Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football Adds Bai Jobe, Former 4-Star Michigan State Defensive End Transfer

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's bonus Locked on Jayhawks, Kansas has a new football commit from the transfer portal by Jobe, a former top 100 recruit coming in on the defensive line. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Derek Johnson. You can find me on Twitter at DJohnsonRadio. You can find our show here with Locked On Jayhawks anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page.

Starting point is 00:00:34 Thanks for making LOJ your first listen every day. Take it every day or tune in to each and every episode, having some transfer portal deep dives on some KU basketball targets. We'll get back to that later in the week. We have a Nick Schwert episode coming up tomorrow, so you're going to want to check that out, talking about eight starters for KU and what that means from Bill Self. But on this bonus episode of the show, we're talking by Job,

Starting point is 00:00:53 which is a great name to begin with. He's a transfer, and he has picked Kansas out of the transfer portal. So we're going to discuss what happened here, what he brings to the table, info on by Job and his fit with Kansas and what it means for the team and their future. Let's start right there. Kansas got a commitment earlier today, which is Tuesday, after he had recently visited Kansas. And then after the Kansas visit, he also visited Starkville with Mississippi State, which I guess kind of seemed like those were the two finalists and who he was picking from. I don't know if there were other schools that kind of tried to get involved or that offered or whatever. Obviously, you would expect that to be the case, but maybe those were the two ones that he was most serious about. I think he had some sort of tie with Mississippi

Starting point is 00:01:35 State, but this is a huge get for Kansas to get him. They had a limited amount of scholarships available after the players that left after spring ball, And then they'd already landed Michigan offensive lineman, Emil Herring, which check out that episode. If you missed it talking about, you know, what he brings to the table as a former four-star recruit coming in on the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:01:53 And now you're adding in a former four-star recruit on the defensive line in defensive end by Joe, which again, great names. There's so much you could do with, with the Job. There's so much you can do with, with the Job. There's so much you can do with, with the first name being by, I mean, the, the memes alone, people are going to be able

Starting point is 00:02:08 to tweet out are absolutely fantastic. But yeah, I mean, we, we just got around, what is it? May 4th is may the 4th be with you. Obey one or O by one. Could Jobi, I think is what I tweeted out. Yeah. Let's go with it. That was probably super cringe to listen to, but I apologize. I actually know, you know, I don't apologize anyway. There's going to be a lot of fun to be had. And in the case of Job, he was a former top 100 prospect just a year ago. This kid was super high ceiling, super high potential. It is clear that the athleticism and that ceiling and that future just got a

Starting point is 00:02:43 lot better for Kansas football and on that defense. How much is he going to impact right away? How much is he going to impact in the future? What does he bring to the table? Let's tell you a little bit more about Job in just a second and what KU is adding on Locked on Jayhawks. All right, game off. We got to pause here to talk about Monopoly Go.

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Starting point is 00:03:49 Game on. Continuing on, ByJobe commits to Kansas transfer from Michigan State. He is a 6'4", 235-pound defensive end, although he was listed at 235, I um at one point I think at 1.2 once I'd had him at like 215 225 coming out of high school and I saw 235 I think his uh playing profile at Michigan State said 245 you never really know sometimes those things fudge the number so I don't know this guy is 200 and something pounds that maybe ends with a five I I don't entirely know and that is kind of a big number to be at because uh obviously

Starting point is 00:04:26 you want somebody who like that's going to kind of be the knock against like Deshaun Warner he's going to have all the skill in the world and all of the potential in the world but how ready is he going to be body wise I think Austin Booker played at like 245 Dean Miller somebody who could certainly get a lot of snaps for you this year like he's lighter on weight so that's going to be a question here how much is Joe Bway can he get up to 250 is he at 245 like that's at least doable 235 probably at least doable here for Kansas or is he closer to like 225 I don't know but originally from Norman Oklahoma where he was a four-star recruit out of high school he was the number one player in the state of Oklahoma on 24-7 sports where he was also listed as the number 55 overall player in the

Starting point is 00:05:05 country and the number seven edge in the country. He then attended Michigan State for a year. I mean, he had offers from everybody, Alabama, Georgia, like your who's who. And he played in one game at Michigan State. He ended up logging two tackles in that one game in what was a 41-7 loss to Washington. And then he preserved his redshirt the rest of the way, which means that he'll be a redshirt freshman come 2024 with four years left to play. Though, honestly, if you live up to the hype of being a former top 60 overall prospect, if you have a dominant season as a redshirt sophomore

Starting point is 00:05:39 in just two years or as a redshirt junior in three years, you can go off to the NFL draft after that, which honestly, Kansas would probably take that tradeoff. If you're saying you get two great years or three great years out of by Job or one or two great years at the back end out of by Job, it's obviously very much worth it there. 24-7 sports gave him a transfer portal grade of a 90,

Starting point is 00:05:59 which ties him for the best with Logan Brown for highest transfer portal grade in the Lance Leipold era at Kansas. Now that said, Dylan Brooks, who plays the same position, was an 89 a season ago, and Dylan Brooks didn't really have a big impact on last year's team, played a little bit more in the bowl game, but wasn't really part of the rotation consistently. And that was mostly based on potential because he was a former four-star prospect, but it wasn't necessarily based on what are you going to bring right away. And those are different things. If you're talking about

Starting point is 00:06:29 what would his rating be if you're just talking about impact in 2024 versus ceiling and long-term impact, different questions, right? Dylan Brooks could eventually be a stud, but he wasn't ready right away last year. Same with By Jobe. By Jobe could end up being, I don't know, a second round draft pick in the NFL if he hits in a couple of years. But what if you're not getting that production until 2025 or 2026? And that doesn't mean, you know, like that would still be a good thing for KU. But also they do have a real need this year right away at that position. So it'll be curious to know, you know, where exactly that would lie if you're talking about

Starting point is 00:07:04 right now. Here are a couple quotes from his scouting reports, one from On3 and one from 24-7 Sports. This from On3, it says, By Job moved to the United States in 2018 from his homeland of Senegal with dreams of playing in the NBA. However, the coaching staff at Norman Community Christian convinced him to give football a try. Good call there. It was a test Joe passed to Flying Colors. As a junior, he racked up 16 and a half sacks and led the team to a 9-3 record.

Starting point is 00:07:32 And their head coach, Matt McIntosh, said, we lined him up at defensive end and told him to just chase the ball. And he said that he learned a lot about football by just watching YouTube videos. So, I mean, you're talking about a guy who has like 10-inch hands, has like 34-inch arms, obviously has more on his frame that he could add possibly. But like this is the type of story of a guy that you hear like going in the first or second round in the NFL draft, and they're like, yeah, he didn't really play football much, but he's got an insane frame.

Starting point is 00:07:59 And then he broke out one year of college, and now he's a second-round pick because this team is buying what they can do to add to him a little bit more. But here's some on his 24-7 sports scouting report. Very smooth and fluid moving player with good coordination and change of directions. Solid with his hands and punch that will improve with added power and technique work. He's active getting off blocks, playing with very good effort and urgency.

Starting point is 00:08:20 So high motor, got a great frame, just looking to add more weight to him, which you trust Matt Gildersleeve to do because he's excellent at doing just that. And very athletic player, right? It's only a matter of when, not if it seems like with Jobe. And you could make the case now that between having Jobe and Deshaun Warner, who is your top recruit in this past class, and having Dak Brinkley, who was your second best recruit in this class, and still having the future years of Dylan Brooks ahead of you. Like defensive end is probably KU's best position come 2025 and 2026. Still have questions, though, for 2024.

Starting point is 00:08:57 Let's talk about those, what it means for KU, both in the now and the future on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. First, this episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. It's winner-take-all time in the NBA and NHL, and FanDuel's giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own. You can also bet on golf or anything else going on right now, as long as you can find the odds on FanDuel. It is a gigantic library of what you can bet on.

Starting point is 00:09:22 Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 bet. That's $150 to bet on spreads, money lines, player props, and more. You can visit Fanduel.com slash locked on and make every playoff shot count. Fanduel, America's number one sportsbook. So how does By Joe fit in for KU? what does it mean for the jayhawks well i do believe from a scholarship perspective ku is full up at this point at least that seems to be the talk and therefore the off-season search would be over but i don't know maybe you can make something happen maybe you can free one up one way or another he now gives ku more depth at the defensive end spot

Starting point is 00:10:04 which they certainly needed more of between just A, not having the bodies, B, injuries, and C, just trying to get better there. And if he can hit the ground running, I mean, he could possibly be a starter as soon as this year, kind of that weak side defensive end spot where you have Jeremy Robinson and Dylan Wootke feel like they're locking down the strong defensive end spot.

Starting point is 00:10:24 But the weak side spot, Dylan Brooks might've been a starter, but he suffered an injury. Dean Miller might be a starter, but is he ready? Is By Jobe going to be ready? What about your two freshmen who are very talented in Deshaun Warner and Dak Brinkley? Could they start right away, or are they going to have Big 12-ready bodies right away? Because that's something that you really have to work on over the course of time. You know, certainly we are waiting more news on kind of the Dylan Brooks injury. And that plays a huge role, I would say, in really all of this, because if Dylan Brooks would have been healthy through spring ball, he would have been the odds on favorite to

Starting point is 00:11:00 be the star. And so we know he's injured, but we don't know the severity. Is it something where Dylan Brooks is like out for the season? Is he going to be back fully healthy by the fall? Is it just going to be part of the season? We don't know yet. And then from there, the competition seems to be between for that week defensive end spot, a weak side, Dean Miller, the two incoming freshmen and Brinkley and Warner, and now Job, who kind of goes in line with those freshmen, because he'll be a redshirt freshman. And I will say this as much as there is a worry about holding up in the Big 12 competition

Starting point is 00:11:28 and their bodies maybe not being fully ready to what you'd want. I remember I brought this up, I think a week or two ago, about a kid that I think was committed to Kansas, ended up decommitting or whatever and picked TCU. And with somebody who was like a three-star but may have ended up a four-star recruit, like he was rising up boards. Kari Coleman was the name. And he was like 6'2", 215, 220 pounds. But he hit the ground running right away at TCU.

Starting point is 00:11:57 His true freshman season, he had 15 tackles for loss and three sacks. So like it's not unthinkable that even at a lighter weight, you could still make an impact. Maybe it limits some of your impact in the run game in certain areas, but like, it's not that unthinkable. So that does apply for Job. That does apply for Miller, applies for Brinkley, it applies for Warner and all these guys who maybe are still trying to get their weight up.

Starting point is 00:12:14 And it also has to help that like Austin Booker played at a bit of a lower weight. Again, I think he was listed at like 245, but I don't know. What did he actually measure at the combine? And that's honestly a perfect example of you know like some of these like every college across the country does it so I'm not just trying to like single out like everybody does it but like I don't know I think he measured more closer to like 240 or something like that at the comment anyway it doesn't matter um the real question

Starting point is 00:12:41 though with Job is is what is the impact because it feels like there's going to be a real impact, but is the real impact coming in 2025 and 2026? And that could be very scary for KU opponents with those pass rushers that you possibly have. But what does it look like for this year? When you look at the advantages all these guys have in this competition, Dean Miller has the most experience in the program. Dak Brinkley joined the roster,

Starting point is 00:13:06 even though I think he was dealing with some injuries, in spring ball. So he has a leg up on Jobe and Deshaun Warner there in terms of maybe getting to know the playbook and all that sort of stuff. Then you're talking about with Warner or Jobe, maybe one of the two is the most talented. Maybe Warner is the most talented and ready right away. Maybe Jobe is the highest ceiling overall I think there's going to be a fun competition overall I think all of them probably

Starting point is 00:13:29 play snaps and rotate who's going to be the starter I have no idea probably would be a good sign if by Job is starting in terms of if he earned the position because the potential and the ceiling is really there and if he can hit that potential right away in year one it only adds to the fact that Kansas can be a big 12 title contender this upcoming season. If not, then it helps you weather the storm a little bit more, but it feels like you're trying to really capitalize on this season in 2024 because you're going to lose a lot at the end of the year. Certainly having all these good DNs in 2025 will help you transition

Starting point is 00:13:57 to that next run when you hope to be really good again and help make that transition a little bit better, but you want it to hit right away too. That's going to do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. Back tomorrow with Nick Schwert.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football Adds Bai Jobe, Former 4-Star Michigan State Defensive End Transfer

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