SLATE: Football’s Early Signing Day Nears

Football

The first day of the early signing period for football starts on Wednesday this week (Dec. 21st), which is a couple weeks later than the first few years of the the early signing period and part of the changes that came about with the changes to the transfer portal window.

Kansas State is set to sign one of the most impressive classes in at least a decade, headlined by high-4-star signal caller Avery Johnson out of Maize, KS. The K-State coaches and staff should also get extra credit for locking down one of the deepest in-state classes, grabbing at least six out of a group that goes to about 15 of FBS talent.

One of the more surprising trends from the class is the number of Texans — the Wildcat staff has grabbed just two guys from a state that normally provides big depth to most Big 12 teams. And it wasn’t for lack of trying, but they managed to fill their board with a heavy dose of regional products (MO, IA, etc), and even pulled in some really good prospects from Florida. This staff has great vision across the country, and it shows up in this class.

They did pick up their first commit from Colorado for this cycle yesterday morning, as former CU commit Andrew Metzger announced his commitment to K-State after a visit this weekend. The 3-star tight end picked the Wildcats over offers from Iowa State, Nebraska, and KU after he was one of over a dozen recruits that weren’t wanted by the new staff in Boulder, or (in Meztger’s case) decided to decommit even after being re-offered.

But Metzger wasn’t the only commit from the weekend, as the Wildcats plucked up a defensive back out of the portal on Saturday. Marques Sigle comes to K-State after spending his first three collegiate seasons at North Dakota State, where he appeared as a cornerback and on special teams in 13 of 15 games in 2021 and all 11 regular season games this season before entering the portal prior to the start of the FCS playoffs. Sigle is originally from Omaha, and is currently projected to play at safety in Manhattan to help offset the losses of Cincere Mason, Drake Cheatum, and Josh Hayes to graduation. Since his first season was in 2020 (where he actually redshirt), he has two seasons of eligibility remaining and does still have a redshirt available if needed.

Basketball

After his all-around impressive performance against Nebraska, where he notched his second double-double of his K-State career and his fourth game over 20 points, Keyontae Johnson was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season. Johnson has been a revelation on the court for K-State so far this season, and made all the more impressive after not having played organized basketball in nearly two full years thanks to his heart issue. He becomes the first Wildcat to earn the honor at least twice in one season since Dean Wade was honored twice during the 2015-16 season.

The K-State men and women will both be looking for win #11 this Wednesday (12/21) as we have a very interesting early-day mid-week double header from Bramlage.

First up, after a very solid 69-57 victory over Northern Colorado on Sunday to pick up their 10th win of the season, the MittieCats (10-2) take on Morgan State (7-4) at 11am CST (yes, morning, on a Wednesday). It will, of course, be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Brian Smoller and Kristin Waller calling the action. With a win, the Cats would hit the 11-win mark before Big 12 play for just the second time since the start of the 2008-09 season. The Wildcats’ Emilee Ebert has an incredible streak going, and has tied the school record for longest consecutive streak of made free throws at 38, dating back to last season, and has gone 30-30 to open this season.

Since it’s a double-header, the men get underway at 1:30pm CST, or approximately 30 mintues following the women’s game should it run long. The TangCats (10-1) are set to face off against Radford (6-6) also on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ but with (probably) Ben Boyle and Stan Weber calling that action. With a win, the Cats would notch the best non-con record since the 2016-17 squad went 11-1 to open their season (they eventually made it to 12-1, because they opened Big 12 play with a win over Texas).