Sands likes what Herbert will bring to Kansas

When Tony Sands was a high school recruit coming out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale he had a lot of college options. Sands was a three-sport letterman and was an all-state football selection.

The former Jayhawk who held the NCAA record for most rushing yards in a game now runs a successful training program in south Florida called Tony Sands Speed Training.

One of the athletes that Sands works with is running back Khalil Herbert, who committed to the Jayhawks on Saturday evening. Sands said he tells a lot of the athletes he trains it takes something extra to pick a college where you can go in on the ground floor and help build something.

“I tell all of my kids this all the time; you can always go to a division one program and be one of the guys,” Sands said. “But there are very few that get an opportunity to go to a program and be one of the greatest. Those are the accomplishments that you want. When you leave you want to be considered one of the greatest and that solidifies you as a player.”

Sands also shared those same thoughts with Herbert before he went on his official visit to Lawrence. Sands tipped off Kansas running backs coach Reggie Mitchell about Herbert and the Jayhawks were in hot pursuit ever since.

“He will tear down a brick wall and do what it takes to be successful,” Sands said of Herbert. “He is very respectable and comes from a good upbringing. He is one of those kids wherever he is on the field he could take it the distance. He is not a small kid but he is real quick. So you have a bigger back that is quick and explosive and his speed is unbelievable.”

Sands said Herbert has been consistently in the 4.4 range. He has trained and watched a lot of the top talent and believes Herbert is among the best running backs in the area.

“Here in south Florida he would be ranked in the top five of the running backs,” Sands said. “I have seen some good backs because I train so many of the kids here and a lot of the elite talent. When I look at a running back I want someone who can take it the distance anytime they touch it. Khalil is a big back, can catch the ball out of the backfield and do everything he is one of those guys.”

When Sands left Kansas he was the school’s all-time leading rusher and was the Big Eight Conference Offensive Player of the Year. He mentioned when he chose Kansas of the 102 division one teams at the time they were ranked 101. By the time he left he put his stamp on a program that witnessed a major turn-around under Glen Mason and was on their way to winning bowl games.

“I wanted to change that and build a winner,” Sands said.

Now Herbert could follow that same path. And it could open up more avenues for the Kansas recruiting picture in Florida.

“Maybe this is the start where more south Florida guys go to Kansas,” Sands said.