Kansas football lands former top-100 recruit from Auburn. Here’s what an expert thinks

The Kansas Jayhawks football team got a little more formidable Monday.

Auburn defensive end transfer Dylan Brooks announced a verbal commitment to KU on social media Monday. Verbal commitments aren’t binding and can be fluid until players arrive on campus.

The former four-star recruit from Roanoke, Alabama, spent two years at Auburn and will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

After redshirting his freshman season, he played nine games in 2022 with the Tigers. Over those nine games, he played 140 snaps on defense and finished with six tackles — four solo — and one tackle for loss.

The top 100 recruit in the 2021 class (per 247Sports) initially chose Tennessee but requested a release from his National Letter of Intent after a coaching change.

He ultimately picked Auburn over Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Florida, Florida State and other schools.

“It was a huge recruiting win for Auburn and he was a very dominant defensive end coming out of Alabama,” Clint Brewster, who evaluates prospects and transfer portal talent for 247Sports, told The Star. “He didn’t play much the two seasons that he was at Auburn. He was behind some really good players there.”

Brewster shared his scouting report on Brooks with The Star.

“He’s a raw type of boundary edge that needs to really develop his pass-rushing repertoire,” said Brewster. “He’s really good at anchoring down against the run and holding himself against the run. His run integrity is really good. Tough kid. He’s physical.

“He has some upside there as a pass rusher that he can still develop, but he’s got to get better a developing those moves to get past the offensive tackle. But you’ve got to love that he was a top-100 recruit coming out of high school and just the upside that he still has.”

After the departure of last season’s sack leader Lonnie Phelps to the pros, Kansas coach Lance Leipold and his staff have prioritized improving the defensive line.

In the first transfer portal cycle, KU landed three transfer defensive linemen — Minnesota’s Gage Keys and Austin Booker and Colorado State’s Devin Phillips.

Brooks isn’t guaranteed a starting job at Kansas but will be a significant addition to a group filled with question marks following Phelps’ departure.

“He’s got to come in and prove himself right away, but obviously, there’s some voids — there’s not a lot of production coming back,” Brewster said. “I think he definitely has a chance to get in the mix right away from what I’ve heard.”

Brewster believes the 6-foot-4, 232-pound defensive lineman could help replace Phelps’ production “if he just continues that upward growth and all of that skill set is there.”

“He’s got some burst off the ball. He’s got some hands. He can get around the edge; he can bull rush,” Brewster said. “His power and strength stand out for a guy that’s not huge.

“He doesn’t have really good size, but he has really good power, effort, motor and toughness. … He’s a guy that’s going to be a good college player and bring his toughness and motor every play.”