KU Offered Randle — In The Fourth Grade
Cowboys running back Joseph Randle was a hot prospect coming out of Wichita Southeast High.
So hot, Kansas started scholarship talks when he was still in elementary school.
“I got a scholarship offer from them when I was in the fourth grade,” Randle said Monday, warming up for Saturday’s visit to Lawrence.
The Jayhawks were recruiting Randle’s big brother, John Randle, and would eventually get him. When coaches from KU and other schools made their in-home visits, little brother used the opportunity to put himself on the map.
“I was the happiest one in the house when they came by,” Randle said. “I’d be popping in my highlight tapes. Not my highlight tape, the regular game. I never came off the field. So it was like the whole game was a highlight tape back then.”
The clearly confident Randle wasn’t wooed only by the Jayhawks, who were coached by Mark Mangino at the time.
Randle said Missouri’s Gary Pinkel and Kansas State’s Bill Snyder dangled scholarships, too.
“They all said, ‘We’re going to offer you when you get of age,’” Randle said. “I was like, ‘All right.’
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