Keenan Hambrick gives Kansas commitment on visit
Once Les Miles told Keenan Hambrick he had a scholarship offer it didn’t take the wide receiver very long to commit.
When Hambrick met with Miles during his junior day visit he didn’t leave Miles’ office without taking the offer.
“I was just sitting in his office, and we were talking,” Hambrick said. “He was like, ‘we're going to offer you a scholarship.’ After he offered me he asked me what my plans were. Then he told me if I wanted to commit at any time to let one of the coaches know.”
But Hambrick, a wide receiver from Athens (Ala.) was ready for his decision and told Miles on the spot with his mother Larinda Donnell in his office.
“I looked at him and said I’m committing,” Hambrick said. “And coach Miles was like ‘really?’"
After going through junior day activities he saw what he needed to realize he wanted to be a Jayhawk.
“I just really liked the campus when I first got there,” he said. “We were in team meeting and they were talking about Coach Miles and what he did at LSU. They talked about how many people he sent to the NFL, and I was just sold then.”
And it wasn’t just Miles who Hambrick was sold on. KU cornerbacks coach Chevis Jackson first recruited him and watched his film. Then it went to receivers coach Emmett Jones. Both coaches liked what they saw and they immediately invited him to junior day.
“Coach Jackson told me the whole staff watched my film,” he said. “And he said they loved me and they wanted to get me up on campus. Coach Jackson talked to me and told me to make sure I watch Texas Tech film because that’s where Coach Jones was before he came to Kansas.
“He told me to make sure you watch the film on them because he’s got a guy that's going to the NFL right now. Once I learned that he developed these receivers like I am, I kind of figured that that'd be a great coach for me. He's already coached receivers that's like me and the size that I have.”
Hambrick was part of a big group on the Jayhawks second junior day this month. The Kansas football players got their first look at the new indoor complex last week and the recruits saw it today.
“The facility caught my eye as soon as I got there,” he said. “I saw it on Twitter a few days ago, and I was like, ‘they just built that. That's really nice.’ We also went out on a little campus tour, and saw the dorm rooms, some of the classrooms, the whole campus was nice.”
The 6-foot-4, 190 pound receiver had early offers from Kansas, Southern Miss, Arkansas State, and interest from Auburn. He said his mother was on board with the commitment and they are glad they made the drive from Alabama to Kansas.
“It feels great because I know that I worked so hard to get to this position,” he said. “I knew that it would take some time, but I knew that eventually I would find a place where I wanted to call home. And that's how I felt today.”