Staying Home: Deck’s Top Ten Favorite Kansas Signees

We are four sleeps away from publishing the next round of updated player rankings for the Class of 2024 in Kansas.   The athletes featured in this report were all freshmen when the Prep Redzone site in Kansas was launched before the 2020 prep season.   A couple of them are relatively new to the rankings, while others are stalwarts. What they all have in common is that they are Kansas athletes who are staying in Kansas to play for Sunflower State college programs.   As a lifelong Kansan who graduated from Smoky Valley High School, Pittsburg State University, and Emporia State University, I get especially excited about the opportunity to see these 10 Kansas athletes play games on Saturday in their home state for years to come.   These are not the ten highest-ranked players in Kansas, I am not even going to share with you where they are ranked (come back on March 5, to see their updated rankings). They are however my "PERSONAL" favorite top 10 signings by Kansas programs.   [player_tooltip player_id='335818' first='Kaedin' last='Massey'], OL, 6'8”, 280, Lyndon (Kansas State)   This signing hits close to home because it shows student-athletes at small schools across the Sunflower State that you can get noticed playing the 8-Man game. I played eight-man football in junior high, coached eight-man football, and worked as a substitute teacher in Lyndon. Seeing a Big 12 program snag a small-town stud gives me warm fuzzies. There is nothing warm and fuzzy about Massey's game. He is a bulldozing lineman who can dominate a contest.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103612' first='Declan' last='Battle'], QB, 5'11”, 185, Louisburg (Washburn)   The Ichabods have signed a deep and talented group of players from Kansas from the Class of 2024. Battle is the Washburn signing that's most exciting for me. Battle is an example of how social media can help you get recruited. He was relentless in updating his X followers with results in stats. Battle is a dual-threat quarterback who can hurt defenses with his throwing arm and legs. He will be playing less than two miles from me, so even though I did not make it to a Louisburg game last fall I hope to catch him playing at Yager Stadium.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103579' first='J.' last='Brooks Kapplemann'], QB, 6'2”, 200, Liberal (Garden City CC)   Liberal is not a program that I would normally get a chance to see since it is a 350-mile-plus trip from Topeka to the home of the International Pancake Race. However, the Redskins traveled to Topeka last fall and I got to watch Kapplemann's skills in person. He accounted for over 3,000 total yards during his senior season. I project that he will post solid numbers at Garden City Community College and then I hope he signs with one of the four Kansas Division II programs in Kansas.   [player_tooltip player_id='676188' first='Zayden' last='Martinez'], WR, 6'3”, 205, Liberal (Kansas State)   Kapplemann's favorite target was Martinez. The tall route runner made 53 receptions and gained 1,149 yards as a senior for Liberal. Martinez is headed to Kansas State. The Wildcats continue a tradition of plucking up talent from western Kansas. Perhaps one day Kapplemann and Martinez will partner up again, but this time in Purple and White.   [player_tooltip player_id='826184' first='Myles' last='Ewell'], OL, 6'7”, 285, Blue Valley West (Kansas)   Now just to be clear I have never had any skin in the Kansas-Kansas State feud. Growing up I was a Michigan fan, and I attended college at Division II schools, which for years was the one level of college football that had a real playoff system in place. However, since I picked two KSU signees, I thought it was appropriate to include a Jayhawk signee. Ewell is a monster of a man who has the size and speed to be a possible NFL draft pick when all is said and done. If so he would join the likes of former Jayhawk big men Gilbert Brown and Dana Stubblefield.   [player_tooltip player_id='543068' first='Isaiah' last='Holthaus'], ATH, 6'3”, 195, Tonganoxie (Fort Hays State)   This past fall while scouting I was also freelancing as a sports writer for the Leavenworth Times. I covered multiple schools in that position and three players stood out at those schools. The first was Chieftain Holthaus who can play wideout, tight end, or linebacker for Chris Brown's Tigers. He works hard off the field and is a leader on the field. Multiple college coaches shared with me how much they were interested in the Tonganoxie prospect. I will be circling the date on the calendar for the next four years when Washburn and Fort Hays face off.   [player_tooltip player_id='1078257' first='Sam' last='Boetcher'], RB, 5'10”, 180, Basehor-Linwood (Baker)   The second athlete I saw play multiple times last fall was Basehor-Linwood's Boetcher. He is a grind-it-out running back whose recruiting stock saw a meteoric rise during a 2023 season in which the Bobcats struggled with injuries. He finished with 1,042 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior. He is headed to a program that I have a ton of respect for in Baldwin. I also know that he appreciated the exposure he received at Prep Redzone which is evidence of its growing impact.   [player_tooltip player_id='1103590' first='Kaleb' last='Scott'], ATH, 6'0”, 180, Basehor-Linwood (Hutchinson CC)   The third and final player I probably would not have seen in person without my writing duties is Scott. The Bobcat product is a dangerous skills man who can play defensive back, wide receiver, or as a punt and kick returner. Scott will be playing for the defending Jayhawk Conference Champion Hutchinson Blue Dragons. Just like I stated with Kapplemann, there is no doubt in my mind that Scott will end up a four-year program. While I would like to think it will be with an instate school, after two years it would not surprise me at all if Scott ends up at a SEC school.   [player_tooltip player_id='81142' first='Cale' last='Milleson'], LB, 5'11”, 190, Wichita Heights (Friends)   Never in my mind did I ever think I would write about an athlete whose father I went to high school with. However, that's the case with Milleson. Milleson was a transfer from Emporia, whom I scouted at a Pittsburg State Camp last summer, and then saw again in the Falcon's pre-season jamboree. His father and I attended high school together so it was just personally surreal to see him play and watch him grow. Friends is getting a tough-nosed linebacker who is not afraid to stick his nose into the middle of plays.   [player_tooltip player_id='1181060' first='Kobe' last='Huggins'], DL 6'7”, 260, Circle (Butler CC)   My most memorable scouting experience last year was scouting a small group of linemen at the Butler CC Trench Warfare Camp. Not only did I get to scout them, but I had the chance to participate in film sessions and on-field drills with the athletes. One of the athletes who attended that event and then parlayed that experience into a college offer was Circle's Huggins. This young man is huge and very coachable. I remember getting on him about lowering his hips and helping the Butler staff with his footwork. It was a special time that made me miss coaching. If Huggins continues to be coachable and adds some upper-body strength, he could end up in the NFL like fellow Butler Alumni Demarcus Lawrence and Michael Gallup.

We are four sleeps away from publishing the next round of updated player rankings for the Class of 2024 in Kansas.