Larson Workman plans to enroll at Kansas early
Kansas commit Larson Workman put on a lot of weight since his junior season. He talks about what it is like playing with close to 40 more pounds and his plans to enroll at Kansas in January.
The Coronavirus kept most high school players at home in the spring and Workman took advantage of that by putting extra work in the weight room. The result was a lot of good weight added to his frame. At 6-foot-5, 275 pounds he believes he has played well so far his senior year.
“I feel like I'm doing pretty good,” he said. “With my new weight after putting on 30-40 pounds and haven't played on that before, I feel like I'm doing pretty well. I've stepped up as a leader on my team. If someone needs something to get to the coaches, they'll come to me and I'll take it to the coaches because not everyone likes to call. My season has gone well.”
Workman sprained his meniscus in the second game, which forced him to the sidelines for the next week.
“We got our butts whipped that next game and it didn’t feel good sitting on the sidelines,” he said.
The offensive lineman had a speedy recovery and returned the next game.
“I've made a full recovery and it's like nothing happened, which is great,” he said. “I'm just in a brace now, which I would be in Kansas anyways. So, just got to get used to that. My body feels great."
Workman committed to Kansas after an unofficial visit in July. He and his family flew into Kansas City and spent time around the campus to get a better feel for the area. Shortly after he committed.
Now that his season is going and the Big 12 is moving forward, he’s been in communication with the Kansas staff. With limited time, it isn’t as often as it was when people were staying at home.
“I've been staying in touch with Coach Meadows quite a bit, I enjoy that,” he said. “We talk about football and life, and it's really nice. We talk about once or twice a week. And I know that there are other coaches that are busy with recruiting for the 2022 class and football. And of course, they have games every week. I know they can’t call every day like they did back during the recruiting process.”
Workman will finish up his senior season in the upcoming weeks and then his focus is going to turn to his college career. There won’t be much time in between since he plans to sign in December and enroll in January.
“At the beginning of the recruitment process, before I had any offers, I pitched it to my mom,” he said. "It would be good if I can get my classes done. So, if I want to graduate earlier I can. She was skeptical about it at first.
“I took my classes this past summer. My spring classes that I would need, I did those and got the credits. And now I'm just waiting. I've got about 75 days days left until I graduate. That's crazy to be that close to moving to Lawrence.”
The 2021 recruiting class has become a tight-knit group through social media and zoom calls. Workman is ready to join the future class at Kansas and help turn the program around.
“We’ve just got to get there and work,” he said. “We’ve got to change the culture around and it's going to take time because you don't change that overnight.”