Goal No. 11: DON’T ACCEPT LOSING. If you do so one time, it will be easy to do so for the rest of your life.

#3 John Holcombe II

True Freshman | 6-4 | 256 lbs. | Humble, Texas

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Quarterback
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Redshirt
• Status: On Scholarship

John Wesley Holcombe II (b. Oct. 14, 1999) is a promising young mobile quarterback from Humble, Texas, who reminds many of a young Ell Roberson III.

There is no surer sign that he is redshirting in 2018, though, than that he shares No. 3 with fellow offensive player Dalvin Warmack, who will graduate after this season.

Holcombe selected K-State over offers from Bowling Green, Georgia State, Howard, Illinois, Incarnate Word, New Mexico, Sam Houston State and SMU.

But he also drew strong interest from a wide range of Power 5 schools, highlighted by fricking Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Georgia Tech, Louisville, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech. Luckily for us, he committed quickly!

Holcombe played under head coach Brian Ford at Summer Creek High School, where he was rated the 13th-best dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports, while he was ranked 28th by Rivals and 33rd by ESPN.

Viewed as the fifth-best dual-threat quarterback in the state of Texas by Lone Star Prospects, he was named the UIL District 21-6A Offensive MVP in 2017 after throwing for 2,369 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Holcombe also rushed for 551 yards and another nine scores during his senior season.

He earned VYPE Magazine All-Houston honors after helping the Bulldogs to advance to the area round of the Class 6A Texas state playoffs and also was named a second team all-district performer as a junior in 2016.

Holcombe, who was a high school teammate of fellow K-State signee and offensive lineman Christian Duffie, also participated in track and field at Summer Creek. His older brother, Zarrian, is a tight end at Prairie View A&M.

Here’s what Ian Boyd at SportsTreatise had to say about Holcombe’s potential under center:

Kansas State is always getting guys like Levi Archer, but they don’t always seem to find guys like John Holcombe. Athletically, Holcombe is a lot like Tyrone Swoopes, the bruising and strong-armed, but often pressure-averse, Texas quarterback. Holcombe is a bit quicker than Swoopes, at least the 250-pound collegiate one, with a bit less on his fastball throwing down the field.

However, Holcombe has tons of highlights making quick reads and throwing vertical shots down the field with really nice placement. As a runner, he does it all, inside and outside running, and he does it with toughness, agility, and some explosiveness.

I’d guess he and Archer are both somewhere in the 4.8 range and both quick enough to win the edge. It’ll be really interesting to see Holcombe develop at K-State; I suspect he has the savvy to execute their offense at a high level since they ran a fair number of different concepts at Summer Creek and he has the size-speed combo that portends a guy that could actually handle 15 carries a game without taking season-ending injuries.

Man, it’s hard not to get excited when reading that...