Recruits reassert loyalty to KU in wake of Peterson reports

Updated 11:02 a.m. Monday:
Co-defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson may have played a pivotal role in shaping the 2024 Kansas football recruiting class, but in the wake of Peterson’s reported departure for his alma mater Texas A&M, several signees asserted that their commitment to KU transcends the efforts of one man.
Most notably, four-star defensive end Deshawn Warner — one of the highest-touted prospects in the class, who had offers from the likes of Michigan, Ohio State and Texas — posted a tweet Sunday afternoon with an edit of himself in a Jayhawk jersey and the words, “Loyalty over everything.”
Warner is one of three players Peterson recruited in the 2024 class from Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Arizona, along with Aundre Gibson and Jonathan Kamara. Whether that pipeline remains open in the future has yet to be determined; for now, Gibson and Kamara reiterated their own intentions by sharing 2024 quarterback Isaiah Marshall’s social media post that featured the words “Same team, same goal … Ain’t no switching up! We good!”
Also, on Monday, Gibson posted a photo of the Desert Edge trio with head coach Lance Leipold and assistants Taiwo Onatolu and Chris Simpson, captioned with the words “Locked in.”
As it is already January, KU has officially signed its 17 recruits for the class of 2024, including more than a third of those who were recruited at least in part by Peterson. That list includes Warner, Gibson, Kamara, fellow Arizonan Carter Lavrusky, Texas edge rusher Dakyus Brinkley and Illinois cornerback Austin Alexander, according to Rivals; 247Sports also includes Michigan cornerback Jalen Todd, Marshall’s high school teammate.
The 2024 signees who have enrolled early to begin participating in practice this semester, per a recent video posted by KU, include Brinkley, Marshall, Todd, running backs Red Martel and Harry Stewart III and safety Damani Maxson.
In short, between the post-signing day timing of Peterson’s reported departure and the public postings of 2024 signees, KU seems equipped to survive the prospective loss of a key assistant fully intact. (Peterson’s hiring has not been announced officially by Texas A&M as of Monday morning, following Saturday’s reports by TexAgs.com and FootballScoop.)
This would be the second time the Jayhawks have weathered such a departure in the last two months, although former offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Andy Kotelnicki took the lead in pursuing fewer 2024 signees than Peterson. Tight end signee Carson Bruhn, of Sioux Center, Iowa, posted an encouraging message to his future teammates in the wake of Peterson’s reported move: “I was in the same place at one point. Remember: 1 coach is not the reason you committed to @KU_Football!! Stick it out and always trust God’s plan.”