National Signing Day 2016 Preview

Well Wildcats, it's that time of year again. The time of year where high school and junior college athletes sign a piece of paper that binds them legally (sort of) to a university for their next two or four(ish) years.

National Signing Day 2015 was one of rejoicing for K-State coaches and fans. First, the staff held on to 4-star (and future starter) CB Duke Shelley. Then, with huge help from Shelley, the staff flipped and signed Elijah Sullivan, a 3-star LB who prepped with Shelley in GA. The staff also got one other piece of big news, as Bryce English signed to K-State, thanks in part to Snyder's brief stint at North Texas while Bryce's dad was playing there (Now of course English is gone, but there is no way any person with a heart could be mad at him for transferring).

But for as much fun as NSD '15 was, NSD '16 may cause equally as much concern and frustration from Wildcat fans. While the biggest name of the class, 4-star QB Skylar Thompson, is already on campus, there have been several defections and a bunch of head-scratching decisions made by the coaching staff. Again, it's not all bad, but it is concerning enough that more than just the crazies are voicing their frustrations.

So what is National Signing Day 2016 going to look like for Kansas State?

Breakdown Preview

So far, there are four new guys already on campus. We'll break down all of them later in the week, but for now, this is who we know we have new coming in:

• Skylar Thompson, QB, Independance, MO (Ft. Osage), 4-Star (HS Early Enrollee)
• Corey Sutton, WR, Charlotte, NC (Mallard Creek), 3-Star (HS Early Enrollee)
• Byron Pringle, WR, El Dorado, KS (Butler Co. CC), 3-Star (Signed LOI as JUCO Early Enrollee)
• Abdul Beecham, OL, Converse, TX (Blinn CC), 2-Star (Signed LOI as JUCO Early Enrollee)

There are also a few guys who signed last year but took greyshirts, so they should be on campus already as well: Kyle Ball, DE, Shawnee Mission, KS; Brett Bell, TE/DE, Wichita, KS; Tyler Burns, ATH, Wichita, KS.

There are eleven more guys, currently, that have verbally pledged to K-State but will have to wait a week to make it official. Again, we'll have a complete breakdown of those guys later this week.

So that's 18, meaning that there are hopefully at least seven more guys that pledge between now and next Tuesday. Of course while NSD isn't the end, it's just the first day that these guys can sign their National Letter of Intent, there are generally very few signings of note after the first Tuesday of February, and those slots are either taken by deserving walk-ons, bumped-up greyshirts, or last-minute JUCO additions (like Jonathan Banks).

Stay tuned to Bring On The Cats all week for continuing recruiting coverage as we lead up to National Signing Day 2016!