SLATE: Thompson, Yeast, and Horne make NFL rosters

Football

We’re just a few more days from kickoff, get pumped!

The final cut-down day for NFL teams was yesterday, and multiple Wildcats made NFL rosters, led by 2022 7th-round draft pick Skylar Thompson making the 53-man roster for the Dolphins, fellow 2022 7th-round pick Russ Yeast securing his spot with the Rams, and 2022 UDFA Timmy Horne making the roster for the Falcons.

When asked about keeping Skylar, GM Chris Grier and HC Mike McDaniel praised his performance, saying it would be stupid to let him go. Quipped McDaniel, “We’re not in the business of being stupid.”

We also had the initial press conference of the season yesterday, and despite K-State athletics no longer publishing the full transcript, Coach Klieman discussed his roster quite a bit headed into the first week. Among tidbits about players recovering from injury (like no Will Honas for game 1 and Khalid Duke being available but probably limited snaps), Klieman discussed the QB room and their desire to preserve Will Howard’s redshirt if at all possible. That means, long-suffering Wildcat fans, that we’ll very likely get a heavy dose of Jake Rubley in the season opener after Adrian Martinez and Deuce Vaughn open up a comfortable lead.

Speaking of Martinez, if you were already sure, the dude is ready to go. He’s been saying and doing the right things since day one, and his teammates are ready to see what their new QB captain can do on the field against live competition.

If you are headed to the game this Saturday, K-State has announced some changes to the gameday experience, including some changes on the concourse, updated gates on the east side (where they finally fixed the lettering to be consistent with the west side), and, of course, a dedicated student parking area in front of the rec complex to replace spots lost when the main lots were pushed east to accommodate the new indoor practice football facility.

Basketball

Jerome Tang, who has been absolutely tearing it up in Manhattan and with K-State fans and students, has officially announced two walk-ons have joined the 2022-23 Kansas State men’s basketball roster. We actually learned last week that former Manhattan High and Manhattan Christian College standout Nate Awbrey would be a part of the team, and will be using his extra year of eligibility to play his final season with Tang and the Cats. Personally, after watching Nate play basketball and soccer the past several years at MCC, I’m incredibly excited he’s getting this opportunity at K-State. The other walk-on is true freshman Peyton Ackerman who prepped at Oklahoma City’s Epic Charter School.

Big 12

Brent Yormark is continuing to be aggressive in his early run as Big 12 commissioner, and “sources” (lol, I wonder who...) have told ESPN that Fox and ESPN have agreed to begin discussions the Big 12 about the next TV deal more than a year and a half ahead of the “exclusive negotiating window” provisioned into the current contracts. This move should help the Big 12 evaluate it’s current value after the loss of OU and UT, and with the additions of BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston. It could also be used as an inducement to help lure other schools — like, say, current Pac 12 schools — into the Big 12, should the numbers be favorable, and regardless puts the Big 12 on an even footing with the Pac 12 in current rights negotiations.

EDIT: The Big 12 makes the discussions “official”