4/26/2007 football Edit

Kansas City RB enjoys spring game visit

Jeremy Crabtree

Recruiting Editor

Kansas State hosted a big crew of unofficial visits last weekend for the Wildcats' spring game, and one of the top players there at the game was 6-foot-3, 216-pound running back Jarell Childs of Kansas City (Mo.) Oak Park.

"It was a lot of fun," Childs said about his time in Manhattan. "It was like their blue-chip day. There were a lot of big guys, a bunch of the top juco kids from Dodge City and Coffeyville were there, and a bunch of the high school guys from Kansas City."

Childs said he got some special attention from the K-State administration while he was there in town.

"The president of the school (Jon Wefald) came to talk to me while we were eating," Childs said. "It was really nice. It was nice to see that their school president supports football as much as he does. That's a really neat thing."

Childs also spent some one-on-one time with K-State coach Ron Prince.

"I talked to coach Prince a long time in his office," Childs said. "He's a real outgoing guy, and it's easy to talk to him."

Childs has an early offer from Kansas State, and he's starting to get more attention from some other schools.

"The Wyoming coach, I think it was coach Applewhite, came by the school," Childs said. "He told my coach that I would definitely be hearing from them in May. Arkansas is also starting to send me a lot of mail, and so is Penn State. I guess both of them saw my film on Rivals and really liked it."

Childs said he's not getting a lot of attention from the other local schools – KU or Missouri. He admits he's a little surprised he's not hearing more from Missouri. His older brother, Jaron Baston, is currently a sophomore defensive tackle for the Tigers.

"K-State is my only offer, and I do really like them, but I want to wait it out," he said. "I'm just waiting to see what all my options are and then make the right decision. It's a big decision, and I don't want to rush into it. I'm definitely surprised I've not heard from Missouri more. I've not heard a thing from them or from Kansas."