Leipold & staff visit Desert Edge HS (3 recruits coming)

If you have been following KU football in the off season, you know that Lance lost OC Andy Kotelnecki to Penn State, and last week lead recruiter and DB coach Jordan Peterson opted to return to his Texas A&M alma mater. Lots of concern with the loss of Peterson, as he has been LL's best man in the recruiting biz. And for next year KU has 3 high viz high schoolers coming from Desert Edge HS in Phoenix, a pipeline that Peterson opened and LL hopes to keep open.

Today LL and the staff sojourned to Phoenix. Here's is JayhawkSlant's report on the trip.

Jon Kirby
JayhawkSlant
2024-01-22
JayhawkSlant: Lance Leipold, staff visit Desert Edge this morning
A new week will have the Kansas coaches on the road all over the country. For Lance Leipold his morning started early in Phoenix, Arizona at Desert Edge High School.

Leipold visited Desert Edge with Chris Simpson and Taiwo Onatolu. They were there to see three signees Deshawn Warner, Aundre Gibson and Jonathan Kamara along with the Dessert Edge coaching staff.

The KU staff wanted to show their support to the players and program at Desert Edge after their lead recruiter Jordan Peterson left for Texas A&M. Co-head coach Marcus Carter applauded them for making the trip and the effort Leipold has put in at Desert Edge.

“It was a great visit,” Carter said. “It's always good to see Lance and the staff. They've always done a really good job since I've been here. Lance and the coaching staff have been very active. They've been very present in our school and with the boys and I think that's really important from now, from then and moving forward. I don't think I've seen another head coach as much as I've seen Lance the four years that I've been here at Desert Edge.”

The KU staff started their morning at Desert Edge High School
Carter liked how the staff contacted them first and let them know they wanted to make the trip. They also talked about the future and Kansas will continue to recruit the area under Leipold.

“Having that presence in the Big 12 and KU coming out here, we're all Jayhawks, at least for the next four years,” Carter said. “So, having that presence out here, obviously, the relationship that they've built here at Desert Edge and a couple of the other schools around the valley, but especially here at Desert Edge, they know the type of players and type of product that we put out every single year.

“They really did a really good job of making sure and reassuring the guys that they're going to be here and that they're here for the long haul. I really appreciate that they're making a conscious effort to do that.”

Carter said they hold a big Madden Tournament after the season and Leipold remembered that. He brought that up in conversation and they talked about it.

Four-star recruit Deshawn Warner was happy to see the staff make another visit to the school.

“It was good,” Warner said. “It definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable to know those guys made it a priority to come back out and make sure that we're feeling still good about it.”

Carter is looking forward to meeting the next Kansas assistant who will recruit their area.

“We had the meeting in my office,” he said. “And just by facial expressions and the chemistry, the body language, everything was all good. The next guy that comes in, I really want to get to know him so we can keep that pipeline going to the KU because like I said, we are Rock Chalk for at least the next four years.”