Early Signing Period: K-State Offensive Commits Breakdown

It’s been ten days since the first Early Signing Period for college football began, and with the early signing all finished up, we’re going to take a look at the newest athletes signed up for the Kansas State Wildcats. KSUEMAW had part one of the defensive break-down earlier today, and we’ve got the commits for offense now, and we’ll have part two of the defense ready for you tomorrow.

Christian Duffie - OL

Duffie is the Wildcats biggest commit, both physically and on the rating sheets*. The 6’5” 300lb lineman out of Humble, TX committed to K-State back in July, and then managed to bring one of his high school teammates with him.

*Just shows how different each service’s rating system is. While his 247 composite is third, his score is tied for 2nd at Rivals, and he has the highest grade at ESPN. The two players above him at 247 have lower grades at Rivals and ESPN. Since his grade is the most consistent across the services, we are calling him our highest-rated recruit.

His Hudl.com highlight video shows a big guy who moves well in space, displays solid footwork, can block well even against smaller defensive ends, and can block well into the second level. He won’t need to start right away at K-State, but he looks to have the tools to compete for early playing time on Charlie Dickey’s o-line.

John Holcombe - QB

Holcombe is a big quarterback. Listed at 6’4” 227lb, he’s built more like the defensive ends we recruit than the quarterbacks we recruit. Regardless, the Humble, TX native, and high school teammate of Christian Duffie, fills a big need for the future at quarterback. He was rated as a 3-star dual-threat QB by all the major services, and was hailed as a major addition to the class when he committed in August.

His Hudl.com highlight video showcases his big arm, and displays his ability to make big throws down the field, even from a bootleg or scramble. He also has great size for goal-line runs, and enough speed to be dangerous in the read-option. The highlights do not show if he has touch on shorter throws or screens, but overall he went 177-268 for 2,369 yards and 22 touchdowns to only five interceptions during his senior season, and he also snagged 551 yards on 114 carries (4.4 ypc) with 9 touchdowns on the ground (all stats via MaxPreps).

He is expected to enroll early and be in Manhattan for spring practices.

JaQuavious Lane - WR

Lane, a 5’11” 170lb wide receiver from Loganville, GA has been committed to K-State since August. The consensus 3-star athlete picked K-State over offers from Louisville, Scott Frost’s UCF, and Syracuse among others.

Hus Hudl.com highlights show a fast receiver who is willing to block (big in the Bill Snyder system if he wants to play early), and has the ability to create space before and after the catch. He was also used on jet-sweep plays out the the slot, and could be used in that role at K-State. With his listed speed and the moves he’s shown, he could also be a dangerous return man.

Kaitori Leveston - OL

Leveston may not be the highest-rated recruit for K-State, but he may have been the biggest story. Leveston held several Power-5 offers, but none bigger than the Texas Longhorns who tried to sweep in late in the season and steal the 6’5” 290lb o-lineman from Waco, TX. But Leveston spurned the Longhorns and stayed true to K-State. It’s not every day the Wildcats win head-to-head recruiting battles with Texas, and the Cats lost a big one just two seasons ago in a similar late-season push by the Longhorns.

His Hudl.com highlights show a big guy with good point-of-contact blocking and drive, but will need to work on his footwork some against the faster edge defenders he’ll face in college. Luckily, like Duffie, he’ll have plenty of time to learn from Coach Dickey and the veterans in front of him.

Luke Sowa - FB

Sowa is a 6’3” 245lb fullback who comes to K-State from Butler County CC. Originally from New Jersey, Sowa became a UConn Huskie out of high school, but after two seasons playing linebacker (including a redshirt campaign), he left and headed west to El Dorado, KS for a year at Butler County where he moved to offense. He was originally committed in this cycle to Bowling Green, but re-opened his recruitment after visiting K-State and signed with the Cats on the first day of the early signing period. Interestingly, his late addition to the recruiting rolls may indicate that All-Big 12 FB Winston Dimel may be headed out of Manhattan (either to turn pro, or join his dad in El Paso). He’ll have 2 years to play two seasons.

His Hudl.com highlights showcase him a lot in the TE or H-back role, and he will look more like Glenn Gronkowski than Winston Dimel in the Wildcat offense.

EJ Turner - WR

Turner was a late-season surprise commit for the Wildcats. The 6’0” 180lb wide receiver from Cartersville, GA was originally committed to Rutgers, but re-opened his recruitment in October and committed to K-State the day before the early signing period opened. He’s a consensus 3-star athlete, and holds the second-ranked 247 composite score.

His Hudl.com highlights show a kid with good speed, above-average route running, and size needed to win jump balls and drag smaller defenders for extra yardage. He’s also got the potential to switch to defense if the situation at WR seems a bit too log-jammed, and played well at safety.