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.

#93 Jaylen Pickle

Redshirt Senior | 6-5 | 310 lbs. | Cimarron, Kansas

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Defensive Tackle
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Starter
• Status: On Scholarship

Jaylen Brian Pickle (b. July 4, 1999) is a very experienced three-tech defensive tackle from Cimarron High School who graduated last month with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems. He finished 2021 as a first-team Academic All-Big 12 honoree.

Pickle, who was the first commitment in K-State’s Class of 2018, also played some defensive end in various 3-3-5 sets in 2022 as Eli Huggins and Timmy Horne held down the interior.

He redshirted in 2018 and played against Bowling Green in 2019, but recorded no statistics.

That changed in 2020, when Pickle played in eight games with starts against Oklahoma and Texas Tech, the first two starts of his career.

He totaled 10 tackles, half a tackle for loss and three pass breakups on the year.

Pickle’s season high point was a career-high four tackles in K-State’s win at No. 3 Oklahoma, a game in which he tipped a pass that was intercepted on the Sooners’ first possession.

He also batted down a pair of passes against Texas Tech, and had three stops and half a tackle for loss at West Virginia.

In 2021, Pickle played in all 13 games, with starts in each of the first five contests before he switched into more of a strongside defensive end role as Timmy Horne established himself.

He recorded a hustle interception on a tipped ball in the flat against Southern Illinois, which was the first by a K-State interior defensive lineman since Matt Seiwert against Missouri State in 2016.

Pickle also tied his career high with four tackles at Texas Tech and at Texas, registering his first full tackle for loss against the Longhorns. He enters 2022 as a starting defensive tackle.

Pickle selected K-State over offers from South Dakota, Southern Illinois, UCF and Western Illinois, as well as strong regional interest from Iowa, Kansas and Oklahoma State.

A four-year letter-winner for the Bluejays, including the final year under head coach Greg Koenig, Pickle was regarded as the third-best prospect in the state of Kansas and the 44th-best defensive tackle in the nation for the Class of 2018 by Rivals.

He also was rated the fourth-best player in the state of Kansas by 247Sports.

Pickle picked up honorable mention all-state honors as a junior in 2016 and as a senior in 2017 from The Topeka Capital-Journal and The Wichita Eagle, leading Cimarron to league and district championships each year.

He also was a four-year all-league player who totaled 50 tackles, including four tackles for loss, as a senior and a high school teammate of former K-State quarterback Nick Ast.

Pickle also lettered four years in basketball — earning all-league and all-state honors — three years in track and field, and one year in golf.

Learn more about his awesome journey to K-State in D. Scott Fritchen’s great piece here.