FanPost

Greatest Wildcats Jersey Countdown: #15

#15 Jake Waters (QB) 2013-2014 (Others considered: Jamie Rheem)

Why?: Rheem certainly has a claim to some honors, having finished his career at #1 all-time in field goal percentage, but Jake Waters shredded the K-State record books as a passer. With some help from Collin Klein, Waters arrived at K-State a JUCO transfer from Iowa Western Community College. His first game was a rocky one, as the Cats lost to North Dakota State, whose first year head coach was Chris Klieman. However, Waters showed himself more than capable of running a high-powered offense as he helped convert the Cats from a QB run-first system into a more balanced spread based attack. Despite difficulties from the coaching staff in trying to balance the explosive running capabilities of Daniel Sams with Waters clear advantage in the passing game, Waters would help the Cats continue to be a force in the Big 12, as he finished the year with the 3rd highest passing yardage total by a junior in school history. and 7th all-time in single season touchdowns. He was chosen by Phil Steele to the All-Big 12 Third team, but had no other recognition that year. His senior year was a thing of beauty. He became only the 2nd player in school history to record a 3,000 yard passing season, the other being Josh Freeman. His 3,501 yards set a new single-season record and he threw for 22 touchdowns, the third most in one season in school history. For his efforts that year, he was named 2nd team all-conference. He finished his career as the only player in school history to rank in the top 5 in single-season passing efficiency in multiple seasons. His career passing efficiency mark broke Matt Miller’s nearly 20 year record. Following his graduation, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars, but released during training camp and was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks but did not see any action that year. He was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL before being traded to Saskatchewan in 2016. He has since become a college coach, having been a graduate assistant at Iowa State and currently serves as the inside receivers coach at UTEP.

Career Numbers:

Rushing:

Carries: 272

Yards: 796

TDs: 15

Passing:

Attempts: 657

Completions: 421

Percentage: 64%

Yards: 5,970

TDs: 40

Passing Efficiency: 155.6

Most Memorable Game: He threw for 4 TDs on 3 separate occasions, but let’s look at the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. The Cats hadn’t won a bowl game since 2002, but Waters and the team were not about to let that continue. Facing Michigan, Waters and Lockett went to work in the first half, connecting for 3 TDs, good for a tie with Michael Bishop for 2nd all-time in K-State bowl games.

Current Players on the Roster Wearing #15: Walter Neil Jr. – Senior DB, Will Howard– True Freshman QB

Odds to Replace Waters on This List:

Neil: 0%. He just doesn’t have the time to accumulate the impact necessary to outdo Waters here. Neil is vital to this team and will undoubtedly be an impact player in the Cats’ secondary, but Waters just shredded the passing records in two seasons and Neil doesn’t have the time.

Howard: 50%. This will entirely depend on how quickly he becomes the starter and if he remains the starter his entire career. Since he is the likely favorite for QB1 after this season, the odds do put him in the running to be able to outdo Waters, but I won’t go higher than 50-50 at this point.



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