Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football Lands Commit From 4-Star Malachi Curvey + Transfer Portal Update

Starting point is 00:00:00 On today's Locked on Jayhawks, Kansas lands another four-star recruit for the class of 2025 on the football field. We update the transfer portal, latest visits, offers, and what to come possibly in the rest of the offseason before spring ball for KU football. 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 hear me as well Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. on KLWN in Lawrence with Rock Chalk Sports Talk. Thanks for making Locked On Jayhawks your first listen every day.

Starting point is 00:00:43 You can find us anywhere you get your podcasts. You can also check us out on our YouTube page and like and subscribe to the show. It certainly helps out from our point of things. We're going to be talking KU football's newest commit with Malachi Kirby, who is a 2025 four-star. We're going to talk latest KU football transfer portal update on this episode of the show.

Starting point is 00:01:04 First, we are brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5 Moneyline bet. That's $150 if your team wins. Just visit FanDuel.com to get started. So we'll start with the Malachi-Kirvey commitment for KU, then move to the transfer portal on this episode of the show. So Curvey is a basically all-around athletic player,

Starting point is 00:01:33 someone who, you know, he's already doing really good things at the high school level, but really has an opportunity to do even more at the collegiate level. So this is what he posted on social media, committed to KU on Sunday. It is said often, but I would first like to truly thank God for the position I'm in and the opportunities he's provided for me. I would not have the gifts or guidance that I do

Starting point is 00:01:52 if it wasn't for him. I would also like to thank my entire family and support system with helping me get to where I am through the highs and lows to shape me into the man I'm becoming. I want to thank my parents specifically for sacrificing a lot of time and money into this entire process

Starting point is 00:02:04 while believing in me wholeheartedly. Lastly, I want to thank all coaches and schools sacrificing a lot of time and money into this entire process while believing in me wholeheartedly. Lastly, I want to thank all coaches and schools that have been a part of my recruitment and shown interest in me as a player. With that being said, after lots of conversations, thoughts, and prayer, I would like to verbally commit to the University of Kansas. He had interest from a lot of local schools, Iowa State, Missouri. His dad played defensive line at Iowa State, so he's from Iowa. That certainly was maybe the one to beat, and KU was able to get it done. He is ranked 50th for number 50 athlete in the country by 24-7 sports. They gave him an 87 grade overall. Rivals ranked him as the number 22 tight end, but he's been playing both sides of the ball in Iowa. Some schools are recruiting him as a

Starting point is 00:02:44 tight end. Some schools are recruiting him as a tight end. Some schools are recruiting him as a defensive end. Some schools are recruiting him as a linebacker, which it seems like that would be the case for Kansas. He had a 5.7 grade, which is about a very high-end three-star on rivals. ESPN listed him as the number 31 linebacker in a 79 grade. On three listed him as the number 12 linebacker, a 93 grade, and like a top 100 recruit in the country. And you look at some of the composites,

Starting point is 00:03:08 the 24-7 composite has him as a four-star and 278th nationally. The on three composite has him as a four-star, 248th nationally. Based on some of those different sites, somewhere between 6'3 and 6'4, either way, good length, somewhere between 195 and about 220 pounds. So, you know, obviously somebody, if he is a linebacker, you know, you're maybe looking to add if he is 220, 5, 10 pounds to him. If he has a tight end, maybe it's a little more than that. If it's the end, obviously even more than that. But something of interest that he told John Kirby with Jayhawk Slant, quote, some very important factors to me so far are the

Starting point is 00:03:47 longevity of the staff and how long they are going to continue to stay. With that, I look towards what help athletes can get in programs with the academic side of things. I also look at how many athletes enter the portal because for myself personally, I don't want anything to do with the portal once I get to that level. End quote. That is so refreshing from a player. Now, to be clear, I don't have a problem with players who enter the portal or whatnot. My personal opinion at this point is maybe things have gotten a little too far and that I'm cool with guys leaving for the first time or leaving as grad transfers.

Starting point is 00:04:21 I don't necessarily love the rule that you can leave as many times you want. What's stopping a player from leaving at the end of December, then leaving in spring ball, then leaving in fall camp? He can technically go to 12 schools in four years. But I understand the player movement and all that sort of stuff, and I'm cool with that. But I think what it does for me is the kids and the players who are more committed to it, it doesn't necessarily tsk know, tsk, tsk or whatever to the guys who are moving,

Starting point is 00:04:47 but for the guys who are not, I think it almost, it almost boosts them up in a way where you appreciate it more because of it. Right. There's, there's a way to appreciate one thing without, I guess, dissing the other thing. And that's what I feel about this. Automatically love what Malachi curvy is, is coming into. And that doesn't guarantee that a player does or doesn't transfer what you're saying coming in. But it certainly shows the mindset that he has and that I wish a lot more players were kind of of that ilk of, hey, I want to go somewhere that I can stick around and be a part of a family for three, four, five years, whatever it is.

Starting point is 00:05:19 And I think that's really cool to see. Now, it's hard to exactly discuss how he's going to impact his position group without fully knowing what position he will be playing in the future. But it definitely seems as if KU has been recruiting him for defense and specifically at the linebacker position. You look at, if he comes in as a tight end, we know KU's had that position loaded and, you know, he would join kind of the ranks of Carson Bruin and Jaden Hamm and some of those future guys they have in that room. If there's defensive end, you join the ranks of guys like, you know, Dak Brinkley and Deshaun Warner, who played well in the All-American game this past weekend. But I think, again, realistically, you kind of look at linebacker. One, because if you're picking between those positions,

Starting point is 00:05:56 that's been kind of the weakest room so far for KU that you're looking to bolster. But, you know, there's something about having a stud athletic linebacker that can go sideline to sideline. And it seems like that is what this kid can do. Great length can kind of move, you know, laterally and agile and is able to get out there and everything. But somebody who, you know, we saw this with JB Brown this year, JB Brown was a linebacker for you at times they would line him up as a pass rusher on pass rushing downs. And he would, you know, had a couple sacks this year.

Starting point is 00:06:24 Maybe that ends up being what you end up doing here, that he's mostly a linebacker, but at times, you know, you move him to a defensive end spot when you need to rush the passer and bring on an extra defensive back instead of a linebacker spot. When you look at the linebacker room for 2024, you know, you have Tywon Berryhill and J.B. Brown. Both those guys will be seniors. So, obviously, with Kirby, he's arriving in 2025,

Starting point is 00:06:46 should the commitment stay through and everything like that. Cornell Wheeler, who's in the linebacker room, is also a senior. And so you're losing three guys right there. And you bring into the room that you look in 2025, okay, by 2025, you could have a redshirt sophomore version of Logan Brantley. You could have a redshirt senior version of Logan Brantley. You could have a redshirt senior version of like Tristan Fletcher. You could have a redshirt freshman version of Ja'Cory Stewart, who was a good recruit that you brought in in this past class. Also, maybe if he's that athletic,

Starting point is 00:07:17 he ends up playing the Hawk position for you, in which case, you know, you fast forward to 2025, Jason Gilliam could be a redshirt senior. Jonathan Kamara could be a redshirt freshman or something like that. But I think more likely maybe one of those two regular linebacker positions. So we'll kind of wait and see there. But you need to add more talent to that linebacker room. And you feel good about maybe the futures of Brantley, who heard a lot of good things about so far. Ja'Cory Stewart, we'll wait and see how that comes together.

Starting point is 00:07:41 But certainly high on what he's been able to do coming in from the high school level. Jonathan Kamara, very athletic player who I think that one's more specific to Hawk. You need to add more talent there, and these are the players that can do that. And when you look at what KU's had so far in the linebacker room, for the most part, under Lance Laipoldera, it's guys who came in as transfers, right? Whether it was last year with Eric Gileard coming in from UCF or Lorenzo McCaskill from Louisiana, Rich Miller coming in as transfers, right? Whether it was last year with Eric Gileard coming in from UCF or Lorenzo McCaskill from Louisiana, Rich Miller coming in from Buffalo, J.B. Brown from Bowling Green, Cornell Wheeler from Michigan. And obviously with the transfer portal, you know,

Starting point is 00:08:14 that's never not going to be a thing, that a position won't have transfers in it. But it certainly is one of those positions where it's like, okay, eventually you want to have homegrown talent in all these different positions. And that's been the one where maybe you you want to have homegrown talent in all these different positions. And that's been the one where maybe you've had the least homegrown talent, at least the players hitting the field, certainly. And it feels like you're trending in that right direction. And this is kind of bringing to that a little bit more.

Starting point is 00:08:38 Beyond the position group, this now gives Kansas two commits for the class of 2025. And certainly one that is your first defensive side of the ball with Kirby. The other one, David McComb. And I think both guys are top 300 recruits on ESPN. Both are at least a four-star by at least one publication, so at the very least high-end three-stars, four-stars, whatever it is. That is a great start to a class. Obviously more work has to be done here,

Starting point is 00:08:59 and maybe this class ends up being bigger than the last. I know KU in the past has kind of alluded to or said stuff about they want to bring in the number of high school recruits to replace the seniors that they lose. Well, this past year, they didn't lose a ton of seniors. It was in the teens. They're going to lose a lot more seniors this next year. So are they going to bring in a ton more high school recruits? Are they going to hit the portal a little bit harder next year? It's probably going to be a combo of both, but either way, great start to the class after you had a great recruiting class here too in 2024.

Starting point is 00:09:27 Let's get to a KU football transfer portal update with the latest offers, visits, who's out right now, a tight window for what's ahead before spring ball and everything before I guess this window kind of closes up on this episode of Locked on Jayhawks. First, this episode is brought to you by Jace Medical. Jace Medical is helping you get a bunch of different antibiotics right to your door that can help you avoid any issues and, you know, maybe things that are going on that are out of your control. According to the FDA, pharmacies are running out of antibiotics like amoxicillin, right,

Starting point is 00:10:04 in the middle of the worst flu season in over a decade. You don't want to be caught unprepared. And I can only imagine what it would be like if you were caught unprepared due to maybe supply chain issues or something like that. If you need some life saving medication, thankfully, we'll be OK because of Jace Medical. The Jace case is a pack of five different antibiotics to treat a long list of bacterial illnesses, including UTIs, respiratory infections, sinusitis, skin infections, among others. This stuff could happen to anyone. So visit JaceMedical.com and complete their physician encounter. It'll be reviewed by a board-certified physician, and then your medications will be dispensed by a licensed pharmacy at a fraction of the regular cost.

Starting point is 00:10:41 It's never been more important to be prepared than today. Go to JaceMedical.com. That's J-A-S-E Medical.com. And use offer code LOCKEDON to get $20 off your order. Latest news in the transfer portal for KU football, whether it's visits, offers, who's out, that sort of thing for KU. So the first was Ryan Smith. Ryan Smith is a 6'2", 232-pound defensive end from Duke. I'm not going to get too much into his season or what he did or the PFF grades

Starting point is 00:11:13 because this one's already been wrapped up. He visited KU earlier, I guess last week, and ended up returning to Duke. They obviously have a new head coach, so that was probably part of the reason he entered the portal with Mike Elko leaving to Texas A&M, and Manny Diaz, who's now at Duke, was able to convince him to come back. So Smith goes back there, and that's obviously a hit for KU. Looks like they're still trying to add another defensive end. Obviously, they already added Dylan Woodkey, but trying to add another one because you lost Austin Booker to add a little bit more depth and maybe that one last rotational guy that you can kind of add to. Javier Derrett visited KU. He is a defensive

Starting point is 00:11:49 tackle. If you're a reminder, we talked about him on an earlier episode. Thank you to the everydayers who listened to that, but he is a six foot two, 280 pounds, sixth year senior defensive tackle transferring from North Dakota State. It's kind of a solid player who would either be a fine starter or a strong rotational guy. Like either way, you absolutely would love to add a player like that into your rotation on the defensive line and maybe could be a starter there. So after KU, he visited USC, then Missouri with USC, his former head coach at North Dakota State is now at USC. He coaches linebackers, not D-line, but there is that connection. Missouri has been killing it so far in recruiting and the transfer portal.

Starting point is 00:12:28 Both those schools have pretty good setups with NIL. And I continue to, you know, with KU, it seems like they've spent more of the resources, I think deservedly so, on the guys who are currently on the roster to retain them. And on top of that, you probably have a lot of funds going to the stadium and different things that if it does become an NIL race, then maybe that makes it tough. KU versus USC in Missouri there. But maybe it doesn't. And he's from the area originally, I think, born in Missouri, went to St. Thomas Aquinas High School, which is on the Kansas side of the border.

Starting point is 00:12:55 So maybe it does come down to that. Maybe for his final year, you know, the family's like, hey, we want to be able to drive to your games. And it's KU or Missouri. Who knows what would come of that? But that would be a big get if they could get it. Still kind of waiting on the decision there. An offer did go out for KU to Seth McLaughlin, who is the center at Alabama. He has since committed though to Ohio state to be with Will Howard, the former Kansas state quarterback who is now going to Ohio state.

Starting point is 00:13:18 No need to spend much more time on this because the offer again, didn't really matter. But the one thing that it shows you there as you were offering Seth McLaughlin is you are interested in bringing in a center. You know, we kind of wondered in the off season, would Michael Ford move over to center? Because last spring during spring ball, Mike Novitski had an injury that kept him out of spring ball. And so who was playing center when Mike Novitski was out during spring

Starting point is 00:13:42 ball, it was Michael Ford. They moved him over and they gave snaps to like all the linemen at different points. They cross train them and get reps for, for a lot of those guys. But Ford got a lot of reps. They're making me kind of wonder, okay,

Starting point is 00:13:52 would you just move forward? Who was one of the highest graded guards, one of the two highest graded guards in the entire big 12 on pro football focus last year or this past season, would they move just him to center? And then maybe you have Baines and Armage Reed Adams at guard well Armage Reed Adams has since gone obviously Spencer Lavelle has gone now by the way Armage Reed Adams picked Texas A&M so you know good for him that he's probably getting a good NIL payday based on how things have gone at A&M and I do think for what it's worth

Starting point is 00:14:19 that projection of him being guard I'm kind of under the estimation that Reed Adams who played right tackle in the bowl game maybe he wants to play tackle more than guard. I'm kind of under the estimation that Reed Adams, who played right tackle in the bowl game, maybe he wants to play tackle more than guard, which I don't know how we'll see how that goes. Cause I think he was a solid guard. I don't know if, if his traits, I guess make him as good of a tackle.

Starting point is 00:14:38 So we'll see how he does in the sec. He's betting on himself. And if that works out good for him. But anyway, that's neither here nor there that obviously limits it a little bit more. so i don't know if that would be part of it and you're just like okay we'll keep michael ford at guard and then we'll have kobe baines there and then we'll bring in a center or if it's just about you know you like michael ford more guard then you do it center or whatever the reason but clearly the offer to seth mclaughlin shows that and then

Starting point is 00:15:00 furthermore there was a visit from shane bum gardner who is a center from lane tiffin college i guess technically you could move him to guard and play forward at center but it definitely feels like to me that ku is going after the centers which would make your offensive line next year left tackle calvin clements or logan brown whoever wins that competition right now if you had to if you had to make me a guess I would probably lean toward Calvin Clements at the moment uh as Brown's been dealing with an injury then it left guard and right guard I don't know who would play where and what I don't know that matters that as much but you know Kobe Baines would be one Michael Ford would be the other center at this point feels

Starting point is 00:15:38 like they're trying to attack it to bring on a center maybe it ends up being a Shane Bumgarner maybe it ends up being somebody else and then then your right tackle spot looking at after coming off the injury in the bowl game, Bryce Cable do. And then maybe, you know, you always think about like, if you can have eight good offensive linemen, three good backup offensive linemen who can cover the different positions, right? Maybe one plays left tackle, right tackle. Maybe one plays left guard, right or right guard. Maybe one is just a flex where they can play the right side or just the left side, or they can play center and right tackle or whatever it is. You just need a mix of all those, right?

Starting point is 00:16:10 So you want to have coverage between three guys in the backup. Well, you feel like you have one with whoever loses out between Logan Brown and Calvin Clements, and maybe that's the guy who can cover both tackle spots, or maybe they can move inward and be a guard there. So there's one of yours. And then maybe the other two, you're looking at, I don't know, can Dre Dorian, you know, both tackle spots, or maybe they can move inward and be a guard there. So there's one of yours. And then maybe the other two, you're looking at, I don't know, can Dre Dorian, you know, he's been in the program for a few years now after starting a bunch of games at Buffalo before he transferred in. Nolan Gorchika, it sounds like he's started to progress in a good

Starting point is 00:16:38 way. Does a guy like DK Stearns or James Livingston take the step up? And then what else can you add kind of in the portal on the offensive line? But certainly Bumgarner would be a nice get if you could get him. 6'3", 290. Lane Tiffin College is a D2 school. He will be a fifth-year senior in 2024. Now, you have to be careful because not everything is congruent, but last time KU went to D2 for an offensive lineman worked out pretty well they brought in Dominic Pooney who immediately became one of their best linemen as

Starting point is 00:17:10 a guard and then moved to left tackle this year and was their best lineman and now is going to go get drafted into the NFL it'd be silly to expect everything to be just like that but I guess the the point there is good players are good players and they can make the jump up in competition. I think we're seeing that more and more in college football and college basketball. There are players jumping up from NAIA, D3, D2, and are still having a lot of success at the FBS level. But he was a second-team All-American. He was a two-time first-team All-Conference pick,

Starting point is 00:17:39 so he's sustained it for multiple years. He was also the D2 Remington Award winner that goes to the best center in D2. How did that happen? And he got second team All-American. Shouldn't that be first? Either way. He was also first team All-State in Ohio. So it's not like he was a player, not that this would matter much

Starting point is 00:17:56 because you're recruiting him for what he is now, but was a late bloomer. He was a good high school player too. Maybe it was just undersized or whatever it is. Like Ohio is actually a pretty good, it's underrated high school football state. So I don't think he has any other power five offers. I don't know if it was a visit or an offer with like Rutgers has a ton of group of five interest. We'll see where that one goes,

Starting point is 00:18:15 but I think that would be a real nice pickup for KU if they certainly could get him. As far as what they've lost lately, I just mentioned Lavelle and Armage Reed Adams. I don't think we've officially said on this show since – I know we had the episode right around the bowl game that our Austin Booker was like no longer going to be on KU. That was just based on him not traveling and everything like that.

Starting point is 00:18:34 So I didn't feel the need to super reiterate it, but officially he is gone off to the NFL. So thank you to the everydayers if you tuned in to that one. Let's finish up what KU still needs and kind of the tight window ahead in the transfer portal before spring ball for KU football. First, this episode of the show is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. The NFL regular season is wrapping up, but there's still time to get in on the action with FanDuel,

Starting point is 00:19:00 America's number one sportsbook. Right now, new customers get get 150 and bonus bets guaranteed. When you place a $5 bet, that's 150 bucks in bonus bets, win or lose. The app is so easy to use. And there's so many different ways to bet. You can get it on live.

Starting point is 00:19:15 Same game parlays, find bets in the new explore tab, make a parlay in the parlay hub. The best way to find popular parlays. You can bet on futures. You want to pick somebody to win the Super Bowl. You want to pick a team to make the Final Four, win their conference. So visit Fanduel.com and make your first bet,

Starting point is 00:19:33 a layup, a Fanduel official partner of the NFL. All right, what KU still needs in the tight window left with the transfer portal for KU. We will be back later this week for a KU UCF preview on Locked on Jayhawks. Again, I am having a baby, so I don't know how in and out I am going to be. There might be a chance that I don't get to a KU UCF recap or even a KU Oklahoma preview later this week. It just kind of depends when things come around.

Starting point is 00:20:02 So apologies for that, but that would be the reason why. So KU still needs defensive tackle, right? You lose Gage Keys and Devin Phillips. Now, you do at least feel like you have Tommy Dunn and DJ Withers and Caleb Taylor, who I thought came on pretty well over the back half of the season, and Keenan Caldwell. At least you feel like with Caldwell, he can be a rotational guy. So you at least feel like you have a bit of that.

Starting point is 00:20:24 You have a couple guys who may be redshirted this past year. We'll see what they can give you this next season, but certainly feels like if you could add at least one more D tackle. I also, uh, Ron McGee had the season ending injury like in fall camp last year. I don't know if the expectation is him for, to be back for, for next year and what that impact would have. But if he does come back for another year, that would be nice to have another, you know, uh, proficient body in there, assuming that he can come back from the injury. Obviously, you're trying to add another defensive end after the loss of Austin Booker. Makes a lot of sense. I think specifically, if you can bring someone in who's good at pass rush, that would be very helpful for

Starting point is 00:20:56 KU. At linebacker, makes sense to bring in somebody who can compete to be a starter. I think right now, if I was picking the three starters, I would look at Gilliam as being the Hawk guy. I would look at JB Brown, who I thought had a good season. And I thought Cornell Wheeler had a really good season for you. Now, Barry Hill was basically the starter in snaps. And when he was available, he had to deal with some injuries this year, but some of the grades and stuff wasn't great for him. Is that indicative that he was playing through injury? Does that give a chance to Cornell Wheeler or J.B. Brown to beat him out? I don't know.

Starting point is 00:21:31 But either way, those three guys would mostly occupy the two spots. And I think it would help you if you could add kind of that one more to where you'd have four guys really for two spots. Maybe that one more even plays the Hawk for you if you're not totally sold on Gilliam out there, who I thought actually played pretty well when he was in for Craig Young at the Hawk position. Offensive line certainly makes sense to add one. Center is the main position I'm looking at. And then maybe if you can add a second offensive lineman who's kind of a versatile guy that you can use in a lot of different spots to kind of go into the idea of

Starting point is 00:21:56 it gives you coverage with multiple spots if they end up being a backup. You don't say no to talent, clearly. If a good receiver or something like that or a good running back wants to come, you make it work and you figure it out, even though you're kind of tight on scholarships. I don't think either of those things would happen. Specifically, if you're a running back, why would you come when you have Devin Neal and Daniel Hyshaw in front of you? And maybe that's the same thing for receivers when you have Lawrence Arnold

Starting point is 00:22:22 and Luke Graham and all those guys in front of you. But you make it work if the right talent is there. But for the most part, in the trenches, defensive tackle, defensive end, offensive line, and then maybe a linebacker in there too. But what becomes difficult with this tight window that I'm kind of talking about. So it's like a dead period once the weekend ended here. And then it's dead until the following weekend, there's some like coaches conference or something or other. And then it opens back up for the weekend next weekend for recruiting, and you can bring on visits and all that stuff. And then it closes

Starting point is 00:22:56 again. And it's like a dead period. And I think school starts and the semester starts like the week after or something like that. So you need to have the kid enrolled if you want to have them playing in spring ball. And so basically, it's this last week gives you a very tight window and you don't even have the full week to do it. If you want to get them in for spring ball, which you very much do to get them to know the system. You know, we've seen some players join after spring ball and in summer, like I always think back to Lorenzo McCaskill, who was an all Sunbelt player for Louisiana team that was really good over his last two years there and it just took longer to get him into the swing of things and into the run of play because he wasn't there for spring ball so very important if they can do it obviously they'll

Starting point is 00:23:34 still have options in spring ball but the options are depleted a little bit you really got to get your work done here over this next week or so for the majority of what you can bring in so we'll keep an eye on that like i said i'll try to get to it if I have time with Locked on Jayhawks, but we'll have a KU UCF preview later in the week. This has been LOJ. Find our podcast anywhere you get it or on our YouTube page. Have a good one. See you next time.

Your Ad Here

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas Jayhawks Football Lands Commit From 4-Star Malachi Curvey + Transfer Portal Update

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.