Quick Take: The change from Nebraska to Kansas has been brewing for a while. Two weeks ago, Bryson Hayes confided in me he went to Lawrence with his family to meet with the coaching staff. I kept that out of the public out of respect for Hayes, because I felt a change was coming in his recruiting.
He handled it well and from what I was told he was honest with the Nebraska coaching staff.
I always thought KU was either the top school for Hayes, or at least a front-runner. He visited eight times during his recruiting process and his trip two weeks ago makes it nine.
When he was committed to NU, he stayed in touch with the KU staff and WR coach Terry Samuel. Things built up over time and he was ready to make the change after thinking about it for a while.
This is a big get for Kansas for several reasons. For starters, he was always one of their most coveted receiver targets. They put a lot of time and effort into trying to get him before he committed and stayed on him after that.
It also gives them another local player in the state. It is a good last couple of weeks adding Jaylen Mason and Hayes. They are both Top 10 in-state prospects.
Breakdown: Hayes plays with a combination of speed and power. If you watch his film, he rarely goes down on first contact. Maize gets him the ball quickly in space and lets him operate. They use bubble screens, and he is successful in getting yards after the catch.
He can also beat cornerbacks on deep routes. He has some size at 185 pounds but still has speed to get past defenders. He has turned in 100m times of 10.6, so that tells you he has the speed.
What this means: KU loses all their top receivers. Going into the recruiting cycle I said they would take four high school receivers if they can find four they want. Hayes makes it three and they will get a visit from Jaden Nickens for the Colorado game.
The people I have talked with feel good about Nickens. He will announce next week, and the big sign came this week when he decided not to visit Arizona State.
If they can close out the WR class with Hayes and Nickens that would be closing strong.