Lawrence-native Calvin Clements was committed to Baylor. Then he saw KU’s football turnaround

Seventeen-year-old Lawrence native and Kansas super fan Calvin Clements has no memory of Kansas football ever playing in a bowl game.

In fact, he hadn’t started kindergarten when the Jayhawks played in the 2008 Insight Bowl in which the KU defeated Minnesota 42-21.

Until this Tuesday, the 6-foot-7, 295-pound senior from Lawrence Free State High School (3.1 miles from KU’s campus) was all set to move 591 miles south to Waco, Texas, for college.

Then, he thought about what Kansas football had accomplished. The Jayhawks (6-6, 3-5 in Big-12 Conference play) are bowl eligible for the first time in 14 years.

He wanted in.

Clements, a three-star offensive tackle, told The Star he is committing to the Jayhawks. He announced the news publicly Wednesday evening. The class of 2023 recruit played at Free State for the past two seasons after transferring from Veritas Christian.

“I’m ready to play,” he told The Star. “I’m going to give this program everything I got. I’ve grown up in Lawrence and I was born a Jayhawk. I grew up watching some of the blowouts, and seeing the momentum of this program shift has given me a lot of pride. I want to be a part of the change within the program.”

Clements was previously committed to the Baylor Bears but decommitted on Tuesday.

“Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had a little change of heart, and I’ve realized the value of staying local,” Clements said, “you know, wanting to be close to the people that know me best. My vision for KU has amplified and come back. It’s the place I want to be.”

Clements choose Kansas over reported offers from Baylor, Kansas State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Oklahoma State.

Clements said he was initially offered a scholarship by the interim KU staff following the departure of previous coach Les Miles. When Lance Leipold eventually became head coach, Clements built a great relationship with him and his son, Landon, who played with Clements at Lawrence Free State.

He credits seeing Kansas practice this past spring and officially meeting the coaching staff in person as a big part of building a good relationship with the staff.

Clements believes his commitment could be pivotal in attracting more local talent to KU.

“I think I will be really valuable for them being a local, another local kid,” he said. “They don’t get a whole bunch of really good football players (from in state). I think me and some other guys like Devin Neal (KU running back from Lawrence) and some guys who have picked KU from the local standpoint can help turn over some of the recruits. It can definitely build a whole new vibe in the locker room.”

Clements has been hard at work getting ready for his first college season. He has been training with Kelly Barah at Ubuntu Performance to help him prepare for college football. He plans to graduate from high school this December and will report to Lawrence in January as an early-enrollee.

He believes his biggest strength is his athleticism.

“I’ve always been told I have a really good frame, very athletic,” he said. “Very violent at the point of contact and very explosive.”

Kevin Stewart, his high school football coach, raved about his reliability on the field in a phone interview with The Star.

“He’s so good and reliable that we forget how good he is because we get accustomed to it,” Stewart said. “What I mean by that is: at the end of the year we played some really good defensive teams and defensive linebackers. We were able to win those games. When we reviewed the film and the game, it was clear to us that we were successful because Calvin was able to eliminate and dominate their best players.”

Clements can’t wait to get to work in Lawrence.

“I definitely think there is a lot of impact that is to be had within a program on the rise,” Clements said. “It’s hard to build up a program, but it’s even harder to maintain one. They’ve started to rise and they are getting to their first bowl game in a while. I think I can help them continue to do that and maintain.”