KFBCA Top 11: Jaren Kanak

The Kansas Football Coaches Association picked their All-State teams December 5th and 6th, including their Top 11. Kansas Pregame is providing capsules for each of the Top 11 selections. Check out Hays quarterback and linebacker Jaren Kanak's capsule below, the final KFBCA Top 11 capsule for 2021.

Jaren Kanak, QB/LB/KR/PR, 6-2, 210, Hays High 

A year ago, Hays High’s Jaren Kanak was coming off of a solid junior season at wide receiver, putting up 673 total yards with eight touchdowns, and helping the Indians to an admirable 5-3 record and Western Athletic Conference championship.

Expectations were understandably high for Hays going into this season with Kanak, standout linebacker Gavin Meyers, talented QB and Division I baseball prospect Dylan Dreiling, along with a load of other experienced seniors returning.

This spring, Kanak was finally able to run track for the first time since seventh grade. The junior made an immediate splash running some of the state’s fastest times in the 100 and 200 meter dashes where he took second in both events at the 2021 KSHSAA State Track and Field Championships, as well as fifth in the long jump.

At the Western Athletic Conference league meet Kanak raised eyebrows when he recorded a 10.37 in the 100, giving the 6-2, 210 pound physical specimen the sixth fastest time in the state’s history.

Video of the blazing fast 100 went viral and it took little time for college coaches across the nation to sit up and take notice. While Kanak had already gained some DI notoriety through his solid play for Hays High and strong showings at Sharp Performance events, his minor Twitter celebrity status catapulted him into the national spotlight.

The recruiting frenzy that followed had Kanak’s phone working overtime, with schools like Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Michigan, among many other FBS powers hoping to land the speedster.

“That changed my recruiting,” Kanak said. “It blew up my recruiting a lot. It's been different ever since that, but I just attribute that to all the work I put in during the offseason.”

While social media surrounding Kanak’s eventual decision was a circus, other variables kept life in Hays relatively normal.

“The wildest time was last spring when our phones were blowing up non-stop all day, but COVID really robbed our school and town of what should have been a great experience never seen before in Hays,” coach Tony Crough said. “With a top recruit in the country, normally we would have big time coaches in to visit daily. Under the circumstances COVID provided, and Jaren’s early commitment, we did not have a coach in the school to see Jaren until the first week of December 2021.”

Jaren’s commitment came on July 30th, when he decided to become a Clemson Tiger, allowing him to shift his full focus to the football field.

Making a decision on a school and honing in on the 2021 season ended up paying major dividends, with returning quarterback Dylan Dreiling - a Tennessee baseball commit - opting out of his senior year of football to avoid injury, leaving a vacancy at signal-caller for Hays.

Crough called on his best athlete to take the responsibility and he was not disappointed.

Kanak went off, finishing the season with 1,615 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns on 158 carries, along with 910 passing yards and 12 more scores. His efforts helped Hays to an 8-3 record - just the eighth season in school history with at least eight wins, as reported by Eagle Radio's Dustin Armbruster - and an appearance in the Quarterfinals against eventual state runner-up Maize.

“He never hesitated to do what the team needed most to succeed even though he would have rather played other positions,” Crough said. “We ended up having the best season in the history of Hays High football, so it proved to be a pretty good move.”

For Kanak, it was just another challenge to tackle.

“It's definitely an interesting transition,” Kanak said. “I’ve never played quarterback before and barely ever have even thrown a ball. I wouldn’t say it was too tough, I would say it was more a new thing to try and an obstacle to overcome.”

In their elimination game against Maize, Kanak went viral on Twitter once again, this time for one of the best runs of the season, during which he powered through eight separate tackle attempts en route to a 60-yard score. The video has since been viewed over a million times on various social media platforms and made it to ESPN’s Sportscenter.

“While it was happening and after it ended, you kind of get in the end zone and you're like, ‘Wow, did that just happen?’ Kanak said. “I watched it back when we were watching film and was like ‘Hey, that’s a pretty good run there.’ I was pretty pumped up about that, but I was still trying to stay focused on the game though.”

“The Run” or the “The Kanak Quake,” as some have called it, gave the Indians a 16-14 lead in the first quarter. Hays didn’t allow Maize much breathing room the rest of the game, but despite the early lead and Kanak’s 203 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Eagles and star junior QB Avery Johnson - another of the state’s top college prospects - slipped past the Indians, 48-36.

“It didn’t exactly end the way we wanted it, but there are a lot of great memories that we made there and a lot of things I’ll remember forever with that team and I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Kanak said.

Looking back on his time coaching Kanak, Crough believes he has all the intangibles that could be asked for in a player, pointing out his “desire to succeed,” “servant leadership,” and “work ethic” as defining traits of his star player.

“I’ve never seen anyone more dedicated to their craft,” Crough said. “He is a tireless worker and takes pride in working when others are not.”

Crough also included Kanak on a shortlist of the most versatile players he’s ever coached, including the likes of Von Miller, Cyrus Gray, and other elite NFL players from Crough’s time coaching in Texas. 

“In Kansas, where great players are demanded more to play all over the field, Jaren is one of the best,” Crough said. “He is also the most well-rounded kid I have ever coached, he is the total package.”

On November 28th, former Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley rocked the college football world when he left his job at OU to take over the USC Trojans. Within the framework of that changing landscape, Clemson defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Brent Venables - the coach that recruited Kanak to Clemson - left his coordinator position and accepted the vacancy at OU, where he previously served as an assistant to Bobby Stoops.

This placed Kanak in a tough spot with a choice between the school he originally verbally committed to and the school of the coach who recruited him. While he didn’t sign with Clemson during the recent Early Signing Day as originally planned, it appears he will follow Venables to Norman, where 247Sports writer Riley Gates reports he is already enrolled for the spring semester as a December graduate of Hays High.

If Kanak is in fact to follow the Salina native and former K-State player and assistant coach to Oklahoma, then he could prove to be a pivotal defensive playmaker as Venables tries to return the Sooner defense to its rightful place as one of the best in the nation, and leaves Kanak with only memories of his time running over opposing defenders with the ball in his hands.

The KFBCA Top 11 and All-State selections consist of seniors from the Class of 2022 nominated and voted on by members of the Kansas Football Coaches Association. For more info about the KFBCA find them online at www.kfbca.com.