Deck's Deep Dive: The 2029 Kansas Pipeline

Not to go down the rabbit hole, but the world of college and high school football has been turned upside down with NIL Money and the Transfer Portal.   Expectations of players, coaches, parents, alumni, and college fan bases have all increased, and not always for the best.   I recently traveled through Kansas and met with football coaches at four junior college programs. I watched practice, talked about the recruiting process, shared names, and reached out to high school coaches afterward.   A few quick observations from this trip:   1) There are schools still looking to fill out their Class of 2025 Recruiting Classes. If you are an unsigned senior, there are still opportunities out there.   2) It doesn't matter what level of college football you are playing; they all practice hard and work their tails off to get better.   3) The sport is becoming more about money and opportunity than ever before. When you have college players making over $6 million in NIL money, teams and athletes are going to begin the recruiting process earlier and earlier and with high expectations, many of which are unrealistic. We have already seen an alarming number of kids hitting the portal after one season. Patience has begun to run out, and loyalty has become a nasty four-letter word. Some free advice from a well-seasoned professional: "The grass isn't always greener, and a turf field is still a turf field."   4) Networking and utilizing social media are as important as ever. Yesterday, when a college coach informed me he needed offensive linemen from Kansas, an entire chain of phone calls and emails began. Prep Network scouts don't get paid to talk with coaches and advocate for talent, but we still do it. So it's key to understand that I only give out the names I know, which for the most part are players I have seen compete, players with public statistics, athletes with plenty of accessible film and social media accounts, and athletes from programs that have a working relationship with me. If athletes don't sell themselves, no one else can sell for you!   The next two months, for me, are lockdown months.   I will be working on updating rankings for three Kansas websites and will hold up in my basement with my computer for hours doing administrative work to help Kansas athletes gain exposure. While I won't travel much in April and May, I will be filling up my June and July schedules with visits to camps and combines for all three sports.   Here are two football combines, I have already committed to attending: Baker Univesity's Recruitment Combine on June 3, and Hutchinson Community College's Championship OL Camp and Clinic on June 9.   One of the projects I will be working on is putting together the initial rankings for the Kansas Class of 2029. That was not a typo; yes, the Class of 2029. Right now, I have over 30 Kansas prospects in that class included and am shooting for 50 to 100 before making the rankings public. As stated in this report, it's not too early for these athletes to get their names out there to be noticed. We have Kansas Athletes in the Class of 2028 who have already received multiple Division I offers.   Here is a look at five athletes who will be in those rankings.   Athletes are encouraged to reach out to me. They can also create profiles or claim scout-created profiles by using this link.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-prep-redzone wp-block-embed-prep-redzone"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://prepredzone.com/prospect-index/#claim-profile-anchor </div></figure>    Lewandowski has been aggressive in getting his name recognized. He is a multi-sport prospect who has been recognized as a Westling All-American and as a Junior Olympian. He plans to attend Blue Valley High School. He can play running back or linebacker and recently competed in the NFL Player's Association 7v7 tournament in Tampa, Florida.     He is a quick quarterback set to be a future dual-threat. He is another multi-sport talent who plays basketball and competes in track and field. All athletes need to keep in mind that once they are in the rankings, they will stay in the rankings. So if Sedalcek decides down the road that basketball or track and field is where his college future lies, he should let us know, and we will add that to his profile, but he and others won't be removed from the rankings if they play a different sport in college.     Valencia plays 7v7 with the Kansas Colts. He plans to attend Holcomb High School. He has already been clocked in the 40 at 4.9 seconds. At a smaller school like Holcomb, he could see varsity time this fall as a freshman. I've said this until I am blue in the face, but small school prospects benefit the most from the early exposure in our rankings. They often get a chance to show off their skills earlier than, say an incoming freshman in a Class 6A or 5A program.     Klanderman is one of few members of the Class of 2029 who already has a HUDL account with available film. This young man has a huge arm and is already working with a former college quarterback to hone his throwing skills. Manhattan is a program that historically has cultivated college talent, and Klanderman could be one of those talents in the Indian's pipeline.     Thomas has jumpstarted his career with an impressive and well-organized X account. He has posted on the important pertinent information on his page and has plenty of film from his Eighth-Grade Season and from 7v7 action. He was a key factor in an undefeated season last fall for Blue Valley Middle School. He appears to be another athlete who can beat teams with his speed and pass catching ability.

Not to go down the rabbit hole, but the world of college and high school football has been turned upside down with NIL Money and the Transfer Portal.