KU commit Jalon Peoples has a big opening game

Kansas commit Jalon Peoples opened his senior year in a big way picking off two passes for Cedar Hill. Peoples, who plays cornerback went into the year with a goal to reach double-digits in interceptions.

He told Jayhawk Slant that Rockwall kept testing him all night in their opening-season loss.

“It was great,” he said. “I had to go out there with the mentality to just kill, that's my main objective and be in every place. That guy was on my side and boom, I came up with two picks. I think I had good coverage and everything.

He continued: “They kept testing me all night. I told the quarterback, I said, you keep chasing me, then I'm going to get another pick, and then that's what I did. I just had to be on my A game, all day.”

Starting the season with two interceptions helps get Peoples off on a fast start to reaching his goal.

“I want to get 10 picks,” he said. “So, I practiced very hard on that. One of the main things that I practice is me just seeing the ball, tracking the ball, and everything. I worked on that a lot this summer and in practice, and so it showed up the first game.”

Peoples gave his verbal commitment to the Jayhawks in late June after taking official visits to Kansas, Texas Tech, and Baylor.

He stays in touch with the Kansas staff every day.

“I've been staying in touch with Coach Leipold every day along with Coach Jackson and Coach Jones,” Peoples said. “They are always just checking up on me, seeing how I'm doing. A lot of Kansas coaches had reached out before the game Friday, just to wish me good luck. And I cherish that, and I went out there and I had a blast.”

Peoples had several schools recruiting him before he gave his commitment to Kansas. The attention from the staff has not slowed down after he committed.

“That means a lot to me, it means so much,” he said about their consistent communication. “It means they're happy to have me be a part of their program and I'm happy to be a part of that program. I'm going in (to KU) with a chip on my shoulder to get this thing rolling.”

He said there have been talking about the lack of success the Jayhawks have had on the football field in recent years. Peoples wants to be part of the group who changes that.

“For me as a player, coming in as one of the top recruits, I'm trying to come in there and train and turn everything around,” he said. “That's my main objective. Everybody says, ‘Kansas this, Kansas that’, but Kansas is actually a great program, a great school and has great academics. I just want to help Kansas get back on the map again.”