KU NEWS

KU signee Ellis a McDonald's All-America

Kansas recruit Perry Ellis was named a McDonald’s All-American and will be one of 24 high school seniors playing in the annual all-star basketball game March 28 at Chicago’s United Center.

The 6-8 Ellis averages 26.1 points and 9.7 rebounds for Wichita Heights. He's had one of the most successful careers in Kansas high school history as a three-time state Gatorade player of the year. Ellis has led his team to a 6A championship in each season.

Recently, McDonald's named its top all-time list of top-players. Making the 35-man squad were two future Jayhawks, Danny Manning (1984) and Paul Pierce (1995).

Bill Self on Border War future

Bill Self offered his most vigorous defense of guard Tyshawn Taylor, and addressed the future of the Border War after the Jayhawks’ 74-71 loss at Missouri on Saturday.

On Taylor:
“He’s damn good. He is damn good. He played so well the first half, and kept us in the game. In the second half, he didn’t make good decisions down the stretch. (But) I’ll put the ball in his hands every day.”

On the Border War and its future:

“I loved the atmosphere. So much has been made about the hatred. I thought tonight _ and this is hard for me to say to Mizzou people (smiling) _ that was about as good and classy atmosphere as there is. I hope it will be the same when they come to our place. I’m sure it will be.

“I haven’t made a decision about five years down the road, or three years. But it’s not going to happen in the immediate future.

“They chose to be somewhere else. That’s their prerogative. If it’s better for them, so be it. But when you chose to be somewhere else, you leave situation behind that’s not the same as it was when you were in it.

“It’s more than me involve you have chancellors, trustees, you’ve got ADs, it’s more than just a basketball, although I probably have the main call. Right now, it’s not going to happen in the immediatel future. It’s not because I don’t like Mizzou. It’s the way it is right now.

“I don’t feel bad. Missouri wanted this. Why should I feel bad? I don’t feel bad for anybody. If anybody should feel bad for anybody it’s the players who don’t’ get a chance to play in it. Not the fans. The fans to me don’t drive the bus, at all. Missouri wanted this. That’s how I see it.”

KU signings | 20 in class

As of noon, Kansas had a 20-member signing class.

The school announced it had received the paperwork from recruits including Schyler Miles, a linebacker from Tampa, Fla. According to KU, Miles also considered West Virginia and Florida.

Nas Moore, a cornerback from East Los Angeles, also signed with the Jayhawks today. He selected Kansas over San Diego State and Brigham Young.

Earlier Wednesday, Kansas officially announced the signings of a couple of Johnson County players: Bishop Miege defensive back Tre Parmalee and Blue Valley West offensive lineman Brian Beckman.

Three incoming transfers are already on campus: quarterbacks Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps and former Bishop Miege receiver Justin McCay.

The Kansas class:

Greg Allen, DB, 5-11, 190, Fr., Houston, Texas / Alief Taylor HS

Courtney Arnick, LB, 6-2, 205, Fr., Dallas, Texas / Carter HS

Turner Baty QB 6-2, 220 So. City College of San Francisco

Brian Beckman, OL, 6-6, 315, Fr., Blue Valley West HS

Charles Brooks TE 6-6, 240 Jr. Scottsdale CC, Ariz. (originally from St. Louis)

Sean Connolly, OL, 6-7, 290, Fr., Kirtland Hills, Ohio / St. Edward HS

Taylor Cox, RB, 5-11, 206, Jr., Mill Creek, Wash. / Jackson HS / College of the Siskiyous

Josh Ford WR 6-3, 190 Jr. Arizona Western CC

Tyler Holmes, DL, 6-3, 280, Fr., Garland, Texas / Sachse HS

Schyler Miles LB 6-2, 220 Fr. Berkeley Prep High/ Tampa, Fla.

Ty McKinney, DL, 6-3, 310, Jr., Weatherford, Texas / Zion Academy / Trinity Valley CC

Nasir Moore, DB, 6-1, 185, Jr., Suwanee, Ga. / Peachtree Ridge HS / East Los Angeles CC

Tre Parmalee, DB, 5-10, 170, Fr., Bishop Miege HS

Jordan Smith, TE, 6-5, 240, Fr., McGregor, Texas / Reicher Catholic HS

Keon Stowers, DL, 6-3, 280, So., Rock Hill, S.C. / Georgia Military Academy

Jordan Tavai, DL, 6-3, 290, Jr., Redondo Beach, Calif. / Mira Costa HS / El Camino CC

Ty'Ree Williams, DB, 6-0, 189, Fr., Sugar Land, Texas / Dulles HS

KU will announce more signings here on its website after they are confirmed.

JC quarterback commits to KU

The transfer quarterbacks keep coming to Kansas.

Turner Baty, who passed for 2,800 yards and 30 touchdowns for City College of San Francisco last season, tweeted on Monday that he had committed to Kansas after visiting Lawrence over the weekend.

“I’m proud to say I’m officially a Kansas Jayhawk!” Baty announced on his Twitter account, @tbaty7.

City College of San Francisco went 12-0 and was ranked first by JCFootball.com after the season. In the final game, a 52-42 victory over Mt. San Antonio College, Baty passed for 348 yards and five touchdowns.

Baty, listed at 6-3, 220 on his junior college roster, played one year at San Francisco and will have three years of Division I eligibility.

He joins a roster that includes Notre Dame transfer Dayne Crist, who is penciled in as the starter next season in his only year of eligibility, and Jake Heaps, a Brigham Young transfer who must sit out of competition next season.

Jayhawks pick up football commitments

Kansas has picked up a pair of football commitments according to Rivals.com.

Greg Allen, a defensive back from Alief Taylor in Houston who originally committed to Utah, said he will sign with the Jayhawks. Allen, 5-11, 190, was named the 18-5A defensive player of the year.

Defensive lineman Chaquil Reed, who played at Butler County Community College, said he was joining Kansas. Reed played at Wichita East.

Berglund seeking permission to talk with other schools

Brock Berglund says he just wants to get his college football career started, and isn’t sure why Kansas won’t grant him permission to speak to other schools, which starts the transfer process.

“There’s no grudge, I just want to move on,” Berglund said. “I want to go my own way and pursue my career elsewhere.”

New Kansas coach Charlie Weis said Monday that Berglund, a quarterback who didn’t suit up for Kansas as a freshman last year, was one of six players dismissed from the team.

Berglund said he was told that he was booted because he missed a mandatory team meeting last Sunday. He said learned that he was no longer part of the team via social media outlets.

Berglund said he missed the meeting because he had already decided to transfer and wanted to begin at another school during the spring semester. That’s the path of at least three players, including former Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist, who have transferred to Kansas and were introduced at the same news conference that Bergland’s dismal was announced.

Berglund had attempted to get in touch with Weis and quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus “a multitude of times” before the meeting to inform them of his decision.

Receiving permission to speak to other schools allows a student-athlete to receive an athletic scholarship at that school. If an athlete doesn’t receive permission, that doesn’t prevent a transfer, but an athletic scholarship can’t be awarded until after an academic year has passed.
According to Berglund’s attorney, Vince Linden of Colorado Springs, Colo., Berglund received a response from Kansas associate athletic director Theresa Becker that denied the request:

“[I]n consultation with Dr. Sheahon Zenger, Director of Athletics for the University of Kansas, we are denying your request for permission to have contact with another university regarding your decision to transfer. Additionally, your request to be released from the University of Kansas is also denied.”

Berglund has appealed the decision to the KU Student-Athlete Appeals Board.

“We’re in the institutional appeals process now and we’re not going to comment,” Kansas associate athletic director Jim Marchiony said.

Border War crossover: Cross joins KU staff

DeMontie Cross is now on the other side of the Border War.

Cross, a former Missouri safety, will join Kansas' football staff as a linebackers coach, the school announced on Thursday.

Cross spent last season as special teams coordinator and safties coach at Wisconsin.

He had served as a defensive and special teams assistant for the Buffalo Bills from 2006-2010, outside linebackers and special teams coach at Iowa State from 2001-2005 and defensive backs coach at Sam Houston State in 2000.

Cross, a St. Louis native, started his coaching career at Missouri as outside linebackers coach in 1998 and 1999.

He played at Missouri from 1994-97, earning second team all-Big Eight in 1995 and second team all-Big 12 in 1996, leading the team in tackles both seasons.

KU-Baylor tickets still available

Just released by KU athletics:

A limited amount of general admission tickets are available for $50 each for Monday's KU-Baylor game, which tips off at 8:30 p.m., and the Jan. 23 KU-Texas A&M game, which starts at 8 p.m.

Kansas athletics is also offering a Big Monday Pack, which includes a general admission ticket to both the Baylor and Texas A&M games for just $70. Tickets are available at 800-34-HAWKS or www.kuathletics.com.

KU postgame: Huge victory margin

Afterthoughts of Kansas’ 81-46 triumph at Texas Tech on Wednesday…

Odd game. Texas Tech jumped ahead 8-2 and was playing the type of game it needed to have chance. The Red Raiders milked the shot clock and got decent looks in the final seconds. But Billy Gillispie’s squad was unable to sustain the momentum for several reasons.

Tech missed some open three looks. Before the Jayhawks broke an 8-8 deadlock, the Red Raiders had missed four three-point attempts. Knock down one or two of those and perhaps the first half unfolds in a different way. Also in that stretch were a couple of bad passes by big man Robert Lewandowski, the Blue Valley West graduate who may have been pressing.

Also, Kansas defense was starting to clamp down. For an entire game, it probably was the best defensive effort of the season.

*With 15 points and five assists, Tyshawn Taylor played well. No guard on the team and few in the Big 12 can get to the basket like he can, but Taylor’s finishes at the hoop are like a stroll through an art gallery, some masterpieces and some stuff that defies description. Still, four turnovers against a Gillispie defense isn’t bad.

*When postgame compliments were passed out, Taylor made sure to mention Justin Wesley’s defense. Wesley was credited with one block and two rebounds in 13 minutes but he was active, as were all the reserves, who contributed 26 points and 14 rebounds.

*The victory margin was the largest on an enemy court since a 39-point victory at SMU in 1995.

The margin was a biggest for the Jayhawks in a road conference game since 1910. That KU team, led by first-year coach W.O. Hamilton won at Missouri 58-22.

The Tigers got some revenge, winning in Lawrence 41-10 in 1916, handing the Jayhawks their worst home conference defeat in history.

KU largest road victory margin by conference opponent:

36 at Missouri (58-22), 1919
35 at Texas Tech (81-46), 2012
34 at Colorado (87-53), 1994
33 at Iowa State (50-17), 1919
33 at Oklahoma State (80-47), 1966
32 at Nebraska (56-24), 1943
31 at Oklahoma (86-55), 1963
31 at Grinnell (42-11), 1920
30 at Texas (102-72), 1998
29 at Kansas State (94-65), 2000
26 at Baylor (82-56), 2007
22 at Washington U. (48-16), 1915
21 at Texas A&M (78-57), 2000

Bowen returns to KU staff

Clint Bowen is back on the Kansas football staff.

Bowen, the former Jayhawks defensive back and assistant coach, was one of two staff additions announced by Coach Charlie Weis on Wednesday.

Jeff Blasko had been Florida’s quality control coach for offense, working with Weis at Florida last season. When Weis got the Kansas job, Blasko was elevated to quarterbacks coach for the Gators’ Gator Bowl victory over Ohio State.

Bowen will be Kansas' special teams coordinator and hold a defensive responsibility that hasn't been determined. Blasko will coach tight ends and serve as assistant special teams' coordinator.

Bowen, a Lawrence native, led Kansas in tackles as a defensive back in 1993. He joined the staff as a graduate assistant in 1998 and got his first coaching position in 2001. He was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in 2006, and held the role by himself for the program’s 2008 Insight Bowl season.

Bowen wasn’t retained by Turner Gill and spent the 2010 at Western Kentucky and last season at North Texas, working for former Iowa State Coach Dan McCarney.

Before his season at Florida, Blasko spend 2010 at Akron, where he worked for Rob Ianello, who Is now a member of Kansas’ staff.

KU's Releford is Big 12 player of the week

Kansas guard Travis Releford was selected Big 12 player of the week Monday after setting career-highs in points with 16 against Kansas State last Wednesday and 28 at Oklahoma on Saturday.

It is the first career honor for Releford and the fourth time a KU player has been chosen this season. Thomas Robinson won the award three times, on Nov. 28, Dec. 12 and Jan. 2.

Releford also had a double-double in the 67-49 win over the Wildcats, finishing with 11 rebounds. He then matched his career-high point total in the first half of the 72-61 win over the Sooners before finishing with 28 points.

He is averaging 10.1 points this season and has recorded double figures in three straight games. KU plays at Texas Tech on Wednesday.

Kansas lands McCay and another commitment

Former Bishop Miege receiver Justin McCay will transfer to KU from Oklahoma.

"Yes it's gonna be great. KU is making a move," McCay said in a text message to The Star on Friday.

McCay, 6 feet 2 and 209 pounds, appeared in three games for the Sooners this season after redshirting in 2010. He would have three seasons of eligibility remaining after sitting out because of to transfer rules.

Big 12 rules state players transferring inside the conference must sit two years, though that rule could be waived. The NCAA requires one year on the sidelines for transfers.

McCay didn't accompany the Sooners to Arizona for their Insight Bowl trip, and Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Jay Norvell said there a fresh start may best serve McCay.

"We tell them the truth," Norvell told the Tulsa World. "We'll have four scholarship receivers in the spring and then we've got four coming in. That's the truth. We need guys. Things happen for a reason. Sometimes the best thing for a kid is to move on and go someplace else and start fresh and for them to be happy."

KU also received an oral commitment Friday from Tyler Holmes, a 6-3, 275-pound defensive tackle from Sachse, Texas, according to Rivals.

Holmes recorded 104 tackles this season and said that his college choice was influenced by Coach Charlie Weis retaining assistant coach Buddy Wyatt, who helped recruit Holmes. Other schools in the mix included Memphis, North Texas and Arkansas State.

Holmes becomes the Jayhawks’ ninth commitment. The national letter of intent signing day for football is Feb. 1.

KU-KState postgame

Postgame thoughts on Kansas’ 67-49 victory over Kansas State…

As much credit as Travis Releford deserved for his scoring and rebounding (16 and 11), not enough was given to his first-half defense against Rodney McGruder, K-State’s most skilled perimeter scorer. Releford’s blanket defense not only kept McGruder from getting many open looks but also from catching the ball and allowing the Wildcats to run offense.

* Loved what Bill Self had to say about Releford on his radio post game: “He has the best old man’s game of anybody I’ve seen for a young guy. Just think about the when he’s over 40 and playing, he’s going to dominate. He drives in there and reverse pivots and does things that look awkward.”

They may look awkward to younger folks, but Releford’s game reminds me of a player from the 1970s, more fundamentally sound and less flashy. Releford isn’t wildly athletic, but his game as developed nicely in four years and he’s become an important part of the lineup.

* Tyshawn Taylor can be careless with the ball is the understatement of the year. But Martavious Irving played excellent defense and bothered Taylor like no other defender I’ve seen this season. I thought Irving was the Wildcats’ best player in the game.

* A twitter comment on the atmosphere at Allen Fieldhouse last brought several responses from those who believed the old barn should be filled even with students on holiday break with its proximity to KC/Johnson County/Topeka. Agreed.

But Bramlage should be filled or close to it for Saturday’s Missouri game, even with thousands of fans at the Cotton Bowl the previous night.

* Folks wondered how Kansas’ RPI could have dropped from the low 30s to the mid-50s by beating Howard and North Dakota. Plenty about the RPI remains a mystery to me, but generally it rewards success against good schedules, and it’s why KU jumped from 55 to 35 by beating K-State, and the Wildcats didn’t drop much at all (33 from 28) with the loss.

* Solid victory by Iowa State over Texas, and Coach Fred Hoiberg (@ISUMayor32) tweeted this: “Great team victory tonight over Texas. We took a big step forward as a team tonight! Thanks Fans for bringing the magic!!”

J’Covan Brown, who entered the game leading the Big 12 in scoring, rolled his ankle and missed most of the second half. Texas had erased all of a 14-point halftime deficit, but without Brown, the Cyclones pulled away.

It was Iowa State’s first conference opening victory in five years.

* Assuming Baylor, Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State are the league’s top four teams, who is No. 5? By RPI, it’s Oklahoma (No. 41). But the Sooners were battered at Missouri on Tuesday. We’ll know more about Oklahoma when it plays host to Kansas on Saturday.

No classes no attendance problem at KU

No students? No problem with the atmosphere at Kansas for Wednesday’s league opener against Kansas State.

Playing the Jayhawks presents three major challenges, Wildcats coach Frank Martin said: Counterpart Bill Self and his staff, the players “and the culture they’ve built and the 16,000 in the stands. They don’t let you communicate with your players.”

Classes at Kansas are out until Jan. 17. With the Big 12 schedule starting earlier than ever with the 18-game league slate, many students will miss early action throughout the conference.

But Martin had just broken down film of Kansas’ victory over North Dakota on Saturday.

“I didn’t see an empty seat,” he said.

There wasn’t one. Tickets made available to that game and one against Howard two days earlier were quickly snapped up.

And there are plenty of students in the student sections behind the baskets and the Kansas bench. You wouldn’t have known classes weren’t in session.

Martin and K-State have been in this position recently. The KU-K-State game in Lawrence opened the 2008-09 conference schedule.

Self knows what good thing he has. Allen Field House has been sold out for every home game in his tenure of eight-plus years. The last time Kansas fell short of a sellout was in 2001 and Wednesday’s game will mark the 172nd straight capacity crowd.

“Our atmosphere is pretty good,” Self said. “When our building is good it’s as good as any place anywhere, and I think this will be one of those times.”

AROUND THE BIG 12

THREE IMPACTFUL INJURIES

*Texas A&M’s Khris Middleton has returned from the knee injury that forced him out of the team’s first seven games, but he’s not 100 percent. “There’s swelling and we’ve had to pull him out of practices,” Aggies Coach Billy Kennedy said of his preseason all-league selection.

*Oklahoma State junior wing Jean-Paul Olukemi torn an ACL in Saturday’s home loss to Virginia Tech. He’s the Cowboys’ third leading scorer (9.4) and rebounder (4.8).

*Texas Tech freshman guard Toddrick Gotcher reinjured an ankle last week and is expected to miss action, Red Raiders Coach Billy Gillispie said. Gotcher started Tech’s first eight games and was averaging 7.3 points.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
(Player)
Thomas Robinson, Kansas. The league's sixth 30-point, 20-rebound performance helped Robinson earn his third award this season. Robinson had 30 points and 21 rebounds against North Dakota on Saturday.

(Rookie)
Jordan Tolbert, Texas Tech. Tolbert averaged 19 points and made 15 of 19 field goals in victories over Cal State Bakersfield and Southwestern Louisiana.

BIG 12 POWER RANKING

1.Baylor
2. Missouri
3. Kansas
4. Kansas State
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas A&M
7. Texas
8. Iowa State
9. Oklahoma State
10. Texas Tech

A thanks to The Star, Kansas City and KU for a great six-plus years

As I write this, I am sitting on an airplane 35,000 feet in the air, on my way to cover my last assignment for The Kansas City Star. As if you haven’t been able to tell by my writing over the last six-plus years, I am a guy who is in touch with his emotions, and this thought has me pretty stirred up at the moment.

I was hired at The Star to cover high-school sports right out of college because former Star assistant sports editor Mike Fitzgerald and current editor Mike Fannin wanted to take a chance on a naïve kid with a Sociology degree and a dream to write great stories. To say that The Star has followed through on its promise is the ultimate understatement.

I’ve gotten to work with and learn from some of the best writers in the country – those who are now gone (Wright Thompson, Joe Posnanski, Jason Whitlock, Jeff Passan, Liz Merrill, Jason King, Bill Reiter) and those who still remain and still routinely put out one of the best sports sections in America. I’ve gotten to eat breakfast on the clubhouse veranda at the Masters as the early-morning sun glistens off the dew at the first tee. I’ve gotten to follow Tiger step for step as he won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines on one good knee. I’ve gotten to cover the World Series, the Final Four, the Orange Bowl, pinch-me moments for this sports-obsessed guy from Shreveport, Louisiana.

I owe so many people for the opportunities I’ve been given, and I’ll be honest: I didn’t really realize how lucky I was when I was awarded the Kansas beat in Feb. 2007. Maybe it was my Big Ten pedigree (I’m a Michigan grad), maybe I was just young and dumb. Yes, it was probably the latter. But the first time I covered a game at Allen Fieldhouse – it was Bob Huggins’ lone trip as Kansas State coach – I got chills watching the pregame video, and to this day I still get chills. I don’t get them like a fan gets them. I am not a fan of KU – a fact that many Jayhawks probably resent but also a fact that I think makes me capable of doing my job better. So why do I get chills during the pregame video? Because I’m a sports fan, and in 29 years of seeing everything from Fenway Park to the Rose Bowl, nothing has topped a game at Allen Fieldhouse. And I’ve gotten to see more games there than anybody who doesn’t bleed crimson and blue deserves.

Kansas is a special place, and I hope that sentiment has come across enough times in my writing, even though I’ve had to cover plenty of negative stories in Lawrence the last five years. I did not get into this business to cover $2 million ticket scandals, fights and arrests, but I owe it to my employers and my readers to lift the curtain that covers big-time college sports. I got into this business to ride around Oklahoma City with Darnell Jackson’s mother, the now-tragically-deceased Shawn, as she introduced me to the people who made Darnell into the man he is. I got into this business to see Kansas take a 40-12 lead over Roy and Carolina and to look over at Bob Davis, who could do nothing but smile, laugh and shake his head. I got into this business to meet Tyshawn Taylor and the Morris twins while they were still high-school seniors living in tough areas of Jersey and Philly, respectively, and introduce their lives to KU fans before anybody else. I got into this business to watch a guy like Sherron Collins evolve from a surly sophomore into a senior who couldn’t stop talking on Senior Night at Allen. You get the point.

I am thankful to all of my editors at The Star for making me better. I am thankful to Bill Self for always shooting me straight and writing so many stories for me with his thoughtful answers to not-as-thoughtful questions; to Mark Mangino for all of the unintentional comedy; to KU’s sports information staff who always did what it could to get me the access I needed to write the kind of stories that I feel readers want.

I am leaving The Star and Kansas City not because I couldn’t be happy here forever but because I’m only 29 and ready for a new challenge. I’m going to write sports features and enterprise stories for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which will introduce me to an entire new landscape.

One thing I know for sure is that whoever The Star hires to replace me will have one of the best beats in sports journalism. The Star sports section is in great hands with Jeff Rosen and Chris Fickett. And Kansas fans, especially the ones I interact with on Twitter, are passionate, hilarious and intelligent. I’ll miss you guys, but hopefully you’ll still follow me because you can bet that I’m going to follow KU sports and deliver my thoughts on them long into the future.

To The Star, Kansas City and KU, thanks one last time for making this an unforgettable period of my life.

- Brady

Former Notre Dame quarterback Crist, former BYU quarterback Heaps pick Kansas

It appears Kansas football's quarterback situation just got solidified in a big way on Thursday.

First, former Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist committed to Kansas, choosing to reunite with Charlie Weis. Then former BYU quarterback Jake Heaps decided that he was going to be a Jayhawk, too.

Crist was the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the 2008 class according to Rivals. Heaps was the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2010 class.

The situation surrounding their arrival in Lawrence couldn't be more perfect for the Jayhawks. Crist, who graduated from Notre Dame, will have one year of eligibility at KU. He can play immediately because of an NCAA rule that allows players who have completed their undergraduate work to transfer to another school that offers a graduate program their current school doesn't have.

Heaps will have to sit out next season due to NCAA transfer rules. Starting in 2013, he will have two years of eligibility.

In other words, the plan will be for one highly-touted quarterback, Crist, to hand the baton off to another, Heaps, which theoretically would set the Jayhawks up for the next three seasons.

When Weis recruited Crist to Notre Dame in 2008, he was supposed to keep things rolling after Jimmy Clausen left. But Crist's career never went as planned in South Bend, as he eventually lost his job to Tommy Rees under new coach Brian Kelly.

Heaps lost his job at BYU this season to Riley Nelson.

Both players will get their chance in Lawrence to live up to their prep expectations.

2013 forward Brannen Green picks Kansas

Brannen Greene, a small forward from Forsyth, Ga., ranked as the No. 35 player in the 2013 class, gave an oral commitment to the Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday morning, according to Rivals.com.

Greene, who is 6-foot-7 and 200 pounds, visited Kansas for "Late Night at the Phog." He chose KU over Connecticut, Florida, Louisville, Memphis, Ohio State and others.

Greene joins Wichita's Conner Frankamp in KU's 2013 class.

Turner Gill named FCS program Liberty's head coach

Liberty, an Evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Va., has named former Kansas coach Turner Gill as its head football coach, the school announced on its Web site late Wednesday night.

Gill, who went 5-19 in two seasons at KU and 20-30 in four seasons at Buffalo, will be introduced at Liberty, a Football Championship Series program, on Thursday afternoon.

"In our search for a new head football coach, almost every advisor recommended Turner Gill," Liberty chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said in a statement. "Every indication is that he is a perfect fit for Liberty University. His experience is at the level where we would like to take our football program. His Christian faith is strong and sincere and what any new recruit would expect to see in a Liberty University head football coach. I think Liberty University and Turner Gill were made for each other."

Kansas gets commitment from Miege WR Tre Parmalee

According to the Twitter account of Bishop Miege star wide receiver Tre Parmalee, @Tre_Parmalee5, Parmalee has given an oral commitment to Kansas coach Charlie Weis.

Parmalee, who had originally committed to Northern Illinois, is considered one of the top players in Kansas City. He is the son of Chiefs tight ends coach Bernie Parmalee, who coached the tight ends at Notre Dame under Weis from 2005-09.

Tre Parmalee becomes the seventh commitment of KU's 2012 class.

Weis' contract released

Kansas Athletics released KU football coach Charlie Weis' contract on Wednesday afternoon. The document confirmed the five-year, $12.5 million agreement The Star reported last week.

Read a PDF of the contract here: http://media.kansascity.com/smedia/2011/12/14/14/40/sSZeY.So.81.pdf

Some interesting tidbits from the contract:

* Kansas will provide at least $2.1 million a year for assistant coaching salaries.

* Incentives:

Five Big 12 wins ($50,000)
Each additional Big 12 win ($10,000)
Big 12 regular season title ($100,000)
Bowl game participation ($50,000)
Bowl game win ($25,000)
BCS bowl game participation ($100,000)
BCS bowl game win ($50,000)
AP national coach of the year ($75,000)
Big !2 coach of the year ($50,000)
National championship game participation ($200,000)
National championship game win ($100,000)

* The $12.5 million is guaranteed to Weis as long as he is not terminated for cause.

* Weis has to pay Kansas $2.5 million if he leaves for another job or terminates the agreement for another reason by Dec. 31, 2014. If Weis terminates the agreement between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 31, 2016, Weis has to pay KU $1.5 million.