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51 DAYS TO 2017 KICKOFF: Tom Killilea

In which BracketCat counts down the 51st day until the 2017 kickoff with a profile of offensive lineman Tom Killilea.

By BracketCat
#51 Justin Roland
No pictures of former K-State offensive linemen wearing No. 51 were available, so here’s an action shot of Justin Roland from Ron Prince’s greatest road win ever to tide you over instead.
Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images

#51 Tom Killilea

Redshirt Freshman | 6-5 | 250 lbs. | Overland Park, Kansas
Tom Killilea
Tom Killilea
Courtesy Kansas State Athletics
  • Position: Offensive Line
  • Previous College: None
  • Projection: Third-String
  • Status: Preferred Walk-On

Thomas William Killilea (b. Oct. 7, 1997) is a preferred walk-on offensive lineman from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He redshirted in 2016 to gain weight, but he still is undersized even for a projected center.

Killilea started 23 games during the final two years of his career for the Saints under head coach Randy Dreiling. He helped Thomas Aquinas to a collective 18-7 record in his junior and senior seasons, including a state runner-up finish in 2014, and earned 2015 all-state accolades from The Wichita Eagle and The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Killilea also became the school’s all-time leader in career fumble recoveries, with nine; was selected to play in the 2016 Kansas Shrine Bowl; and also participated in shot put and discus.

He played for the White team in the 2017 spring game, so I penciled him in as a third-stringer.

Random historical trivia tidbit: Killilea is distantly related to Meriwether Lewis, who is known best for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806.

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