Iola High School senior football linebacker Jordy Kaufman will take his talents to Leavenworth after signing his national letter of intent with the University of Saint Mary Wednesday.
Before his senior year, Kaufman had not considered playing at the college level, but early into the 2024 season he noticed something different about his play.
“It started my senior year. I realized I was getting better,” Kaufman said. “My coaches noticed that in me, too, so they thought I could go on to the next level. Ever since, they’ve pushed me to keep trying. I’m glad they did, because now I’m going to Saint Mary.”
Iola assistant football coach Tre Howard said he tried to persuade Kaufman to look at playing college for years. Following a playoff game, Kaufman finally committed to effort, beginning a months-long process to find the right suitor.
“I was on the sideline and he said ‘I got more in the tank coach. I want to play after high school,’” Howard said. “I said ‘Dang man, it’s been three years. The third year, your senior year, you’re telling me you want to play after high school.’ We put a film together and we tried. Saint Mary, of course, but a lot of schools were interested.”
While it took Kaufman three years to decide whether to play college football, it took Saint Mary head football coach Lance Hinson only three plays to decide on Kaufman. Hinson personally attended Wednesday’s signing ceremony to welcome his newest linebacker. At the suggestion of IHS Class of 2023 graduate Jake Skahan, Hinson watched a few of Kaufman’s highlights and made the call.
“Three plays — I’ve been coaching college football for 31 years,” Hinson said of how he could quickly assess Kaufman’s talent. “Whenever I watch film, it doesn’t take a whole lot (of time) to see. The potential there is incredible.”
Hinson considers Kaufman the surprise of the 2025 recruiting class. Kaufman’s next goal is to live up to Hinson’s expectations.
Kaufman will forgo the 2025 baseball season, and focus on getting himself into shape to take the field of a four-year, NAIA program. He will be a part of turning around a program with a 1-9 record last season. Both Kaufman and Saint Mary coaches believe he will see significant playing time this season. Considering the Spires run a similar defensive scheme as Iola, both parties believe it will be a smooth transition.
“I’m going to workout more, and do agility [workouts] with Coach Trey (Pleasant) to get myself ready,” Kaufman said. “I’m going to put on a lot of muscle, and eat better. I can do that, get more protein in my body, get more muscle on me and get ready to go.”
While attending Saint Mary, Kaufman plans to study business. He said what made SMU stand out among the other schools he visited was the relationship between coaches and players.
“They run a lot of different things with their defense, so they switch a lot of players out,” Kaufman said. “It’s the place for me. Where I’ll get playing time sooner than later as long as I put in the work.”
Following the ceremony, Kaufman thanked his friends, family, coaches and teammates for their roles in allowing him to take his skills to the next level.
“Especially my dad, but my family in general and all of the coaching staff here at Iola — everyone is a great coach and has good relationships with you. They all pushed me to get better,” Kaufman said.
His parents are Jodie and Jason Kaufman.
