted one of my coaches and then they told me about Coach Jones and how he was interested. Then about maybe a couple of weeks after that I got the offer. My relationship with him is good and he’s a chill dude.”

The phone communication has been limited under NCAA guidelines for recruits in the 2022 class.

“We’ve only talked once and he just said that Kansas is a great place to be,” Pugh said. “Coach Jones said they're really building with coach Les Miles and that I would fit in the system and that he likes how I play.”

One thing that stood out for Jones and the Kansas coaches was his size at 6-foot-4. Combine that with the physical style and that’s one reason the Jayhawks extended an early offer.

“He said he likes my length because I'm pretty long receiver and that I can go up and get the ball,” Jones said. “He said I'm also pretty physical, so those are things that he liked.”

Pugh remembered how he heard the news about the offer. He had to double-check his phone and then bolted to tell his parents.

His recruiting is just beginning, but the fact the Jayhawks were the first to offer, will help down the road.

“It was pretty surreal at first when I got the offer,” Pugh said. “I had to check it a few times and make sure it was real. I went to my parent's room and then started screaming. I had to calm my dad down.

“To get my first offer from Kansas is amazing. Coach Les Miles is a legend. I've been watching him since I was a kid when he was at LSU. So, just to get that first offer it really just pushes me to go harder to just get some more offers.”

Pugh said he is also hearing from Wisconsin, Purdue, Notre Dame, and Baylor.

He was excited about his first offer and also the chance to get back and play football with his teammates. All workouts were canceled for a period and now they are starting back up.

“It's great I love being around my teammates,” he said. “We have a pretty good squad this year. So, I'm looking forward to going far in state and hopefully make a playoff run.”