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68 DAYS TO 2018 KICKOFF: Bill Kuduk

In which BracketCat counts down the 68th day until the 2018 kickoff with a profile of offensive lineman Bill Kuduk.

#68 Luke Hayes
Although he played left tackle in high school, Bill Kuduk’s size and game remind me more of former guard Luke Hayes (68), his predecessor wearing that number.
Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images

#68 Bill Kuduk

Redshirt Freshman | 6-5 | 305 lbs. | Chicago, Illinois
Bill Kuduk
Bill Kuduk
Courtesy Kansas State Athletics
  • Position: Offensive Line
  • Previous College: None
  • Projection: Second-String
  • Status: On Scholarship

William Anthony Kuduk (b. Nov. 19, 1998) is a physical young offensive lineman who redshirted during the 2017 season and now looks to add depth along the line while also battling for playing time on field goal protection.

He started at left tackle for the White team in the 2018 spring game, suggesting that he is the prime candidate to back up Scott Frantz if Nick Kaltmayer continues to be needed to fill in at right tackle.

An incoming guard prospect from Marist High School in Chicago, Illinois, Kuduk was the only non-Kansas signee in the offensive line class of 2017.

A two-year letter-winner for the Redhawks under head coach Pat Dunne, he was rated the 29th-best prospect in the state of Illinois in the Class of 2017 by ESPN.

Kuduk helped Marist to earn a combined 17-7 record over his junior and senior seasons.

He was selected to play in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida, following the 2016 season.

Kuduk picked up All-Midwest Region honors from PrepStar, earned all-conference honors as a senior, and also lettered three years in lacrosse earning defensive Most Valuable Player honors in 2015 and wrestling.

This one-time Central Michigan commit flipped in June 2016 after falling in love with Coach Charlie Dickey’s blue-collar, grind-it-out mentality, he told GoPowercat.com:

It might not be a sexy position group as in looks, but everybody knows it comes down to the offensive line on the football field.

Coach Dickey and the way K-State likes to run the ball and lean on its offensive linemen, control the time of possession, score touchdowns, and eat up the clock, that kind of mentality shows that K-State offensive linemen, while they might not be sexy, get their fair amount of love. They get to go downhill and move people.

Kuduk also credited starting tackles Scott Frantz and Dalton Risner for spearheading his recruitment at the player-to-player level:

I was over at Scott Frantz’s house on my official visit and Dalton came over, and they’re just what I’d expect from Dickey-coached offensive linemen.

They’re very knowledgeable and they’re really good guys. They’ll teach me. We’ll have those captain-run practices in the summer, so I’m really excited to get down in the summer and really shadow Dalton and Scott, and just improve my game.

Kuduk certainly has the right attitude to become a contributor sooner rather than later:

The play of the offensive line makes me hungry. As an offensive line, you’re a group. I want to always be there with no missed alignments, and know my technique and everything. It makes me hungry to be the most knowledgeable offensive lineman on the field.

The excellent play of the offensive line this past year makes me want to excel even more, of course. There’s a (hunger) for perfection as it comes to the mental side of the game, while physically, it’s just fun to hit people, man. I already want to hit some people.

I already want to watch him hit some people. Don’t you after reading that?