A Strong Recruiting Weekend

Things are definitely a bit strange in college football land right now. We’re just two weeks away from National Signing Day 2018, but it just feels so anti-climactic now with the early signing period.

But don’t tell that to the Kansas State Wildcats coaching staff, who put together another solid group of commitments on the second-to-last recruiting weekend of the season. With the latest haul, the Wildcats 2018 looks to be up to 21 young men, however at least couple of those are expected to greyshirt and be a part of the 2019 class.

York

Saturday morning ended with the announcement from 6’0” 210lb JUCO transfer Rashaan York, a 3-star rated linebacker out of American River College in Sacramento, CA. York, an Elk Grove California native, was the leading tackler in 2017 for the Beavers, as the sophomore recorded 97 tackles, including a team-leading 11.5 for-loss and four sacks. He also snagged an interception. His Hudl.com higlights show a guy with good vision, range, and closing speed, and it appears he is most comfortable playing as a rush-end or tackling running backs in the middle.

Archer

Commitment #2 on Saturday came just after noon (central time) as Goodland, KS native Levi Archer received a scholarship offer from K-State and immediately committed. The 6’4” 210lb athlete was a star quarterback for the Cowboys, and was originally committed to Pitt State before K-State offered. He is expected to greyshirt and join the team for the 2019 class, and he has the skills and size to end up as a QB, LB, or safety. He won’t move the needle much on the recruiting services, just a 2-star from Rivals and un-rated by 247, but K-State has long turned overlooked Kansas guys into stars. His Hudl.com highlights are primarily of Archer as a QB, slinging the ball all over the field out in extreme western Kansas (and some in eastern Colorado, bonus points if you can tell where), where he shows good movement, escape speed on runs, and range even when throwing on the run.

Knowles

Last, but certainly not least, came the announcement a little later into the afternoon from Mansfield, TX native Malik Knowles, who committed to K-State over offers from Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe. The 6’3” 180lb WR is a 3-star rated prospect out from Lake Ridge High School. His Huld.com profile lists him with a 4.48-40, and his highlights show a big, capable receiver with decent hands, but a bit of a penchant for lazy route-running (not uncommon for HS receivers, and pretty easy to fix). He also shows willingness and skill on perimeter blocking, like on screens, which will help him see the field faster at K-State.

Others

This weekend, and since, there have also been a slew of Kansas high school athletes who have announced their intention to accept a preferred walk-on spot at K-State. While many will never see playing time, it’s been more common than not for one or two walk-ons to turn into star players for K-State, and even end up as NFL-quality players. We’ll try to get a full breakdown for you of all the walk-ons we can confirm as we approach National Signing Day 2018.