Kansas commit Kory Amachree 'ready to explode' in return from injury for Haslett

HASLETT — Kory Amachree spent much of the offseason watching and waiting.  

And rehabbing.

Haslett's star running back was trying to work his way back from a severe leg injury he suffered in October that ended his junior season early. Once he was fully cleared during the summer, the focus for the Kansas commit and No. 13 prospect in Michigan in the 2026 class centered around making up for lost time and preparing to put together a big finish to his high school career.

“When you have an injury like that, you don't want to come back too early because it's not anything small that happened,” Amachree said. “I definitely wanted to make sure my rehab went well and take care of everything. After that it was making sure I'm building myself back up stronger than what I was before. Rehab and stuff aside, I've still got to get better. I had to make sure that not only did I get back to where I was before, but I push myself further.”

Prior to his injury — a broken fibula and tibia suffered in Week 8 — Amachree was playing at a high level for the Vikings.  He had rushed for more than 250 yards in Week 6 and 7 victories over Williamston and St. Johns and was finding his groove. That included running for 299 yards against the Hornets.

“He was really hitting his stride in that Week 8 game when he got injured,” Haslett coach Brad Thomas said. “You could really see him playing the running back position and setting up blocks and all those things at a higher level than he had been at before. It was just disappointing for him and everyone because you had seen the light bulbs go on. 

“For him to come back and hit the ground running — he's seen a lot of it and the mental side of him is there now. He's back and he's enjoying it and you can see he took all that in and all that time he had off to prepare himself mentally. Now physically he's back and ready to explode.”

In preparation for a big finish, Amachree followed the college workout schedule of his older brother Nakai, who is a running back at Bowling Green. He knows that can be beneficial as he prepares for his future at Kansas and tries to build off his success as a junior when he ran for 1,102 yards and 18 touchdowns and also had 220 receiving yards in six games while earning Michigan Sports Writers Division 3-4 all-state recognition. 

“There's definitely a lot of things I've been working on,” Amachree said. “Obviously my general game (and getting) bigger, faster, stronger. There's a couple more moves I've added to my bag. I'm able to play faster and everything like that. I'm just excited to go out there and show what I've been working on.”

His return is a big reason Haslett, which opens its season at DeWitt on Thursday, Aug. 28, is taking aim at the CAAC Red title, repeating as district champions and making a deep run in the Division 4 state playoffs. 

“It’s just super exciting to have a talented player like that,” Thomas said. “You don't get the chance to coach players of that level very often, but I think the big thing is it's been fun to watch him grow up and seeing his maturity level jump with taking a leadership role and making sure to be early and being one of the guys that leads some of our stretching and being someone that picks up the younger guys. You can just see that level of maturity.

“He's obviously very talented on the field, but the off the field stuff is where we've seen a ton of growth as well and that's been super exciting. He's a great player and a great young man and we're excited that we get him for nine and, hopefully, more games this season.”

Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Back from injury, Kansas commit Kory Amachree eyes big finish for Haslett