NOTE: Kansas State has elected to advance players’ classification even though the 2020 season did not affect eligibility. Those who wish to take advantage of this extra year will be listed as a (“super”) senior again after their original eligibility would have been exhausted.

#63 Ben Adler

Redshirt Senior | 6-4 | 332 lbs. | Wichita, Kansas

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Offensive Line
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Starter
• Status: On Scholarship

Benjamin Joseph Adler (b. Oct. 17, 1998) is an experienced offensive guard who prepped at Trinity Academy in Wichita and now is majoring in construction science and management.

He redshirted in 2017, started at left guard for the White team in the 2018 spring game and played in one game in 2018, seeing action late in the UTSA game.

Adler then saw action in three games in 2019, serving as a reserve offensive lineman against Nicholls, Bowling Green and Kansas. It gave him the inside track for a starting role in 2020.

Adler started the first eight games of 2020 at right guard — the first starts of his career — and helped K-State to tie for first in the Big 12 and 27th nationally in sacks allowed (14), while the Wildcats led the Big 12 and ranked fourth in the nation in red zone offense (93.9%).

Unfortunately, injuries cut his season short early and forced Taylor Poiter into a starting role.

Ben’s older brother, Will, was a sharpshooting small forward for Winfield High School and Butler County Community College, while their father, Marcus, played collegiate baseball at Missouri and minor league baseball as part of the Detroit Tigers system.

After two seasons in Winfield, Ben Adler transferred to Trinity Academy, where he played under head coach Jared Daniel. He was rated the nation’s 47th-best guard and the fourth-best player in the state of Kansas in the Class of 2017 by Scout.

Adler also was named to the USA Today Sports/American Family Insurance All-USA Kansas team, while he was an All-Midlands Region selection by PrepStar. He was selected to play in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, following the 2016 season.

Adler earned all-state honors as a senior from The Topeka Capital-Journal, The Wichita Eagle and the Kansas Football Coaches Association (KFBCA), while he was an honorable mention selection by the Capital-Journal and Eagle as a junior.

He was named to the Eagle’s Top 33 team as a senior and selected to play in the 2017 Kansas Shrine Bowl.

Adler also was an all-state baseball player for the Knights as a first baseman and designated hitter. He was a high school teammate of former Wildcats Tyler Burns and Hillard Cozine.

Adler had an amusing story about what finally pushed him over the edge to commit to K-State in the summer of 2017, which he once related to GoPowercat.com’s D. Scott Fritchen:

“Adler” in German means “eagle,” and there was an eagle on the front of the Bible on (former offensive line) Coach (Charlie) Dickey’s desk.

I don’t know if it was carved or burnt into it, but I looked at it and was like, “Is that a Bible? Is there an eagle on there?” I go to a Christian school and like to say I’m a Christian. I think that was the sign that I was to pursue my career at K-State. ...

It gives me chills thinking about it. It’s a special program with a special coach. I just can’t be more excited to be a Wildcat and be a part of the offensive line.