Recruiting Notebook: Big names on list for final weekend

The amount of total visitors heading into this week is still unknown as well as the total number of scholarships still left to give.

One thing you can credit the Kansas staff for is hustling all over the country to make sure they have everything lined up for the final recruiting weekend of the year.

Last week head coach Les Miles and assistants Clint Bowen Jeff Hecklinski spoke to hundreds of football coaches in the Kansas City area. Right after the event the coaches were headed to the airport to continue their pitch on the recruiting trail.

The staff has already offered over 120 prospects in the 2020 class. They are planning to hold two junior days in February where they will attract recruits locally and around the country. Several recruits have already confirmed to us they will visit.

The focus is finishing out the 2019 class. There are three known visitors we have confirmed for the weekend and that number could grow.

Two of the key prospects expected in town will be Velton Gardner and Steven Parker. Both players were committed to Texas Tech at one time and Gardner was committed to Kansas State. Gardner is an elusive play-maker from Dallas Skyline who was just named the Offensive MVP of the Blue-Gray All-American game.

Parker, from South Oak Cliff, has trimmed his list to Kansas, TCU, Nebraska, and Texas Tech. He holds over 20 division one offers.

One thing both players have in common is a strong relationship with wide receivers coach Emmett Jones. He was able to get both players committed to Texas Tech when he was on Kliff Kingsbury’s staff. It would be a big statement if he could land both of them.

The latest visitor on the list is Paul Matavao-Poialii from Jefferson High in Daly City, California. Matavao-Poiallii, a 6-foot-3, 330 pounder has picked up offers from Baylor, Colorado, Oregon State, Fresno State, and Hawaii.

He’s got a good relationship with Kansas defensive line coach Kwahn Drake who has known about him for a while.

It isn’t a secret the Jayhawks have been in search of adding a kicker to the roster. On Tuesday they offered Joe O’Leary a preferred walk-on from St. Thomas Aquinas. O’Leary isn’t your typical kicker because he played others positions for the Saints who won the Class 5A state title.

“He has a lot of upside,” said Randy Dreiling, the head coach at Aquinas told Jayhawk Slant. “He’s 6-foot-3 and a great athlete. Our opponents drives started on the 26 because most of his kicks went into the end zone.”

National kicking expert Jamie Kohl shared some of the same thoughts in his evaluation of O’Leary.

O’Leary got word of the offer from special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler.

“I am very excited for this opportunity,” O’Leary said. “I had a great conversation with Coach Ekeler where he told me how involved and invested they are in their kicking game which is a kicker's favorite thing to hear.”

O’Leary who has received interest from other division one programs and also holds an offer from Army. He said he will take a visit to learn more about the Kansas program in the near future.

“After talking with coach I am planning on taking a visit very soon and will me making my decision later this week,” he said.

O'Leary was voted the first team kicker in the EKL this season.