Published Jan 16, 2022
Lonnie Phelps sees Kansas on the rise, talks about decision
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Jon Kirby  •  JayhawkSlant
Publisher- Football Editor
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@jayhawkslant

It might be an understatement to say Kansas got their top target at defensive end with Lonnie Phelps. The defensive end from Miami, Ohio entered the portal on December 24.

And the Jayhawks offered him on the same day.

Three weeks later Phelps committed to the Jayhawks and fills a void at defensive end that was a big need for the program. This weekend he visited Lawrence with his father Lonnie Sr.

“The visit was good, and everything stood out to me,” Phelps said. “Obviously everything was way bigger than what I had left (at Miami). The atmosphere felt good, but I couldn’t really get a great feeling of it because everyone was gone for break obviously.”

The Kansas staff had a lot riding on Phelps because he was the defensive end they had put a lot of their efforts in, and needed to fill that spot going into spring football.

Before the weekend started it looked like a two-team race for Phelps, who was supposed to visit Virginia Tech after Kansas. On Saturday morning the Kansas coaches got good news on all fronts that Phelps was committing and would not take his visit to Virginia Tech.

When Phelps committed to Miami (OH) coming out of high school he had a feeling they were close to turning the program around. His intuition was spot on, and he got the same vibe about KU.

“The reason I picked Kansas is because I feel that I always know when an organization is on the rise like with Miami in 2018,” he said. “They were not that good and heading in 2019 we ended up winning a MAC championship so I can kind of tell when a coaching staff is good, and Kansas is on a roll right now.”

The Kansas coaches knew about Phelps because they were at Buffalo and played in the same conference. That is why they moved fast when he entered the transfer portal.

Kansas assistants Chris Simpson and Taiwo Onatolu were the ones who recruited him from the beginning and Lance Leipold stayed involved.

“All of the d-line staff I feel as if they were keeping it real with me and with what they said to me they are bringing in the pieces that they need in the organization,” Phelps said. “I would like to be a part of that just like they want me to be a part of it.”

The coaches all welcomed him after the let them know of his intentions to pick the Jayhawks.

“Me and the head coach sat down, and I told him that I would like to commit after we had a conversation,” Phelps said. “He told the rest of the coaches, and they all were excited and happy.”

In early January Pro Football Focus rated Phelps as the seventh best overall prospect available in the transfer portal. Here is what they wrote about him:

“Phelps was one of the secret superstars of the 2021 season. He earned a 91.3 pass-rush grade, generated 42 pressures on 210 pass-rush snaps — 24 of which were a sack or a hit — and notched a 30.5% win rate. His 21.3% pressure rate was actually the highest among FBS edge defenders.”

Last year Phelps had 13.5 tackles for a loss and 9.5 sacks for Miami. He is ready to start his career as a Jayhawk.

“I feel as if the organization is going up because they are bringing in the key pieces that we need,” he said. “I was able to speak with some of the new transfers and players that are on the team now and they also were fired up about this year so let’s see what this year brings us.

“I just get to do what I love to do and what I have been doing since I was nine years old and sack the quarterback. I cause havoc in the backfield, stop the run and give everyone a reason to oohh and aahh when I hit someone.”

Phelps said he is still working out the details on his arrival date with the coaches and plans to report on Monday or Tuesday.