Kansas the first offer for wide receiver Max Reese

Kansas wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator Emmett Jones got off to a fast start getting commitments in the 2021 class and now he’s looking ahead to 2022.

Jones was the first to offer Max Reese, a wide receiver out of Illinois. It was a move that helped out getting in with Reese early.

“It means a lot, because I always remember the first school that wanted to go out and take a chance,” he said. “That just means a lot being the first offer.”

Reese said the relationship with Kansas started because of a connection with his father. From there he was able to get in contact with Jones and it developed from that point.

At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, his size is something that caught the attention of the Jones, who is known as one of the better talent evaluators in the Big 12.

“He said he liked like my style of play and my size,” Reese said. “Being 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds as a sophomore he said there weren’t a lot of those out there.”

When Jones told Reese he was offering him a scholarship it was a dream come true to land a Power Five opportunity.

“It was just wild going through my mind,” he said. “I can't believe all the hard work I've put in is finally getting noticed, but I can't stop. I have to keep going and I hope it is the first of many.”

Since the Covid-19 shut down several high schools and kept players from getting to the gym, Reese used that time to get better. This was going to be a key summer to get out and visit camps, but he still found a way to improve.

“I feel like quarantine was a blessing in disguise,” Reese said. “To be honest, I feel like I got a lot faster, bigger and stronger over quarantine because I had a lot of time on my hands. So, I just used that time to put forth into my craft to get better at what I do.”

That hard work is paying off with more attention coming in, including schools like Florida State, Maryland, and Ball State. Reese has already been doing his homework on Kansas and thinking about potential visits down the road.

“Lawrence is about a nine-hour drive and that’s not bad,” he said. “I’d love to take a visit there and I talked to Coach Jones about that. I want to see the campus and facilities. I’ve already done a lot of research on Kansas.”