Tommy Dunn stayed with Kansas, will be key player

If there is a player who might be the most versatile when it comes to the future, that player could be Tommy Dunn.

And that’s rare for a player who goes close to 6-foot-4, 280 pounds.

Dunn has good film at tight end and moves very well for a player that size. His future for Kansas will be on defense although defensive line coach Kwahn Drake was teased about losing him to tight ends coach Josh Eargle.

“The thing that that makes this kid special is that we think that he's somebody that could play up and down the entire defensive line,” Drake said. “He could play all the positions. I bet he's going to give us some versatility. He has strengths being knocked back. The greatest thing about him, he also plays a little bit of tight end.”

Dunn plays at Naaman Forest and they were eliminated in the state playoffs last week by Legacy. He got a chance to go head-to-head against Garfield Lawrence who is committed to Kansas.

“We caught up after the game,” Dunn said about Lawrence. “He asked me why I committed to Kansas and I told him Coach Miles. He's a great player. He’s big and tall. I had more sacks because our scheme we focused on blocking him.”

There were several teams this year who focused on slowing Dunn down, but he still turned in good numbers through eight games. He has 41 tackles, five sacks and eight tackles for a loss.

“Everybody told me I played good,” Dunn said. “I feel like it wasn't there completely because I wanted way more stats. I feel I could have had more but teams ran away from me and double and triple-teamed me. So, it was kind of hard, but I made the best out of it.”

During the season Dunn stayed in constant contact with the Kansas coaches and support staff. They talked with him about his academic progress and he has several talks with Drake and Emmett Jones.

“Me and Drake, we have a strong bond already,” Dunn said. “He is going to be able to keep me right. I do stay focused, listen to him and Coach Jones. I’ve known Coach Jones for a long time, and he is the one who started recruiting me and knew about me.”

When Dunn reports to campus in the summer he will have the size and strength to be a candidate for playing time. He’s benching over 400 pounds and squats over 500 to along with his athletic ability.

He said there were schools reaching out to him to gauge his interest after he committed to Kansas. He heard from coaches at Virginia, SMU, and others. But he stayed true to his word and signed with the Jayhawks.

“It feels amazing man (to sign),” he said. “A lot of other kids don't get this opportunity. I'm blessed to have the opportunity. I got to make the best of it. Once I go to the next level, I’ve got to keep grinding and keep fighting to get to the next level above that.”