With the loss of O.J. Burroughs and Marvin Grant to graduation the Kansas staff had to rely on the portal to find immediate help at defensive back.

One of the earliest commitments from the portal was Lyrik Rawls from Oklahoma State. Rawls was getting a lot of recruiting attention from several college coaches. But he only needed one visit before he shut down his recruiting and committed to the Jayhawks.

Rawls was familiar with the Kansas program because the Jayhawks offered him a scholarship in high school. He did not get a chance to take official visits in high school due to COVID and was impressed with his trip to Lawrence.

“I was surprised to see Lawrence look how good it did,” Rawls said. “I had the offer coming out of high school, but I never got to come on visits because of COVID and that was my senior year. When I went on my visit, I was like, ‘wow Lawrence even looked like a bigger city than Stillwater.’ Then they got the stadium renovations going on and I like how they're going to look because they showed me the blueprint and everything.”

Kansas coaches DK McDonald and Brandon Shelby handled most of the recruiting. Shelby was named the defensive backs coach just days after Rawls committed.

“The way they talked with me on the visit made me feel like I was already on the team,” he said. “They brought me in, made me feel good, and had some good conversations. Then I went in the DB room and broke down the defense and I picked it up in less than five minutes. So, I feel like it's going to go real smooth this year.”

Rawls grew a quick bond with Shelby and was sold on the staff during his official visit.

“I was around the DC and Shelby the majority of my visit and the head coach,” Rawls said. “They showed me good love and I didn’t think it was going to get any better. My first week in the portal I had 5-6 offers, but KU was looking the best because they had the best deal for me. Playing wise, I'll be a leader in the defense in the back end, so I feel like it's going to be a great atmosphere I go into.”

He also had a good conversation with KU safety Taylor Davis, who will be in the mix to be a starter at safety. Both players are from Texas and will be playing alongside each other in the secondary.

“We were able to relate on some things because we are both from Texas and we had some background stories that were similar,” he said. “I feel like me and him clicked.”

Over the last two seasons Rawls played 400 snaps and last year was the highest-rated safety for the Cowboys according to PFF.