Khairi Manns took his first official visit since entering the transfer portal last month. Manns, a defensive end from Maine was in Lawrence over the weekend.
“Kansas was beautiful overall,” Manns said. “Me and my family truly enjoyed it. We enjoyed the environment, we enjoyed the people, we enjoyed the food. It was a great visit overall.”
Manns is a key prospect for the Kansas staff and it is well known they have been searching for a defensive end in the transfer portal.
There is a previous connection dating back to when the staff was at Buffalo. They recruited Manns out of high school and General Manager Rob Ianello has a long-standing relationship with Manns’ former high school coach.
“It was good to see coach,” Manns said. “I haven't seen him since probably my junior or senior year of high school. It was good to see him and reconnect and everything. He’s seen that I've matured since I was 16, which is expected. He's a really cool guy. And I knew this before, but just really hanging out with someone for the whole weekend, you really get the feel for it.”
Manns spent a lot of time on the visit with Taiwo Onatolu, who coaches the defensive ends and special teams coordinator.
“He's a very chill guy and seems like a really cool guy,” Manns said. “KU seems like a well put together program over there along with the coaches and everything. But it was really good to just finally meet him for the first time and really just sit down and talk ball.”
He arrived on Saturday and left on Monday. His parents made the trip and left with a good impression.
“We didn't know what to think at first,” he said. “But when we left, they really like Kansas and they really like Lawrence and they love everything that the school has to offer with the program and the school itself.”
Manns also had the chance to hear about the program from the players. His host was Tommy Dunn, and he got a good feel for how the players view Kansas.
“Shout out to my boy, Tommy Dunn, Jr.,” Manns said. “And his roommate DJ (Withers). Tommy was my host, but they all showed great hospitality. They all showed me a great time. It felt like I was right back in school, honestly. They were very welcoming.”
The next week will be important for Manns, who plans to take two more visits. He said Eastern Michigan and Colorado are on his schedule and he wants to be sure and make the right choice.
“I just want to be able to compare Kansas to something,” he said. “It was such a beautiful campus, beautiful environment, and beautiful facility. I just want to be able to compare it.”
The plan is to take the visits and put everything on paper to see how each school grades out. From there he will weigh the options and make his final decision.
“I'm going to be making a commitment here coming up pretty soon,” he said. “I don't have a set due date. First things first, I'm going to have to go home, debrief everything, sit down and write down the pros and cons. I like to write things out or talk things out.
“The main thing I'm looking for is a school that's going to give me the resources to be the best person and player that I could possibly be. That's number one. Two, learning good football and winning while doing it. And then three, I'm having fun while doing this.”
