Big 12 Snapshot: Kansas State Wildcats

Good morning. I’m introducing a new series intended to take a look at each team in the new Big 12. I’m not sure how many I’ll get done each week, but the only way for me to really know about these teams is to actually do the research so I can be relatively informed when the season hits. So I spent time doing the research this weekend. There are links to everything below so if there isn’t a link, then I didn’t write it, but I always link back to the originator of the content. I wanted to take a quick look at the team: get a feel for the best players; look into their portal class consisted and how they ranked overall; a look at the 2024 recruiting class; and ending on the graphic from Sharp College Football.

Snapshot: Kansas State decided that Will Howard and his 61% completion percentage with 24 touchdowns and 10 picks wasn’t quite it and have hitched their wagon to QB Avery Johnson, who absolutely demolished Texas Tech. Johnson threw for just 479 yards, 56% completion percentage, 5 touchdowns and no picks, but it was the nearly 300 yards rushing that apparently have the coaches sold. Running back DJ Giddens returns and he ran for 1,226 yards with 10 touchdowns last year. Colorado transfer RB Dylan Edwards is a smaller back and highly regarded. Is Johnson ready to be the guy at QB. Don’t forget that former Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells is the new co-offensive coordinator along with Connor Riley, Riley having been with head coach Chris Klieman since North Dakota State. VJ Payne returns at safety and he had 3 picks last year as his running mate Marques Sigle had 9 passes defended. K-State didn’t have a guy have more than 63 tackles, so it wasn’t just “a guy” it was lots of guys contributing.

Do the Wildcats play Texas Tech? Nope

Returning Starters: Offensive returning starters – 4 (37% of offensive production); Defensive returning starters – 7 (80% of defensive production).

Transfer Portal Arrivals: 6. From everything I’ve read, K-State added impact players even though they only added 6 overall. Edwards and Marenco are the keys.
RB Dylan Edwards (from Colorado)
WR Dante Cephas (from Penn State)
OL Easton Kilty (from North Dakota)
DL Travis Bates (from Austin Peay)
LB Alec Marenco (from New Mexico)
DB Jordan Riley (from Ball State)

On3 Transfer Index Score: -1 (Big 12 high is +68 with Colorado and low is -30 with Houston)

Spring Portal Grades: A

Key additions: Dylan Edwards, RB (Colorado); Alex Marenco, LB (New Mexico)

Key subtractions: Jevon Banks, DL (UConn)

Outlook: Adding Edwards might be the move that helps Kansas State take home the Big 12 title. During his freshman season last year, the Derby, Kan., native ran for 321 yards and a touchdown on 76 carries while pulling in 36 receptions for 299 yards and four scores through the air. He adds another dimension to a Wildcats offense that already returns a 1,000-yard rusher in junior running back D.J. Giddens as well as a Heisman darkhorse candidate in sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson.

Pac 12 2024 Recruiting & Big 12 2024 Recruiting: Quarterback Blake Barnett is the lone four-star in Kansas State’s recruiting class and he’s a dynamic playmaker who could do big things in Manhattan. The Wildcats do things their way and it works. Recruiting rankings aren’t always representative of the team they put on the field but they did a phenomenal job landing three in-state standouts in RB John Price and OL Gus Hawkins and Kaedin Massey. Las Vegas Bishop Gorman running back DeVon Rice could be a playmaker all over the field.

Grade: B-

Sharp College Football Beta Rank Deep Dive: Kansas State was terrific offensively, a running game that ranked 8th overall and a darn good passing game. I still can’t get a handle on how good of a passer Johnson is, but we’ll see. The drive efficiency is something that you absolutely expect from K-State. A defense that was excellent against the pass and pretty good against the run. Any time that you have a top 25 defense, things are gong well.