97 Days Until Kansas Football: Recapping the 2022 Recruiting Class

Looking at the class of high school and community college recruits signed by the Kansas Jayhawks for the 2022 season.

If the only thing you looked for when evaluating recruiting was the rankings, you might be very disappointed as a Kansas fan. The Jayhawks ended up with the 70th ranked class according to 247 Sports, and the 119th class in the 247 Composite ranking. 

I have two big issues with the the ranking systems used to evaluate recruiting classes. The first is a pretty big one: that the ranking system is additive. By that, I mean that players are each given a rating, and the ratings of players are added together to get a total score for the class. The result is that recruiting classes with more players are automatically at an advantage to smaller recruiting classes. This can lead to some pretty unintuitive results, especially as more teams look to the transfer portal to fill holes in their roster.

And that leads into the second problem, that recruiting rankings only include players new to D1 football (i.e. high school and community college players). While that evaluation system made sense when transfers numbers were small, the absolute explosion of the transfer portal means that teams that use it heavily are at an automatic disadvantage in the traditional rankings. Kansas found themselves in that situation this year,  as they only have 9 signees and commits in their 2022 class.

Contents

1. Ethan Vasko, QB
2. James Livingston, OL
3. Joey Baker, OL
4. Mason Ellis, ATH
5. Tevita Noa, TE
6. Brian Dilworth, CB
7. Kaleb Purdy, S
8. Jalen Dye, S
9. Davion Westmoreland, DE

We'll take a look at the transfer class that Kansas signed on tomorrow's entry into the countdown. Today, we start by recapping the players committed as part of the 2022 recruiting class. We'll look at each player individually and then wrap up with overall thoughts on the class.

Ethan Vasko, QB

A 6'3" 180lb dual threat quarterback out of Oscar Smith HS in Chesapeake, VA, Vasko is expected to have time to develop behind both Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean. Rated a 3-star recruit, he ranked 43rd overall in the state of VA and 97th nationally at the QB position. 

He led his high school team to back to back state championships and broke the Virginia High school record by throwing for 10 touchdowns in a single game. He picked the Jayhawks over offers from Buffalo, Old Dominion and Connecticut.

James Livingston, OL

A 6'7", 282lb lineman out of Dexter HS in Dexter, MI, Livingston is expected to compete for a spot in the Kansas offensive line rotation this season. 

He was named to the first-team all-state in Division 2 as a senior. Rated a 3-star recruit, he ranked 33rd overall in the state and 122nd nationally as an OL in the 247Sports Composite rankings. He picked the Jayhawks over offers from Marshall, Akron, Arizona State and Bowling Green.

Joey Baker, OL

A 6'4" 260lb lineman out of Southlake Carroll HS in Southlake, TX, Baker committed to the Jayhawks over an offer from Colorado State. 

He is a consensus 3-star recruit who helped lead his team to a 14-1 record and an appearance in the Texas 6A D1 State semis. He will add depth to an offensive line group that can use a boost, especially in the running game.

Mason Ellis, ATH

The 6'2" 188lb freshman out of Mulvane HS in Mulvane, KS is listed on the roster as a safety, but played on both offense and defense in high school. It's difficult to determine exactly where he will slot in for the Jayhawks, as they have added a lot of players in the defensive secondary and the coaches have shown a willingness to get creative on offense.

Ellis is the 14th ranked athlete in the state, and picked the Jayhawks over North Dakota State, New Mexico State and South Dakota State.

Tevita Noa, TE

A 6'3" 250lb tight end out of Snow College in Ephraim, UT, Noa adds depth at a position that lacked it last season. During the Spring 2021 season, Noa caught nine passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns, showing some explosive play ability that should give him an opportunity to earn some playing time.

Noa was previously committed to TCU, but switched to the Jayhawks over the Horned Frogs and UAB.

Brian Dilworth, CB

A 5'10" 175lb cornerback out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep HS is Hollywood, FL, Dilworth picked the Jayhawks over a huge collection of offers, including Auburn, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Penn State and UCF (among others).

As a junior, he recorded seven interceptions and two pass breakups. He was a three-sport athlete in high school, also playing volleyball and basketball. He is expected to compete for immediate playing time.

Kaleb Purdy, S

A 5'10" 170lb safety out of DeSmet HS in Saint Louis, MO, Purdy comes into the season with some high expectations. Picking the Jayhawks over offers from Missouri, Kansas State, Michigan and Iowa State, he is expected to see the field immediately.

Rated a consensus 3-star recruit, he posted 50+ tackles and 3 interceptions in each of his junior and senior seasons. He ranked 18th overall in the state and 71st at his position in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Jalen Dye, S

A 6'0" 185lb safety out of Palomar College in San Marcos, CA, Dye adds depth in the defensive secondary. With so many new players vying for a role alongside and behind Kenny Logan, it's hard to know exactly who is going to earn significant playing time.

He had 52 tackles, 4 interceptions and 4 pass breakups in the 11 games he played last season. He spent time at both the safety and cornerback position, increasing the options to earn playing time this season. He committed to the Jayhawks over offers from Colorado State and UNLV.

Davion Westmoreland, DE

A 6'3", 240lb defensive end out of Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, KS, Westmoreland has a good opportunity to contribute in year one with the Jayhawks. He committed in early May, after the conclusion of spring practices and after the coaching staff indicated they were looking for more options on defense.