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.

#29 Khalid Duke

Redshirt Junior | 6-4 | 246 lbs. | Atlanta, Georgia

Courtesy Kansas State Athletics

• Position: Linebacker/Defensive End
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Co-Starter
• Status: On Scholarship

Khalid Malik Duke (b. Feb. 27, 2001) is a talented (and now underrated) hybrid defensive end/linebacker from Riverside Military Academy in Atlanta who is majoring in kinesiology.

With Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Nate Matlack pretty much locking down primary rush end positions, Duke likely will bounce between third-down rush specialist and outside linebacker in 2022. (For more about his comeback attempt, read this excellent piece!)

Duke saw action in seven games in 2019 — primarily as a third-down pass rushing specialist — and totaled seven tackles, three tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.

He had a season-best two tackles against Navy in the 2019 Liberty Bowl and Kansas, recording tackles for loss in both games. Duke’s sacks came against Kansas and West Virginia. He recovered a fumble against Bowling Green and broke up a pass against Navy.

Duke then played in nine games in 2020, with eight starts, the first starts of his career.

He totaled 26 tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack on the season, and set a career high with nine tackles in his first career start at Oklahoma, helping the Wildcats to earn their first-ever road victory over a team ranked in the top five of the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

Duke registered a career-best two tackles for loss at West Virginia, which included a sack.

He entered 2021 as a near-lock to start every game at weakside defensive end and probably was K-State’s best returning sack threat after the departure of pass rusher Wyatt Hubert.

However, fate had other plans for Duke. He played the first three games of 2021 and looked poised for a breakout before a knee injury cut his season short and he ended up redshirting.

Despite this, he tallied sacks in each of the first two contests and totaled four tackles against Stanford, while his sack against Southern Illinois went for a 10-yard loss.

Duke prepped under head coach Nicholas Garrett at Riverside and was rated the 83rd-best outside linebacker prospect in the Class of 2019, according to ESPN.

He earned first-team all-state honors from The Atlanta Journal Constitution in 2018, the school’s first all-state honor since 2013, after carding 142 tackles and 17 tackles for loss during his senior season in 2018.

Duke compiled 219 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, nine sacks and two interceptions in his career. He also starred on offense, carding 1,154 yards and 12 touchdowns on 66 career receptions, while he ran 46 times for 467 yards and four scores during his prep career.

Duke also played basketball in high school and was a state champion in the triple jump.

He picked K-State over offers from Air Force, Army, Charleston Southern, The Citadel, East Tennessee State, Gardner-Webb, Lafayette, Mercer, Navy, Samford and Western Carolina.

Duke’s primary recruiter was former K-State defensive coordinator Blake Seiler. Fun fact: He once served as a ball boy for the Atlanta Falcons!