#69 Xavier Gates True Freshman 6-3 | 320 Harrisburg, Pa. Bio

Position: Defensive Tackle Previous College: None Projection: Redshirt Status: Preferred Walk-On

Xavier Gates followed a long, complicated and confusing road to become a preferred walk-on at Kansas State, and rather than try to recount it in its entirety, I'll simply point you to this excellently written article that recaps most of it.

To make a long story short, Gates probably would be on scholarship right now at a Division I university somewhere but for the recruiting ball being dropped in the midst of a coaching change at his high school.

He was coming to K-State anyway, as a regular student, for our nationally renowned architecture program. But once we realized he was fully qualified, a walk-on offer was extended quickly.

In other words, we lucked into a player who had slipped through the cracks, but has the potential of earning a scholarship in pretty short order — and in our weakest position group, too. Sounds like a hell of a deal to me.

Oh, and he's already gained 20 pounds since showing up on campus. (Although once you get over 300 pounds, it could be argued such weight gain is not necessarily a positive sign, I guess.)