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#98 Craig Settles Jr. |
Position: Defensive Tackle Previous College: Pasadena (Calif.) City College Projection: Scout Team Status: On Scholarship |
Craig Steven Settles Jr. (b. Jan. 23, 1994) is a 2-star JUCO defensive tackle. He chose Kansas State over offers from Akron, Hawaii, Old Dominion and Southern Miss, as well as interest from Iowa State and Texas Tech.
Settles had little Power 5 interest until at least a month after National Signing Day, when it became apparent that his decision to take a year off from football to redshirt and focus on his academics was going to pay off after all.
We got in the door first, thanks to Taylor Braet's efforts, and landed this behemoth to replace Terrell Clinkscales.
Nor was this his first break from football. He played two seasons for the Herbert Hoover High School Tornadoes under head coach Chris Long, but elected not to go out for varsity football in either his junior or senior years.
Nevertheless, Settles was selected to play in the Hall of Fame All-Star Game following his senior year in 2012.
That appearance, plus a little luck, landed him a spot at Pasadena City College, where he played the 2012 and 2013 seasons for the Lancers under head coach Fred Fimbres.
Settles totaled 38 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and five sacks in his two-year career, including 28 stops, 11 TFLs and four sacks as a sophomore in 2013, when he earned Southern California Football Association (SCFA) second-team All-Northern Conference honors.
GoPowercat.com reported that the K-State coaches were willing to take a chance on Settles, thanks to his speed:
"Something all the coaches recognize is my speed," says Settles. "I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but it's tremendous for my size because I run about a 4.9."
"Growing up, that's all I did was run up hills," continued the verbal pledge.
"My hand placement is big too, but it's my speed that separates me because my Dad never let me train on flat land. I always ran uphill. It's like they say, 'Speed kills'."
The aforementioned Dad, Craig Settles Sr., himself was an All-American wrestler at San Francisco State University.
Interestingly, Settles wants to major in business because he actually has his own business selling light bars for off-road vehicles, which turned 1 year old in April. Nothing like being sacked by an entrepreneur, right?