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When we opted to post about the 20 players who'd already committed to K-State as of Tuesday, it was a calculated risk. None of them were serious threats to flip elsewhere, but you never know what's going to happen on National Signing Day. Our faith was rewarded, as all 20 of those players signed on the dotted line. But they weren't the only ones. Here's the rundown of the remaining official signees from yesterday.
Isaiah Riddle
Outside Linebacker
Scottsdale CC (Arizona); Northgate High School (Newnan, Georgia)
6'3", 235 lbs, 4.46 40
This was, of course, the big fish of the day, and we posted about his signing individually shortly after he was officially announced. Riddle had 61 tackles (six for loss) and a couple of interceptions for a 10-1 Scottsdale team which knocked off Dodge City in the Valley of the Sun Bowl at season's end. And now Riddle gets to team up with two of his opponents in that game to help anchor the new Wildcat defense.
Riddle's got some quicks. He was a running back in high school, and the first play on his senior highlight reel shows him busting a 98-yard touchdown run, followed by some other plays where he pops through holes with a decent burst. But I'm not going to show you that video, because he's not coming in here to carry the football. Instead, here's his Scottsdale video, which I unfortunately can't embed for you.
Jeb Drost
Guard
Central High School (Saint Joseph, Missouri)
6'5", 300 lbs, 5.09 40
Drost came out of nowhere yesterday. The unranked lineman was an all-city guard as a senior, and his father is a former first-team Big Ten and honorable mention All-America defensive lineman from Iowa... when Bill Snyder was the offensive coordinator, so obviously some connections came into play with this one.
With so little go on with Drost, it's probably safe to assume he's directly headed for a redshirt. There is no single highlight video for Drost's senior campaign, so you'll have to go through individual game clips on Hudl to get a look at him.
Bryce Fitzner
Tight End/Offensive Line
Francis Parker School (San Diego, California)
6'7", 292 lbs, n/a 40
Fitzner signed with the Cats last season, but grayshirted. As a senior, Fitzner was a 245 pound tight end who was considered a three-star prospect. He's now at 292, and seems destined for the offensive line; that's where he's listed on the official signing sheet now. He's pretty mobile; he also played for Francis Parker's basketball team and had the gumption to post basketball highlight video. We'll see what impact the extra fifty pounds of body mass has on that agility.
Again, nothing I can embed; here's Fitzner's senior highlights from 2012 on Hudl.
Terrale Johnson
Guard
Hutchinson CC / Manhattan High School (Manhattan, Kansas)
6'2", 305 lbs, n/a 40
Johnson was the final addition to the class, announced a good three hours after Riddle dropped his bomb. Johnson was an all-Kansas 6A selection as a high school senior in 2011, but had to go put in two years in Hutch before he could finally sign with the hometown heroes. He had some issues at Hutch this season; his father unexpectedly passed away last April, and Johnson began suffering the physical effects of anxiety and very nearly gave up on football. That's all better now, though, and now he's back home.
And look, video! Chock full of Johnson putting dudes to the ground.
Colby Moore
Safety/Quarterback
Liberty Christian School (Argyle, Texas)
6'0", 196 lbs, n/a 40
Moore was recruited as a quarterback, but he's now being listed as a safety. Apparently he's okay with this, and the switch may have been what earned him his scholarship; previously, he'd been a walk-on commit. That said, we don't have a lot of information about his ability as a safety. What we do know is that the staff apparently would rather have Zach Davidson as their 2014 QB signing, otherwise they wouldn't be asking Moore to move.
And even though it's mostly of no use since he's not playing QB, here's his highlights.
Zach Reuter
Wide Receiver
Rock Bridge High School (Columbia, Missouri)
6'3", 190 lbs, 4.50 40
Reuter, who's expected to grayshirt, had a career at Rock Bridge which didn't look a whole lot different than Dorial Green-Beckham's. Yet he received no scholarship offers from anywhere other than K-State, and doesn't rate a ranking at the recruiting services. Part of that is that Missouri is flat loaded with wideouts, but even at that some Columbia-area Mizzou fans are hot that the Tigers let him get away. Another part of it, as much as nobody wants to admit it, is probably pigment-related.
Reuter hauled in 81 passes for 1,545 yards, scoring 24 touchdowns for Rock Bridge last year. Here's some of them.
Dayton Valentine
Tight End
Baldwin High School (Baldwin City, Kansas)
6'4", 260 lbs, 4.82 40
Valentine was slated to grayshirt, then appeared on the roster, causing some confusion when BracketCat did his roster countdown last summer. His presence on yesterday's list clears some of that up; apparently he walked on, and received a scholarship yesterday.
Interestingly, Valentine was an all-state defensive end in 2012, but the 'Cats had him slated for tight end all along. Valentine was already strong -- a track star at Baldwin, he competed in throwing events -- and he's packed on another 20 pounds since last spring. Here's his senior highlight reel at Hudl.
***
We've now profled 27 of K-State's 2014 signees. But wait, you say, there were 28. The 28th wasn't an actual signee; the staff awarded redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Will Ash a scholarship, so congrats to him.
For our profiles of the other 20 signees, see the Next Clicks segment below. Later in the day, Curtis will be along to break down what exactly all this means for the 2014 Wildcats.
