Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Jayhawks Tack Onto Incredible 2026 Class with 3-Star TE Kevin Sullivan from Rockhurst HS

Episode Date: June 13, 2025

Kansas Jayhawks football lands coveted 2026 tight end Kevin Sullivan, a 3-star prospect from Rockhurst High School in Missouri. Is this the start of KU's best recruiting class in the Lance Leipold era and since at least 2010?Derek Johnson breaks down Sullivan's commitment, highlighting his impressive 6'6" frame and basketball background. The analysis covers KU's evolving 2026 class, with over 70% of commits ranking in the top 1,000 nationally. Key topics include Sullivan's smooth athleticism, strong hands in traffic, and how he fits into the Jayhawks' future tight end room, as well as along Jack Utz, the other class of 2026 TE for the 'Hawks.Will Sullivan's multi-sport skills translate to early playing time at KU? Tune in for expert insights on the challenges facing freshman tight ends and KU's recruiting strategy.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGEfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS when your first FIVE DOLLAR BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

The KU football class of 2026 keeps on rolling. One of the best classes that KU has ever assembled in the 24-7 sports recruiting era and Kevin Sullivan, a tight end from Rockhurst out of Missouri, is the latest entrant for the KU football team. You are Locked On Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. What's going on? Derek Johnson here. This is locked on Jayhawks.

Thanks for making us your first listen every day. Anywhere you get your podcast and or on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. Thank you to the everydayers catching each and every episode of the show, including our bonus episodes where maybe you're doing double duty. Thank it to you. If they're passing a bill where you don't get, you know, taxed on tips and working overtime, I don't know what that means for you for doing overtime for watching the show,

but I think it should mean you should get money. If it was my choice, you would get money for watching the show. So thank you for tuning in anyway that you get your podcasts. And Kevin Sullivan is the newest Jayhawk or at least he's committing to the KU football team and will be a Jayhawk come 2026 with the football team. He's a three star tight end somebody that I really like. After watching his tape, we'll tell you all about where it puts KU in their class their future tight end room, what he brings to the table and more on

this bonus episode of the show. Let's start here though. Kevin Sullivan is a class of 2026 three star tight end from Kansas City and Rockhurst High School. And obviously he is now committed to Lance Leipold and the Kansas Jayhawks for that class of 2026 good offers. The ones that were most I think notable in the end he had offers from other schools as well. But Iowa State, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Arizona State, Arkansas, he ended up with a ton of division one power five or he has power for now. Well,

is it power five pack 12 coming back together, right? Whatever power five offers for Sullivan throughout. And overall now he becomes the 17th commit in the class of 2026 for KU, a class that right now you could make the argument is the best class of the 24 seven sports recruiting era. Now the 24 seven sports recruiting era only goes back to 2010.

So, you know, this doesn't take into account some of the years where you were bringing in, you know, studs like Gail Sayers or some of the classes that maybe you were putting together in the seventies or in, you know, studs like Gail Sayers or some of the classes that maybe you're putting together in the 70s or, or in the early 90s or something like that, right. But if we're just talking about on paper, a 17 commits for KU, this actually ties the most. If it, you know, finalized that way, that the Lance Lightbulb staff

has brought in in a season at KU, right, they've bolstered it with the transfer portal. But you're looking at 12 commits in 22, 14 in 23, 17 in 24, 15 in 25 and 17 this year in 26. But what makes it the best isn't just the quantity, it's the quality of player. So if you go back to 2010 on the 24 seven sports composite, the most top 500 recruits that KU football has ever gotten in one class was four of them.

That was in the class of 2010 under Turner Gill. That was four commits, but are four players in the top 500, but it took five or it took 24 commits to do so. This year they have four out of 17 commits. So an even better percentage. You look at the top 1000 commits right now. This would give Kansas 12 of their 17 commits being top 1000 on the 24 seven sports composite. And right now Sullivan doesn't even have a composite grade. He has a 24 seven grade, but not a composite grade. But he's Kansas right now, the most they've ever had top 1000 commits in since 2010 is 13. That was in 2011 Turner Giller again, that was

a 32 total commitments. So 12 of 17 is a much higher percentage. If we look at the percentage of recruits that are top 1000 recruits on the 24-7 composite, the class of 2024 was about 53%, the class of 2025 was about 53%. This class is right now aiming at 70, 71%, somewhere in that range.

If we look at the composite score, as opposed to just ranking where you are, forget the top 1000, we say a composite score of 0.8600 or higher, the highest that they have done since 2010 is 82% of the class. That was in 2024, was a 0.8600 or higher. Last year was the second best they'd ever done at 73%. In 2023 was the third best they'd ever done at 73%. In 2023 was the third best they'd ever done

at 64%. Well, right now they're at 82.35% the same exact percentage they were at in 2024 when that class finished 41st in the country and had some absolute studs at the top of it like DJ Warner and Dak Brinkley. So this is a very big deal. And they only add to it even more with another good commit and Kevin Sullivan, it gives them two commits from the state of Missouri, two of the top 13 there on 24-7. They also have seven of the top 13 in Kansas.

So really recruiting the local area well is Kansas. And for Sullivan, he becomes the second tight end commit in the class, joining Jack Oots, who was an 86 graded three star by 24-7, who's also from the state of Missouri. So I guess Kansas establishing a tight end pipeline in the state of Missouri. So what a soul of in bringing the table because that next. This episode of the show is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.

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sports betting partner of the NBA and the Lockdown Podcast Network. more with Fandool official sports betting partner of the NBA and the Lockdown podcast network. Thanks for joining us on this bonus episode of Lockdown Jay Hawks. And again, thank you to every dayers catching each and every episode and for you for listening to the show. All right, what does Kevin Sullivan bring to the table? six foot six, 220 pounds is his listing on 24 seven sports, which has him as

the number 10 player in the state of Missouri It has him as the number 54 tight end Nationally, it also grades him. I mentioned OUTS was an 86 rated three-star. He's right around there 87 graded three-star is Sullivan rivals also has him as a 5.6 rated three-star I don't think he has a rating on ESPN which ESPN usually is a little slower to this sort of thing. And I don't know that he has one on it on three either, which I don't know. Anyway, he also is a basketball player at Rockhurst, which I don't know if

he'll play basketball his upcoming season or what, but I don't know, maybe this is just a bias because you think back to some of the great tight ends who play basketball, like Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez and stuff. But like, I just feel like it behooves tight ends to play basketball to some level. I'm not saying they need to play it in college, like Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez and stuff. But like, I just feel like it behooves tight ends to play basketball to some level. I'm not saying they need to play it in college like Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez did,

but like to some level, I do think it helps with, you know, the boxing out and winning jump balls and some of the footwork and the quickness stuff. Like I think a lot of times that can almost cross train you in a real way. So I like the fact that he does that. And there's some fun highlights of him playing basketball too.

He also on the football team, he plays defensive end and he plays on special teams. He really liked to see that. And I think when you watch his highlights, when you watch him on tape, you see the athleticism, you see the fact that he's six six, I don't know that he's the fastest guy in the world. I'm not saying he's, you know, Prime Travis Kelsey, or, I don't know, Kyle Pitts or something like that. But he's a smooth athlete. Like the fact that he you wouldn't necessarily know that he's six six when he

is running like he is smooth. He makes it look easy that he has that sort of frame. I like the aggressiveness that he shows when he plays and the power that he tries to play with. That's something that's only going to get better. I mean, obviously, he's going to be taller than a lot of kids he's playing against in high school, but 220 pounds, he's not necessarily bigger, but he does not shy away from physicality at all. And that'll be something that I imagine when he gets into Kansas strength and conditioning

program with Matt Gilder, sleeve, right, you add, I don't know, 1015 2025 pounds to him, all of a sudden, now that physicality is coming with a little more punch, a little more pop. And that's going to be really fun to watch because you see that aggressiveness, that power, whether it's you know, run after catch fighting for yards, whether it's a his ability, and this is kind of a cross between his strong pass catching ability, and I think his strength and toughness, but

you'll see him a lot of times make a catch where he's about to get hit, and he knows it and he takes a big hit and he holds on to the ball anyway, you love to see that for tight ends who are working over the middle of the field, but you also see that strength and power and willingness to want to get your hat dirty, so to speak, as a blocker. And he has the occasional really big hit, which is fun to watch from the blocking perspective. But again, strong pass catcher seems to be somebody who can adjust to the ball in air seemed like somebody who was able to adjust to the ball for his time behind him or like I said, made catches even through taking a hit you like to see all of those things. I think you're getting even in watching some of

his like highlights where he's playing on defense is a defensive end seems to be a player who's very aware there's a lot of highlights him on the defensive end like getting his hands up in passing lanes knocking out a passer even getting an interception as a defensive end which that tells you he's an aware football player I think overall also shows the length which makes sense because he's six six. And then I mentioned the special teams there's a couple highlights of him blocking kicks this past season and that again shows more of that jump playing athleticism

sort of stuff but it also shows and it shows you you know the physical and the want to and to make an impact on special teams. And that's so important, as if you're looking to get on the field early and you're looking to make an impact as Kansas looks to continue to be better and better on special teams.

Those are things that can help your team win games, even if you're not the starting tight end, you know, in 2026 or 2027, that you can still get on the field and make an impact in other ways. So how does he fit into the future tight end room that next? Thanks for joining us on this bonus episode of locked on Jay Hawks. Again, you can find our show anywhere you get your

podcast and on YouTube. Don't forget to make locked on college football or locked on college basketball your second listen every day. Okay, so Kansas lands a three star tight end in Kevin Sullivan, they now have two tight end commits in the class of 2026. You look at the tight end room for this year, the upcoming fall of 2025 Sean Hanukkah is redshirt senior. So what does that mean? He's gonna graduate at the end of the year Bowden grown, or growing who is the transfer from rice. He's a redshirt senior.

What does that mean? He's gonna graduate at the end of the year late in cure. He is a redshirt senior. What does that mean? He's gonna graduate at the end of the year. Layton Keurer. He is a redshirt senior on his team on on Kansas for the second straight year after coming in for four days state. He's a redshirt senior. So he's gonna graduate too, right? So now, of the six tight ends KU has on the team, and I think five of them are on scholarship. Quentin Conley, I don't think is on scholarship. Maybe he's earned one at this point in time. But Conley would

be come 2026, a redshirt senior. Jayden Ham would be a redshirt junior and Carson Brune would be a redshirt sophomore at that point in time. And to this point in time, like Ham and Brune were both guys that were, you know, Brune was was like the last remnant of the Andy Colvin, the key area or era in terms of recruiting him over, but he clearly had a plan for him. Ham was somebody that people especially because he was a local commit, we're very excited about what he could be and what

he could turn into with KU. I don't know that we've gotten here a lot of those guys and their development and where they're at now. We'll probably find out a lot more about it come 2026 or maybe the lead up to 2026. But in looking at that tight end room, I think a it probably tells you, you know, they're going to add somebody via the transfer portal who can come in and be a little bit more of a for sure thing right away to kind of buoy a group of players who maybe haven't hit

the field as much. But I also look at that and go okay, that does provide an opening for a guy like Kevin Sullivan or Jack Oates, your other tight end in the class to come in and, you know, maybe carve out a role in the early part of their career. It's tough for I think true freshmen tight ends. I don't know that we talk about this position as much as being one that's tough to get on the field as we do with like offensive linemen. But it very much is because the other part of the biggest reason I feel like

offensive linemen don't get on the field as much early is it's the physical game. A lot of times they especially at a school like Kansas whereemen don't get on the field as much early is it's the physical game. A lot of times they especially at a school like Kansas where you're not bringing in the kid who's already 6'6", 330 pounds and chiseled. You might be bringing in kid who's 2'16". You got to add 30 pounds to him or whatever it is, right? You got to get the body right with tight end. Yes, you want to add some of that weight and stuff. But what makes it difficult is that the tight end, like the quarterback, is involved in everything.

They're involved in the passing game They have to know all the the route tree. They have to know all the passing concepts They have to know all the run blocking and the pass cut The the pass blocking concepts they have to know the motion concepts because they they have to know everything like the quarterback So that can make it a bigger adjustment that I almost view this position You know more like that where it's like, okay, assume they're going to maybe red shirt in year one. But I do really like what I saw from Kevin Sullivan that I think he's going to be a stud down the line of Kansas. And when that impact comes, it kind of remains to be seen. Like I said, it can be more of a development with some of these

tight ends. But if you told me he was getting on the field and he was a redshirt freshman, or redshirt sophomore or something that would not surprise me at all. And I think he'll eventually be an impact player for KU. All right, that'll do it for this episode of Lockdown Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere. Get your podcast including on our YouTube page where you can like and subscribe to the show. See you next time for another edition of LOJ.