Notebook: Finishing 2021 class, look ahead to 2022 and walk-ons

For all intents and purposes the Jayhawks 2021 football recruiting class is done. Well, as long as they hang on to every recruit they are recruiting for the late signing period.

The staff will work over the next three weeks to keep Quaydarius Davis and Garfield Lawrence committed since they haven’t signed. Both are expected to sign February 3rd and are two, key members of the class.

Two of the latest commitments Colin Grunhard and Conrad Hawley, may not sign and just arrive on campus next Monday to start the semester. Once they attend a class they are locked in with Kansas.

In the most recent Rivals rankings, the Jayhawks are still holding onto the third spot in the Big 12. The rankings are calculated with a formula that factors in the top 20 recruits of each class.

The priority is hanging onto the commitments that remain in 2021 and look to the future. When it comes to the future the staff isn’t waiting around. They have already offered 318 recruits in the 2022 class.

They are off to a fast start with five commitments for 2022 and that class already ranks third in the Big 12.

The biggest impact of the 2022 class will be how the NCAA handles scholarships and transfers moving forward. They recently tabled talks how to handle the one-time transfer rule and super seniors until mid-February.

[Related: Discussion on latest NCAA rules]

As it stands right now the KU 2022 class will likely be much smaller than past classes along with most other programs around the country. If everything stayed the same, the Kansas staff would have less than 10 spots remaining for the 2022 class right now.

One of the areas the staff will also look to shore up over the next few weeks is the walk-on program. In recent years it has become a pattern that walk-ons announce their commitments to schools before the late signing day.

Some schools will even recognize walk-ons during the signing day press conference when they release their final class list.

The staff has already landed walk-on prospects and a few more could be expected in the upcoming weeks. Something you don’t see very often is a walk-on who will report mid-year and be on campus for spring football.

That’s exactly what punter Gavin Gundaker intends to do.

Gundaker was the punter for IMG Academy, who finished the season ranked the top high school program in the country. He will be on campus soon and hopes to compete for the starting job.

The Kansas coaches were talking to him for a long time before getting his commitment.

“At first, I built a relationship with Coach Luke Roth,” he said. “And then I had a call with Coach Wallace, and it was actually the first phone call he offered me a PWO to come in for the spring.”

Gundaker said he got off to a slow start this season and then he heated up. His average was in the low 40’s and his net punting average was 38. He is a left-footed punter and that gives him an advantage.

“It definitely helps because the ball flight,” he said. “The ball travels in weird to the returner. This year, actually in the same game, I hit two knuckle punts for a lefty where it curves in weird and he dropped both of them. So that definitely helped being a lefty.”

He will pack up soon and head to Lawrence.

“I am so excited,” he said. “It's been a dream for a long time to go play D1 football and now I'm getting to go early and compete for a starting job when I first get there. It's really a dream.”