Friday, Jul. 11, 2008

Marauder Opts to Play for Jayhawks

By Kevin Lonnquist Staff Writer

It’s one thing to have the opportunity to play college football in Texas, especially when it’s your home. It’s another to play for a Bowl Championship Series conference team.

That’s why it really wasn’t a tough decision for Marcus offensive lineman Ty Cloud. With an offer from the University of Houston, a non-BCS school, Cloud (6-foot-4, 305 pounds) instead gave an oral commitment to Big 12 Conference power Kansas.

Oral commitments are non-binding. The first day a recruit can sign a national letter of intent is Feb. 4, 2009.

Cloud also had an offer from Southern Mississippi. Houston and Southern Mississippi are members of Conference USA, a non-BCS conference.

"Definitely, playing in Texas was big, but you can’t pass up a chance to play for Kansas, which was in a BCS game last year (against Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl)," Cloud said. "I wanted to be close, but this is a good opportunity for me."

Cloud went to Kansas’ one-day camp in mid-June and said he came away impressed with the program’s commitment to winning and how it is improving its facilities. He said he plans on majoring in business.

"I like the way [head coach] Mark Mangino and his coaches work with their players," Cloud said of the Jayhawks staff. "They seem to communicate very well."