Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football BEEFS UP the Line: 4-Star OL Kaden Snyder & 3-Star DL Landen Anderson to KU

Starting point is 00:00:00 Is Lance Leipold addicted to dominating the in-state recruiting trail? We discuss four-star Caden Snyder, only three-star Landon Anderson commits to KU on this bonus episode of Locked on Jayhawks. 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 here at D. Johnson Radio on Twitter. This is Locked On Jayhawks, and thank you for making it your first listen every day. Thank you to the everydayers out there.

Starting point is 00:00:34 No matter how you catch in the show, whether it's on our YouTube page, where you can like and subscribe, or anywhere that you get your podcasts on the audio side, we're going to be breaking down KU football's two latest commits on this bonus episode of the show. Caden Snyder, a four-star offensive lineman and a defensive lineman. Landon Anderson is KU football really beefing up the line of scrimmage, the guys in the trenches in that class of 2026, which continues to roll, which continues to look really good for KU.

Starting point is 00:01:02 So we'll get into that. We'll get into a little bit of scouting reports on both players, what they bring to the table, and also a little bit on the future offensive and defensive line rooms for KU football. So let's start with Caden Snyder. He is the four-star recruit in the state of Kansas, and he's from Salina, Kansas. He was a top two player currently ranked in the state of Kansas committed to Kansas Lance Leipold both these kids in class of 2026 the offer list for Caden Snyder included Arkansas Kansas State Duke Wisconsin and I mean it's a big deal anytime kids football's landing a four-star recruit and that is exactly what this is and it continues to keep things rolling on the Kansas side of things. Snyder is the sixth in-state recruit for KU, and of the 11 top-ranked players on 24-7 sports in the state of Kansas,

Starting point is 00:01:58 Kansas now has the Jayhawks, now have six of them committed to the school. So it is an unbelievable run that Lance Leipold and company are on in-state recruiting at this point in time. And Snyder also, he is the highest rated recruit for KU on 24-7 in sports. So you added your highest rated recruit. And he is your second offensive lineman after you just added one over the weekend. Now when you look at the other side of the ball, Landon Anderson, he's a three-star defensive lineman from edmond oklahoma he uh picked ku over offers from iowa state oklahoma state and unlv so you know a couple other uh big 12 schools in there and then a good group of five school and in the case of anderson

Starting point is 00:02:38 when you add him on to snyder you're talking about ku now having nine commits in the class of 2026 for the Jayhawks. And for Anderson, he becomes the fifth defensive player in the class, as well as the first defensive lineman. So you're looking to always add really to the trenches each and every year in each and every recruiting class with the amount of guys you play at each position and rotate in. And because you always want to have depth there there because those are key positions to have depth and uh he gets their first defensive lineman and uh local kid and kate and snyder landon anderson not local kid because he's from oklahoma but it's local ish right he's he's still within the same distance ish um and honestly like the the distances between you know to edmond oklahoma to Lawrence versus Lawrence to Salina, like is not that, it was not that much further. So interesting there. Let's get into a little

Starting point is 00:03:30 bit though on what Snyder and Anderson specifically bring to the table. This is Locked on Jayhawks. Our episode of the show is brought to you by TurboTax. Taxes was waiting and wondering and worrying if you were going to get any money back and then waiting wondering and worrying some more now taxes is matching with a turbo tax expert who can do your taxes as soon as today an expert who gives your taxes their undivided attention as they work on your return while you get real-time updates on their progress so you can focus on your day an expert who will find you every deduction possible and file every form, every investment, every within the 100% accuracy. Also, you can get the most money back guaranteed. No waiting, no wondering, no worries.

Starting point is 00:04:11 Now this is taxes. Get an expert now on TurboTax.com. Only available with TurboTax Live Full Service. Real-time updates only in iOS mobile apps. See guaranteed details at TurboTax.com backslash guarantees. Continuing on with this bonus episode of the show, don't forget to check out our KU UCF preview for today with Locked on Jayhawks. All right, Caden Snyder, the four-star recruit for KU,

Starting point is 00:04:36 6'5", 265-pound offensive lineman, plays at Salina Central High School in Salina, Kansas, and 24-7 sports has him graded as a 94-star. He is the number two player in the class right now. He is a top 250 nationally ranked player overall, and he is a top 25 player as an offensive tackle. You look at on three, it has him as about an 87.7 graded three-star. And overall in the 24-7 composite, Snyder is a four-star that is top 400 nationally.

Starting point is 00:05:06 So, I mean, this is a very big deal to land him and very high-level recruit that you're bringing in that any school would be happy to bring in. And in watching the highlights, this dude absolutely pancakes other players. I mean, obviously, you would expect that to be the case, but he's driving them off the ball with ease. Obviously, it'll be a tougher to higher level once he gets to Kansas and in the Big 12, but he also can add a lot of weight to that frame, right? You're standing at 6'5". If he's showing this much strength now, what kind of strength is he going to have

Starting point is 00:05:34 if you do add that weight to him where he is closer to 300 pounds? And that said, it is a lot of weight to add, right? If you're talking about somebody who's 260, 265, this isn't as easy as a project of, okay, you're already about somebody who's 260 265 this isn't as as easy as a project of okay you're already 290 can you get 15 more pounds like 40 pounds is a lot of way um the good news is i think the world of matt gildersleeve who's ku strength and conditioning coach and i would fully trust the plan they're going to put on it um that his blend of already power i think hand usage his blend of athleticism right I think hand usage, his blend of athleticism, right?

Starting point is 00:06:06 He's a very athletic offensive lineman. He plays basketball for them, makes him a huge potential player and building block on the offensive line for KU down the road. And when I specifically think of KU's offense, I think of this as like the perfect fit too, not just because Matt Gildersleeve, you trust him to add that weight that's going to be necessary and needed for him to compete at the Big 12 level, but also because

Starting point is 00:06:29 when you think of KU's offense, you think about, you know, the quarterback in the run game, the quarterback rolling out and moving and the pocket moving with him. You think about the wide zone plays for KU where they're stretching to the outside. You think about the linemen pulling and getting out ahead on a screen or whatever it is. There are a lot of ways that KU where they're stretching to the outside. You think about the linemen pulling and getting out ahead on a screen or whatever it is. There are a lot of ways that KU uses their linemen and asks of them to be a more athletic offensive line, right? And when you think about what Snyder is doing right now,

Starting point is 00:06:59 he's doing just that. He's an athletic offensive lineman who can get out. And so I think that makes him a great fit for KU in addition to the the potential that he shows just as an individual player then you look at anderson who uh is the three-star defensive lineman from santa fe high school in edmond oklahoma he's listed at six foot three 275 pounds now he's unrated on the recruiting site so we'll see where he comes in um in terms of those i would imagine he's going to be a future defensive tackle but he has been playing defensive end at the high school level so entirely possible that happens but typically ku's defensive ends are you know the

Starting point is 00:07:35 strong defensive end is maybe closer to 55 260 265 and he's already 275 you're going to add more weight once it comes to ku profiles more being a being a defensive tackle at KU. But the cool thing is if you go and watch his high school tape, when he is playing defensive end, you know, he looks like even a pretty athletic defensive end. Like there's clips of, of him, you know, being in pass coverage, there's clips of him like chasing a running back or receiver who caught a screen pass from behind and catching up to him. He's a very athletic player. He's got like a quick tit, quick twitch. He does he does a good job of kind of jumping inside a gap um and if he's doing that as a defensive end that's going to bode well to his strength or his athleticism at defense tackle right if you're an athletic defensive end you're going to be an even more athletic defensive tackle

Starting point is 00:08:19 i think this is very similar to snyder in that way though you have a very athletic player but you're going to be looking to add more weight to him, right? Because if you are playing defense tackle, you're going to want him to get up to, you know, 290, 295, maybe 300 pounds. And the question will be if you can keep that athleticism and speed and twitch when you are, you know, gaining more weight. But I think there's a way that you trust Matt Gildersleeve to get Caden Snyder to have his best body possible to be the most impactful player that he can and take advantage of his athleticism and natural gifts. I think it's the same thing for Landon Anderson and what you expect Matt Gildersleeve to do. And then you end up with a really athletic defensive tackle in your program down the road. So I really like this one if you're KU. And I think it's something where,

Starting point is 00:09:05 you know, if you're not the Alabamas and the Georgias of the world, where you're landing these kids who are already 6'6", 320 pounds, you do have to get a little bit more creative with your line recruits, right? Because the 6'6", 320 pound kids who are ready to play in year one in college football, they don't grow on trees, right? They don't happen very often. It's, you know, maybe a couple of them every class, and you're not getting those kids. So you have to get players who have good frames that you think can build out, who have good athleticism,

Starting point is 00:09:32 who have good smarts or traits. Whatever it is you're looking for, that you can try to develop the strength and the weight and stuff on your time, but they have the other gifts that you can't necessarily teach. And I think that's kind of the case gifts that you can't necessarily teach and i think that's kind of the case for both these players with snyder and anderson uh by the way uh caden snyder is he related to bill snyder is uh this a huge blow to kansas state we'll discuss that on tomorrow's

Starting point is 00:09:56 episode no i'm just joking i don't think that is the case anyway uh let's talk more about the offensive line and defensive line room for ku this episode of the show is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Super Bowl 59 is here, featuring the Chiefs. Pretty cool. One game, two teams, endless possibilities, and there's no better way to make every play more exciting than with FanDuel Sportsbook. Whether it's predicting the first touchdown, calling the MVP,

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Starting point is 00:11:06 So the future of the offensive line and defense tackle room. So when you look at Snyder coming in, you look at the future of the offensive line room. Obviously, he doesn't join until 2026. If he does profile more to being a tackle based on the 6'5 frame, but I don't think it would shock me either if he was a guard. And if he was a guard, he'd be a heck of a pulling guard with that athleticism. But you look at some of the young players in the tackle room for KU. So Carter Lavruski, just redshirt this year, redshirt freshman.

Starting point is 00:11:32 Haven't heard much about how that's going so far either way. David Abagian, redshirt freshman. He's just coming off an injury. And then you look at a lot of sophomores in the offensive tackle room for KU. Tuigo Lovato, who could end up being a guard. Calvin Clements, James Livingston, those are all redshirt sophomores. And then DeAndre Harper and Jack Tanner

Starting point is 00:11:50 are all true sophomores. So in a perfect world, all these young players are playing well for KU and you don't need to put Snyder on the field for a couple of years down the road. But there is that obvious possibility that Snyder is a Calvin Clemens right he's a four-star recruit that he comes in and it's like okay we need to work on his body year one but

Starting point is 00:12:10 by the end of year one or by the start of year two or spring ball or whatever it's like no we got to put this guy on the two deep and then he is you know getting time by the time he's a year two or year three player at KU because he is seen as that kind of level guy so you look at it certainly competition down the road but and obviously they just landed an offensive lineman as well that could factor in there obviously the guard position maybe there's a little bit more opening right now because you look at it it's like if gorchika which gorchika could be a tackle too but if gorchika is a guard kobe baines dk stearns if he's back um those are all seniors on the roster and you look at the the guard position maybe there's a little less like guys you you circle at and say oh they'll be on the roster

Starting point is 00:12:49 in three years from now right uh becomes a little bit tougher you look at the defensive line spot um and for Landon Anderson he's going to play defensive tackle by the time he joins in 2026 so on this year's team upcoming in 2025 DJ Withersers tommy dunn keenan caldwell gauge keys all four of those guys are redshirt seniors i do think gauge keys might be able to work another year into his career so that one ends up being a tbd but um then you'd be looking at a redshirt junior blake harold redshirt junior marcus calvin and a second year, Josiah Hammond. There's a lot of opening besides that, and KU likes to rotate four, five, six defensive tackles if they can. So you look at it, and you don't see those guys get on the field right away a lot

Starting point is 00:13:34 because you're trying to work on their bodies. But in the case of Blake Harold, he arguably was KU's best defensive tackle this past season and really took off as the season went on, and that was in his second season. So that's kind of the way i look at it here with anderson where it's like you know if you have a good enough first year working on your body and impress the coaching staff by the time you get to a redshirt freshman year and year two you could be part of that too deep you could be you know earn your way into the starting lineup or starting level snaps and i think that is a very real um possibility if you know everything clicks together but you know sometimes it doesn't to the starting lineup or starting level snaps. And I think that is a very real possibility

Starting point is 00:14:05 if everything clicks together, but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it takes guys three or four years, but either way, I love the potential of both these pickups for KU and how they could impact the roster down the road, whether it's 2027, 2028, 2029. It's what you're always building for,

Starting point is 00:14:19 always building for the future while worrying about the now and KU got some good future here. That'll do it for this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. You can find our show anywhere you get your podcasts, including on our YouTube page. Again, don't forget to check out our Kansas UCF preview as well.

Starting point is 00:14:31 See you next time with LOJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football BEEFS UP the Line: 4-Star OL Kaden Snyder & 3-Star DL Landen Anderson to KU

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