Rapid Recap: Kansas State has built more depth for the 2023 season
WILL HOWARD’S GROWTH
Will Howard took a leap last season for Kansas State. He threw for a career high 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is just one touchdown pass away from being in the top ten all-time at K-State. And he did so after experiencing a mountain of adversity.
One area where he has grown the most is confidence. It grew immensely after how he played last season and that has carried into the Summer. The confidence has also turned him into more of a leader for the quarterback room over the offseason.
KANSAS STATE DEPTH
A constant topic throughout the Kansas State part of Big 12 Media Days was the depth on the roster. It has also been echoed throughout the offseason.
Daniel Green shared that it is the best and deepest linebacker room of any in his six years in Manhattan.
He mentioned Terry Kirksey, Asa Newsom, Rex Van Wyhe, Jake Clifton and Desmond Purnell as younger players that can all find a role for the Wildcats this season. Purnell and Clifton have been repeatedly identified as K-State players that can take a leap.
Cooper Beebe also noted the offensive line depth as being as good as it has been as well. The Kansas State senior pointed out that he feels as many as 10 or 11 players could play on the unit this season.
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Howard believes the K-State quarterback room could go toe-to-toe with any room in the country.
There are two former four-star quarterbacks in the Kansas State locker room in Jake Rubley and Avery Johnson, along with Howard as the reigning Big 12 Championship Game winner. Jacob Knuth is also an impressive walk-on addition and Adryan Lara may have the strongest arm on the team.
CHIP STILL ON SHOULDER
Despite being predicted to finish second in the Big 12 and winning the conference a year ago, K-State has maintained that chip on their shoulder. The projection in the standings was the highest for Kansas State since 2004.
It is just a mindset at K-State to always have that competitive edge. It is a team with many underrated and under-recruited high school players who all have the same mentality. Having it has made it easy for the Wildcats to still feel like there is more to prove despite the recent success.
Part of the motivation comes from still only projected to place second. However, all four Kansas State players reiterated that the preseason poll does not mean as much as the season.
