Kenyon Rivera taking his first official visit to Kansas

Kenyon Rivera is taking his first official visit and arrived in Lawrence on Friday. The linebacker from Buford High in Georgia has been a long-time target of the Jayhawks.

He picked up an offer from Kansas in February and the coaching staff has been recruiting him consistently over the last four months.

Linebackers coach Chris Simpson and defensive ends coach Taiwo Onatolu have been responsible for much of the recruiting efforts.

“The Kansas coaches and I have a great relationship with, and we talk pretty much every day,” Rivera said. “I talk to Coach Onatolu and Coach Simpson, and they are great guys.”

Simpson and Onatolu visited Buford High, one of the top programs in the state to see Rivera. They have highlighted the recent success of the program and the direction as a selling point. They offered after watching his film.

“They loved the tenacity, physicality, and mentality that I have for the game,” he said. “They also love the toughness that I play with. The coaches have told me that they are pretty much rebuilding everything and making everything bigger and better.”

Rivera picked up early offers from Texas, Missouri, Miami, Tennessee and several others. Kansas is his first official visit and after hearing from the coaches he is seeing everything in person.

“I'm looking forward to seeing the campus and facilities and connecting with the players and coaches on a deeper level,” he said.

He wants to find a program that has everything he is looking for.

“Things that are important to me are academics , the culture, the environment that's fits my personality, and also the love and strong pride that the community has for Kansas football,” Rivera said.

He plans to continue the recruiting process and look at other programs. Rivera said it depends on how things progress, but he could take visits going into the season.

“A lot of Power 5 schools are recruiting me and as of right now I've been talking with schools about official visits,” he said. “Kansas will be my first one and there's a possibility I go to App State the week after Kansas , and then Western Kentucky during the season.”