Kansas State Football: Recruiting Round Up

The Kansas State Wildcats were off to a smoking hot in recruiting before everything ground to a halt. Let’s review who is already on board.

All ratings, rankings, and measureables come from 247 Sports recruiting database.

Jake Rubley - QB - 6’3, 205 - Highlands Ranch High School - Littleton, CO

Star Rating - 4 (.9293)

National Rank - 170

Position Rank - 10

State Rank - 1

Lead Recruiter - Collin Klein

Other Listed Offers - Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Missouri, NC State, Northwestern, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Utah, Wisconsin

Jr. Year Stats

Completions - 136/224 (60%)

Yards - 1767

TD - 18

INT - 8

Evaluation

Rubley is one of the best quarterback recruits in the area, and one of the best coming out of high school (at least recruiting wise) in quite some time for the Wildcats. He’s a strong, sturdy kid with solid lower body and a cannon for an arm. He doesn’t need much room in the pocket to deliver a pass with his quick release. He’s a pocket quarterback, but is a capable runner when called upon and can extend plays outside the pocket and make deep throws using his arm strength.

He plays primarily out of the shotgun in high school, which means he’ll need to work on his footwork coming out from under center in K-State’s offense. I don’t think that will be a problem, but it might take him a little while to get adjusted to that aspect of the game. Getting your head around on play action and seeing the field is different than the continual look of the field you get playing in a shotgun based offense.

Keeping Collin Klein on the coaching staff was imperative for Coach Klieman for this exact reason. I expect Klein to be a premier recruiter, and the fact that Klein was able to go into his home state of Colorado and pull out an elite quarterback shouldn’t shock anyone. Great pick up by the Cats.

Article from Elite 11 Camp:

https://www.si.com/college/recruiting/football/k-state-qb-commit-rubley-impresses

Davonte Pritchard - ATH - 6’1, 200 - Gardner Edgerton High School - Gardner, KS

Star Rating - 3 (.8688)

National Rank - 514

Position Rank - 42

State Rank - 1

Other Listed Offers - None

Evaluation

First, don’t read anything into Davonte not having any other listed offers. He shut his recruiting down early when he committed December 11th, 2019. He’s a top-tier D1 prospect and most schools would covet his commitment.

Pritchard is listed as an athlete, but only because he’s a bit of a tweener right now. He plays linebacker in high school, and could potentially grow into the position in college, but I like him as a strong safety or a hybrid linebacker/safety. He doesn’t need to grow into either of those positions, and could fill the role Wayne Jones played this year. In fact, Wayne Jones is a good player comparison for Pritchard, although I think Pritchard ends up being bigger than Jones, letting him play closer to the line in certain packages.

In terms of recruiting, you’re starting to see the work the coaching staff put into Kansas with the 2020 class paying off in 2021. Gardner Edgerton High School provided the Wildcats with Talor Warner, one of my favorite prospects in the 2020 class, and now are sending the top recruit in Kansas to Manhattan. Gardner Edgerton is a solid high school program, and solid high school programs tend to produce solid football recruits. That’s a nice pipeline for the Cats to establish.

Noah Bolticoff - OT - 6’5, 280 - Rose Hill High School - Rose Hill, KS

Star Rating - 3 (.8627)

National Rank - 612

Position Rank - 54

State Rank - 3

Other Listed Offers - Kansas

Evaluation

Another great Kansas pull by the Wildcats. Bolticoff has the frame offensive line coaches dream of getting into their program. He’s still got plenty of growing left, but it’s not hard to project him at playing at 300+, and I don’t think it will take him long to hit his playing weight. Of course none of that size matters if he doesn’t have the athletic ability to go with it, and that’s where Bolticoff excels. He’s a three-sport athlete at Rose Hill, lettering in football, basketball, and track and field (throwing events). He’s agile enough to move his feet in pass protection, get outside on screens, and block the second level on running plays.

Like 95% of all high school linemen, he’ll need to build his lower body strength and polish his technique when he hits campus, but I don’t think he’s a player that going to need more than a year or two contribute. Depending on the depth at the position, I think he’ll redshirt and be ready to compete for a spot in the depth chart as a redshirt freshman. Another solid get from the Sunflower State. That’s an encouraging sign for long term recruiting sustainability.

Jayden Williams - ATH - 6’1, 195 - Valley High School - West Des Moines, IA

Star Rating - 3 (.8577)

National Rank - 638

Position Rank - 52

State Rank - 11

Lead Recruiter - Courtney Messingham

Other Listed Offers - Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa

Jr. Year Stats

Carries - 126

Yards - 1,016

Yards Per Carry - 8.1

TD - 12

Evaluation

Kansas State bought stock in Jayden Williams early, and I anticipate it taking off next season. As a junior, he split carries with senior star (and North Dakota commit) Creighton Mitchell. I’m eager to see the damage he can do to Iowa High School football as the feature back for Valley High School next season. He burst onto the recruiting scene as a junior, and I expect him to climb the ratings as a senior.

He’s listed as an athlete and could potentially play linebacker in college, but I’m sold on his potential to be a power back in the Wildcat attack. He has a violent running style that breaks arm tackles without missing a step. Unlike some physical high school running backs, he’s got enough wiggle in his hips to avoid big hits. He’s adept at using a subtle move to make a defender dive or reach and then breaking the power with his power. He’s a finisher with solid forward lean that picks up yards even when the defender makes the tackle. He’s a longstrider in the open field, allowing him to eat up yards in the open field. Needless to say...I’m a big fan.

Dorian Stephens - ATH- 6’3, 182 - Blue Valley High School - Stillwell, KS

Star Rating - 3 (.8477)

National Rank - 825

Position Rank - 121

State Rank - 5

Lead Recruiter - Collin Klien

Other Listed Offers - Kansas

Jr. Year Stats

Receptions - 36

Yards - 667

Yards Per Catch - 18.5

TD - 6

Evaluation

This is a tough one, because all of Stephens film is wide receiver film, but it looks like his future may be at linebacker or safety at Kansas State. As a receiver, he’s a long armed prospect that can go up and get the ball on the outside. He doesn’t appear to have blazing speed, but he doesn’t need a ton of separation because he’s excellent at high pointing the ball and bringing it down in traffic.

As a receiver, he would play the boundary position for the Wildcats. On defense, he’s got the frame to add weight and play linebacker or safety. I think strong safety or the hybrid safety/linebacker is where he lands if he’s destined for the defensive side of the ball. It depends on how much weight he can carry while maintaining the athletic ability that makes him one of the top recruits in the state. If he ends up on defense, he could be a player they needs a little seasoning before he hits the filed, but that’s a long way from now. I’ll take a Top 5 in-state recruit all-day-every-day. I trust the coaching staff will put him to good use, regardless of the position he ends up playing.