Kansas football signee Ethan Vasko explains timing of his visit, what he experienced

Big Jay plays air guitar during a time out at the Sunflower Showdown between Kansas and Kansas State in 2021 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Big Jay plays air guitar during a time out at the Sunflower Showdown between Kansas and Kansas State in 2021 at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.

LAWRENCE — As Ethan Vasko reflected Monday on his official visit this month for Kansas football, the Jayhawks’ 2022 recruiting class signee at quarterback pointed back to a conversation that had occurred some time ago.

Vasko, who signed with Kansas this past December despite never visiting Lawrence, might have been able to experience the program in person before he made that pledge. The high school prospect out of Virginia said there was talk of him flying out after his school’s state championship game, which it won Dec. 11, and having that next day in town. The early signing period would begin less than a week later.

But ultimately that didn’t occur. Vasko didn’t feel as if that’d be enough time. He felt comfortable enough to sign and make the trip later.

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And as Vasko thought about the decision now, looking back, he’s happy that’s the path that was chosen. He had the opportunity to see Kansas quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski again, and all the other coaches in person for the first time, with more time available than he would have had otherwise. It’s helped solidify a decision, seeing the stadium and campus and more, that took a bit of a leap of faith to make.

“Now, looking back on it, it’s kind of crazy how you can — like, I hadn’t met any of the coaches,” said Vasko, who intends to return to see some of spring ball. “So, I talked to all of them, though, which I thought made me feel a little bit better. But I think it was a good decision ... They all seemed genuine and stuff. So, I think whenever they seem that way, whenever you can feel confident about just going there and knowing that they’re the right people from the conversations, they kind of match your energy level, I think I felt more confident in it and it didn’t make it seem as, like, crazy to me.”

Jayhawks head coach Lance Leipold had said about Vasko, who had connections with the coaching staff from some of their time at Buffalo, back in December: “Coach Zebrowski’s always liked him, stayed in contact with him. Tall, rangy, can run the ball as well but he’s got a strong arm. Very mature young man that’s a leader, and just the whole package that we thought that was going to fit into our system. And he was one that was going to, if we were going that route, that was … where Jim wanted to go from the start.”

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Vasko, of course, was not the only prospect on his visit. There were others there with him, getting a better feel for the program as well. And at least a couple of them weren’t even committed to Kansas at the time.

Vasko felt he had good conversations with both Ky Thomas and “Champ.” Thomas, a collegiate running back, was exploring transferring from Minnesota to Kansas and would eventually announce a commitment to the Jayhawks this past weekend. “Champ,” who appears to be a high school prospect for the 2022 class named Ronald Lewis, is listed by 247Sports as a cornerback and Texas commit — which Vasko described him as — who took an official visit this month to Kansas as well.

Vasko thought it was cool to see Thomas commit to Kansas and that it bodes well that other recruits are seeing the caliber of talent the Jayhawks are bringing in. When Vasko was with them, he said he tried not to be overbearing with pushing Kansas as their future destination. Vasko just tried to provide his own perspective when possible.

“I wasn’t going to tell them which decision to make, but just to tell them what I saw and what I thought about it and to give them my side of the story and what I liked about it and to see, maybe, if they would like the same things,” said Vasko, who said Thomas might have already decided on Kansas before talking to him. “So, that’s kind of where I was at, and wasn’t really trying to force anything and just had good, genuine conversations with them. And I think, that’s really all you can do as a recruit.”

Vasko understands he’s joining a quarterback room that has experience with guys like Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean. Vasko’s looking at this upcoming season as an opportunity to develop, sure. But he also knows everyone’s fighting for a spot to play and he intends on doing the same.

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The 2021 season in itself showed at Kansas how quickly injuries can affect a team at quarterback. Vasko knows it’s all the more important for him to be ready, considering a backup at quarterback isn’t getting the same game reps as a backup at another position might.

“The visit was really good,” Vasko said. “It was nice. I really liked the city, the area and the people there. It was a really fun visit and it was awesome being able to go around and see everything that they told me about. So, it was really cool. And then, especially being able to meet all the coaches, and just put everything together and see how it was. It was really awesome.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas football signee Ethan Vasko explains timing of his KU visit