Slate: Fare thee well, Joshua Youngblood

Bad news in the the bye week. First, confirmation that Skylar Thomson is lost for the season after suffering a shoulder injury on a late hit against Texas Tech. Now, one of last season’s most electric performers has decided to transfer out of Manhattan. Blame 2020, right?

Football

As Drew announced last night, sophomore wide receiver and kick returning phenom Joshua Youngblood has entered his name in the transfer portal and has played his last game at K-State. The announcement was also covered in the Mercury, the Eagle, and elsewhere.

As fans, our natural tendency is to ask “Why?” and then to speculate on all the possible reasons. But we won’t know unless Youngblood or the staff choose to tell us, and unless there is a systemic problem, we don’t need to know. Given the recent success on the field and statements of solidarity from the team, we have little ground to suspect there is a deep-rooted issue in the program. Though we may selfishly wish Youngblood had stayed and realized his great promise as a Wildcat, we should respect both his privacy and his decision to seek a situation that allows him to pursue his own dreams.

Best wishes, Joshua. And thanks for the hard work and highlight plays you contributed during your time at K-State.

In lieu of the usual game preview, the athletic department used the bye week to present a “notebook” of odds and ends from the football program. Among the topics explored: With senior quarterback Skylar Thompson sidelined, who becomes the voice of leadership on the field?

In the transcript of media day interviews, Coach Kleiman says he has not yet discussed with Thompson whether he would be inclined to return to play again next year. Van Malone, in his turn in the interview chair, discussed the contributions of revelations Deuce Vaughn and Ekow Boye-Doe and the steady performance of upper-classman AJ Parker.

Volleyball

Suzie Fritz’s exciting, young volleyball team, now ranked No. 15 in the nation, announced that its Friday match against No. 1 Texas has been moved to 8:00 p.m. and will air nationally on ESPN2. Tickets will go on sale Thursday morning, with attendance limited to twenty-five percent of capacity.

Baseball

In K-State Sports Extra, Austin Siegel lauds the community involvement of Coach Hughes and his team, who for the third consecutive season led the nation in fundraising for children’s cancer research after collecting more than $35,000 for the cause. The article also delves into the wrap-up of workouts and the Fall World Series, which was played in front of a socially distanced crowd at Tointon Family Stadium over the weekend.