Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - HIGH CEILING: Kansas Jayhawks Land Kevin Oatis, an Arkansas Transfer D-Tackle Ready to DOMINATE

Starting point is 00:00:00 It came near the end of the transfer portal editions for KU, but this is one of the highest ceiling editions KU has made. Kevin O'adis, a defensive tackle from Arkansas. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. How's it going, Derek Johnson, with another bonus episode, Locked on Jayhawks, another commit in action. Thank you for making Locked on Jayhawks your first listen every day

Starting point is 00:00:34 and making locked on the number one sports podcast network. On today's episode of the show, Kevin Oatis is the newest member of the Jayhawks out of the transfer portal or break down his game, what it means for KU and where it leaves the defense and the defensive line for the Jayhawks. Let's start right there with the news. Kevin Oatis, he is a recruit who's a basically four-star recruit out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, chose Arkansas out of high school over a long list of some really good schools, some really good SEC. schools and he committed to KU on Monday afternoon. So he was part of the class of 2025, joined Arkansas and took a redshirt this past year.

Starting point is 00:01:15 So he's going to be redshirt freshman in 2026, meaning this is in addition for KU of a former pretty highly recruited player that has potentially up to four years with your program. Now, obviously, as we know in today's day and age with the transfer portal, nothing is guaranteed really beyond the one here that you get somebody. But the idea is that, you know, if you can establish all those good relationships and help develop him and turn him into something, then, you know, you continue to go along with it. And ideally, you could have something for now and in the future.

Starting point is 00:01:49 And I think this gives KU a completed mark on the defensive tackle room, right? Like, I think when you looked at it, they had already brought in some veteran defensive tackles. They had, you know, some guys returning as well. You brought it in a D2 transfer. Maybe you needed somebody who was more of a developmental guy that, you know, could be, you know, maybe not necessarily your starter right away, but could still get some playing time and then could develop into a potential future starter, into a potential future star. And so I think this is one that could potentially help KU this year. But I think mostly is going to be the potential of the long-term play with what you could be getting from Kevin Oatis, who might have as high of a ceiling

Starting point is 00:02:30 as anybody on that defensive line room for KU. And certainly, even knowing that, I don't think you should sleep on them in 2026 either. So let's get into Kevin Oadis' game next on Lockedon Jayhawks. This episode of the show is brought to you by Wayfair. The new year is here, and it's the perfect time to reset your routine and refresh your space. If you're spending more time at home,

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Starting point is 00:03:40 W-A-Y-F-A-I-R-com, Wayfair, Every Style, Every Home. Thanks again for joining us here on Locked on Jayhawks. Check out the Everyday Air Club as well. So Kevin Oatis is the newest member of the Kansas Jayhawks. He's a 6-foot 3-290-pound defensive tackle. Now, that was as a redshirt freshman as Arkansas, and that's one of the cool things here is that they're still going to be probably room to grow. Like, I'd imagine Kansas wants to get him above three bills, right?

Starting point is 00:04:08 He was a four-star recruit over at ESPN, ended on three. ESPN actually had him in the top 200 nationally. 24-7 sports was a little bit lower, but not much lower. It's an 89-rated three-star, which is one away from being a four-star. And overall, on the 24-7 sports composite, which puts all these things together, you're talking about a top 350 recruit in the country who was a four star by the 247 composite. So I think it's okay to call him a four star recruit, right? And basically this is you getting a four star recruit who's had a year of development red shirt at an SEC school.

Starting point is 00:04:47 That can work out for KU. This is a very strong athlete too. Like not, I mean, quite literally, he is very strong, but also he has a level of quickness that I think helped me to him a four star recruit. but like I was looking at his 24-7 sports profile, and I think this kind of sums it up, and it's not even about football. Also does track and field throwing events in powerlifting, Mississippi 6A champ in the shop put as a junior,

Starting point is 00:05:11 also through a personal best in the discus that season, placed second as an 11th grader in the Mississippi 6A powerlifting meet in the 275-pound division posted a 1,410-pound total, 575-pound deadlift, 550-pound,000, squat and 285 pound bench. So this was a kid, and that was as a junior in high school, right? Very strong would be the way of defining Kevin Oatis. And now you're adding a year of development on him.

Starting point is 00:05:40 I guess he had another year of development since then on high school. He had another year of development at Arkansas. Now he'll have, you know, another offseason to develop with Kansas and with Matt Gildersleaf, who's thought of very highly for the work that he does. This is a potentially, you know, game changer, a defensive tackle in the future for you. Now, if you're talking about immediate impact, so in 2025 for Arkansas, he played in four games, which was his max to continue to redshirt, registered two tackles. It's tough to take too much way. It's 31 snaps of action. Like, you know, we're not going to have sweeping conclusions about

Starting point is 00:06:12 his game one way or another based on what we saw in his redshirt season. But I think the recruiting prowess certainly, you know, gives you some promise. I think the offers he had out of high school certainly gives you some promise. And this isn't a situation. of, okay, he left Arkansas because he felt like he was too far down the depth chart. Arkansas's coach got fired, you know? So realistically, he might have been a priority for the new Arkansas coach, for all we know. Like, you know, had the previous Arkansas staff still been there, like, they might have been like, like, this is going to be a dude, you know.

Starting point is 00:06:43 But new coach, coach leaves, you're available and out there in Kansas, this is a big time to get for him, potentially for the long term. And even if it doesn't work out for KU long term, even if it's something where, let's say he transfers again in a year or two and you don't. get to see the fruits of your labor down the road. It's worth the upside swing, especially this late in the game for KU because you are coming down to it. Like you're running out of those scholarship opportunities that you have to give out. So I think this is a smart move for the KU coaching staff.

Starting point is 00:07:12 All right, let's get into what his potential role could be, what that defensive line room looks like for KU because it continues to look like a strength for the Jayhawks. Today's episode of the show is brought to you by game time. There's nothing like the college basketball season. and you get the packed stadiums and arenas, you get the band getting going, the energy going on, especially down in Fieldhouse. But, you know, actually getting tickets,

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Starting point is 00:08:10 Create an account. You just go Locked on College for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, let's go to Locked on College, L-O-C-E-O-N-C-O-E-G-E-E-E-G-E for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. Thanks again for joining us here on Locked-on Jayhawks. Check out our other episodes, breaking down all. all the commits the KU has gotten out of the transfer portal.

Starting point is 00:08:32 We've done all of those. So make sure to check those out as well. And don't forget to check out our KU Iowa State preview also. All right. So Kevin Oatis joins the KU defensive tackle room. And I've mentioned before the defensive line to me feels like the strength of this Kansas team on either side of the ball. When you talk the entire defensive line, you're also adding in Lerah Harris and Dak Brinkley. And I like the David Santiago edition.

Starting point is 00:08:55 And I wouldn't be surprised if like one of Adrian Hawley or Garrett Martin popped this year. But specifically, if you were saying one individual position group, like I wasn't including the entirety line, and I had to narrow it down with defensive ends and defensive tackles, I think defensive tackle might still be the choice because you can make an argument that Blake Harold is the best player on the team. He'll be a redshirt junior. I think Marcus Calvin showed some good flashes last year. He'll be a redshirt junior and he should be in the rotation again this year. He'll be in competition to start with the two newcomers. Trayvon McAlpine and Eam and Smalls, those could not have been cheap additions for KU. They probably had to pay a pretty penny for both of those players. McAlpine will be a redshirt senior. Smalls will be a redshirt junior. And both of those can play nose tackle. Both of those can hold up against the run. Then you took two upside swings with Jibril Conday, the transfer from D2, who will be

Starting point is 00:09:44 Redshirt Jr. And Kevin Oatis, who will be redshirt freshman. And the way I look at it is, you know, if all those guys that we just mentioned are good enough to play, they'll play six defensive tackles. I mean, KU's fifth defensive tackle last year in terms of snaps played, played, played almost 200 snaps. So they will play the guys that they, you know, feel. As of right now, maybe you would view it as, okay, Harold, McAlpine, Smalls, and Calvin are the top four. And then you would say your two upside swings, Condi and Oatis. And maybe if you also wanted to, you know,

Starting point is 00:10:13 throw in there how to Josiah Hammond do in his redshirt year are in competition to compete for that fifth spot. But again, if there's six good ones, they'll play six good ones. But it comes very interesting too because if you heard me going through those different names, like all of them are not seniors except for McAlpine. And so that's the beauty of this too. Again, you don't know what's going to happen with the transfer portal. You just have to operate from one year standpoint. But if we want to add a little hopium into this and we want to get to an idea of, well, this could be fun for a couple years. If you're already viewing it as a strength now and you were theoretically able to retain these guys, you could have Blake Herald for two more years. You could have Emondon

Starting point is 00:10:50 Smalls Marcus Calvin Jibril Condé for two more years. You could have Kevin O.8is for four. and more years. Building a defensive tackle room that couldn't just be good in 2026, but also could be really good in 2027. And you look at the importance of defensive line play, I mean, it can really hold things up for a team and it can be the difference. And I really like how they have approached it. They have different bodies.

Starting point is 00:11:14 They have different types of defense tackles who can do different things. They have some upside swings. They have some now players. This is a really good defensive tackle room for Jim Panagos and the KU defense. I'll know for this episode of Lockdown, Jayhawks. You can find a show anywhere you get your podcast, including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. See you next time with LOJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - HIGH CEILING: Kansas Jayhawks Land Kevin Oatis, an Arkansas Transfer D-Tackle Ready to DOMINATE

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