Nacogdoches Offensive Lineman Jacob Bragg Commits to Kansas

One of the best offensive linemen in East Texas is Big 12 Conference-bound.

Nacogdoches' Jacob Bragg committed to Kansas during a mid-week visit. He told ETSN.fm of his decision at 4:10 p.m. Wednesday.

"I just wanted my parents to come and love it and they did," Bragg said. "There's just something about it. It felt like home. The atmosphere and talking with the coaches, it just instantly clicked."

Bragg, who starts at center for the Dragons, also holds offers from Louisiana Tech, Oregon State, and ULM, but the NFL experience on Kansas' staff made a strong impression. Kansas offensive line coach Tim Grunhard played 11 years for the Kansas City Chiefs and was named to the 1999 Pro Bowl. He also won a national championship with Notre Dame in 1988.

"I couldn't pass up being coached by coach Grunhard," Bragg said. "He was a center in the NFL and I can't pass up all the knowledge he could give."

Kansas head coach Charlie Weis also brings a wealth of NFL experience. He spent 1990-2004 as an NFL assistant, including the 2000-04 seasons as the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator. He was also Notre Dame's head coach from 2005-09 before spending 2010 as Kansas City's offensive coordinator and 2011 as Florida's offensive coordinator before getting the Kansas head coaching job.

"Coach Weis talked to my parents," Bragg said. "He made sure they knew I was one of his kids now and I would be taken care of and they could trust him with me."

Bragg won Co-Offensive Lineman MVP honors with Van's Wyatt Santos at the ETSN.fm Football Recruiting Combine on May 19 at APEC training facility in Tyler.

He measured 6-foot-5, 311.2 pounds in shoes and tested very well, finishing second among 14 offensive linemen in the broad jump (8 feet, 8 1/2 inches), tied for second in bench reps at 225 pounds (20), third in the vertical jump (26 inches), tied for third in the ladder (11.00 seconds), and fourth in the 40-yard dash (5.20 seconds). He also impressed during one-on-one drills vs. defensive linemen, including Gladewater 2015 standout Daylon Mack.

Bragg has been selected by Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine as a first-team offensive lineman on the publication's Texas high school football Super Team.

Bragg joins classmate Greg Roberts, a defensive end/linebacker, to give Nacogdoches two players in the 2014 class with at least one offer from a Big 12 school. Roberts (6-5, 200) holds a Baylor offer.

Bragg is the 12th player in East Texas' 2014 football class to commit and 1 of 29 players with at least one Division I FBS offer.

2014 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers

• Terry Ausborne, S, John Tyler, 5-10, 175 -- offer from SMU (1)
• Blake Bogenschutz, QB, Carthage, 6-1, 175 -- committed to UTSA (1)
• Jacob Bragg, OL, Nacogdoches, 6-4, 310 -- committed to Kansas; additional offers from Louisiana Tech, Oregon State, ULM (4)
• K.D. Cannon, WR, Mount Pleasant, 6-0, 160 — offers from Arizona, Baylor, Clemson, Florida State, Houston, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Purdue, SMU, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia (21)
• Caleb Chumley, QB/ATH, Pine Tree, 6-5, 220 -- offers from Houston, Kansas, Louisiana Tech, Memphis, North Texas, Oregon State, Texas State (7)
• Joseph Clark, RB/S, Chapel Hill, 5-9, 175 -- offers from Air Force, Texas State (2)
• Kade Clayton, ATH, Tyler Grace, 6-0, 180 — offer from SMU, Texas State (2)
• Terrell Cuney, C, Jasper, 6-3, 260 — committed to Texas; additional offers from TCU, Texas Tech (3)
• Adrian Goodacre, OL, Carthage, 6-4, 310 -- offer from ULL (1)
• Tee Goree, WR, Carthage, 6-2, 168 -- offer from Louisiana Tech, Memphis, ULL, ULM (4)
• Davion Hall, ATH, Liberty-Eylau, 6-2, 191 — committed to Baylor; additional offers from Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, SMU, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech (9)
• Zaycoven Henderson, DT, Longview, 6-1, 287 — committed to TCU; additional offers from Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, SMU, Texas Tech (7)
• Willy Ivery, ATH, Sulphur Springs, 5-8, 180 -- offers from Colorado State, New Mexico, North Texas, Texas State, Toledo (5)
• Jamal Jeffery, WR, Lufkin, 5-9, 165 — committed to Texas A&M (1)
• Chris Jefferson, ATH, Athens, 6-2, 200 -- committed to SMU (1)
• Ben Luckett, RB, Palestine, 6-0, 195 -- offer from ULM (1)
• Dorian Leonard, WR, Longview, 6-4, 200 — committed to Texas; offers from Florida State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas Tech (6)
• Patrick Mahomes, QB, Whitehouse, 6-3, 203 — committed to Texas Tech; additional offers from Houston, North Texas, Rice (4); also has Arizona, Arkansas, Houston baseball offers
• Jarrell Owens, LB/DE, Palestine, 6-3, 230 -- committed to TCU; additional offers from Texas State, Texas Tech, ULM (4)
• Greg Roberts, DE, Nacogdoches, 6-5, 210 -- offer from Baylor (1)
• Anthony Rhone, LB, Texas High, 6-0, 205 -- offer from SMU (1)
• Okeeron Rutherford, WR, Carthage, 6-5, 181 -- offer from ULM (1)
• Anthony Sanders, ATH, Athens, 5-11, 185 -- offer from ULM (1)
• Kevin Shorter, RB/S, Newton, 6-0, 190 — offers from Arkansas, Army, Baylor, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, LSU, Maryland, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, San Diego State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, ULM, Utah (22)
• Brian Thlang, OL, Palestine, 6-2, 290 -- committed ULM (1)
• Justin Twine, ATH, Hemphill, 5-10, 195 — committed to TCU for baseball; additional football offer from Baylor (1)
• Josh Walker, RB/LB, Gilmer, 6-1, 220 — committed to Texas A&M; additional offers from Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech (4)
• D.J. Williams, DT, Lufkin, 6-4, 293 -- offers from Miami, Missouri, North Texas, Oklahoma (4)
• Jeffery Wilson, RB, Elkhart, 6-0, 190 -- offers from New Mexico State, North Texas, ULM (3)