D
Derek Young
Guest
1) I'm still not aware of any new players that might be unavailable vs Texas Tech that were available last week. I'm still going to accept that as no news is good news at this point.
2) I am also under the impression that there was another opt out. Hearing that true freshman defensive tackle Ronald Triplette has chosen to opt out.
3) Chris Klieman said that maybe one or two guys that weren't available vs OU could return vs Texas Tech. That sounds about right to me. I am not certain who that is, to be fair. However, there are some additional whispers that there may be a glimmer of hope that it could be more than that.
4) I've poked around some just to pin down where Cody Stufflebean is practicing at, since he was brought in as an athlete and his future position was still kind of undetermined. He has been working with the tight ends and fullbacks. Seems like he's settled there and he's headed in the right direction.
5) Klieman also had some good things to say about Jacardia Wright this week, explaining that he had turned things back around a bit and headed in the right direction again. I was told that same thing by a source. So, that is a positive.
6) Derick Newton is no longer with the team, I'm told. I imagine that there won't be an announcement of any kind but that it will be reflected on the team roster at any moment. With that move and Triplette opting out, that is likely why you heard Klieman share on Tuesday that Kirmari Gainous probably needs to start working inside. I'm told they're experimenting others at DT as well, including Cartez Crook-Jones and Felix Anudike. If you remember, I expressed great pessimism on he and Demarrquese Hayes in the offseason. They needed to really turn it around, and that didn't happen.
7) Matthew Pola-Mao was of course one of the opt-outs at DT. I think that was more of a family choice, for the record, and there still seems to be the utmost confidence that he will return and eventually be a contributor for the Wildcats.
8) I know that Wyatt Hubert hasn't been as effective as usual so far, though to be fair, he did turn it on a little in the second half against OU, in my opinion. I'm told some of that is also him playing through two very nagging injuries. He's trying to tough it out right now.
9) Boom Massie is playing some of his best football right now at Kansas State. Some believe it is because this is the healthiest he's been in a couple years. He's dealt with nagging injuries as well the past couple years and he had surgery in the offseason, that forced him to miss the Liberty Bowl, that enabled him to clean a lot of it up and has helped ignite him this year.
10) Lastly, I'll go through some recruiting notes since we haven't been able to provide a notebook in a week or so. It had been quieter on the trail. The first is that it may be time to pump the brakes a bit on Myles Purchase. He has set an announcement date for the end of October, and he might be waiting too long. Other targets could pop up in the near future.
11) I think they'll still target another cornerback, too. They had hoped it would be Al Ashford but it didn't work out. They'll look for a late grab at the position kinda like last year when they landed Tee Denson.
12) The other two spots that seem to be still open will probably be slotted for tight end and offensive tackle. Offensive tackle will take some more high school tape eval, of course, to find another prospect. The tight end target is clearly James Carnie of Nebraska, and while there is still more to play out, it isn't the slam dunk for Iowa that it is made out to be. I can't go into much more detail than that. I will share that he is in constant communication with the coaches and he and his parents are doing extensive homework on the Wildcats, even communicating with some current players and their parents to get a feel for how it is in Manhattan.
13) I was a little down on Hays linebacker Gavin Meyers after watching him in the opener. I'm going to chalk it up to him having to knock off the rust. He's been very good since. In addition to that, he has some connections (don't know the details) to Manhattan that I wasn't aware of originally and some close to him believe he's becoming more open to the Wildcats. That battle with Nebraska is going to be closer than initially thought and there is a newfound confidence from Kansas State's side.
14) It is not much of a secret but they have built a huge lead and a ton of comfort and relationships with Jaren Kanak and his family, too. Of course, they are also from Hays. The coaches are doing well but Gaven Haselhorst probably deserves a lot of credit for the movement at Hays. Haselhorst and Klieman have gotten K-State back in the game.
15) I'm told Tyson Struber and his family may be at the game this weekend. Obviously, it won't be as a recruit since that is not permitted due to the dead period but on their own. They bought their tickets. It is believed the same could be true of Caden Crawford, too, who is not hiding his affinity for K-State as much as before. He has also seen his relationship with Buddy Wyatt really, really take off.
I think that is all. We will possibly have another tomorrow, that could have some focus on basketball.
2) I am also under the impression that there was another opt out. Hearing that true freshman defensive tackle Ronald Triplette has chosen to opt out.
3) Chris Klieman said that maybe one or two guys that weren't available vs OU could return vs Texas Tech. That sounds about right to me. I am not certain who that is, to be fair. However, there are some additional whispers that there may be a glimmer of hope that it could be more than that.
4) I've poked around some just to pin down where Cody Stufflebean is practicing at, since he was brought in as an athlete and his future position was still kind of undetermined. He has been working with the tight ends and fullbacks. Seems like he's settled there and he's headed in the right direction.
5) Klieman also had some good things to say about Jacardia Wright this week, explaining that he had turned things back around a bit and headed in the right direction again. I was told that same thing by a source. So, that is a positive.
6) Derick Newton is no longer with the team, I'm told. I imagine that there won't be an announcement of any kind but that it will be reflected on the team roster at any moment. With that move and Triplette opting out, that is likely why you heard Klieman share on Tuesday that Kirmari Gainous probably needs to start working inside. I'm told they're experimenting others at DT as well, including Cartez Crook-Jones and Felix Anudike. If you remember, I expressed great pessimism on he and Demarrquese Hayes in the offseason. They needed to really turn it around, and that didn't happen.
7) Matthew Pola-Mao was of course one of the opt-outs at DT. I think that was more of a family choice, for the record, and there still seems to be the utmost confidence that he will return and eventually be a contributor for the Wildcats.
8) I know that Wyatt Hubert hasn't been as effective as usual so far, though to be fair, he did turn it on a little in the second half against OU, in my opinion. I'm told some of that is also him playing through two very nagging injuries. He's trying to tough it out right now.
9) Boom Massie is playing some of his best football right now at Kansas State. Some believe it is because this is the healthiest he's been in a couple years. He's dealt with nagging injuries as well the past couple years and he had surgery in the offseason, that forced him to miss the Liberty Bowl, that enabled him to clean a lot of it up and has helped ignite him this year.
10) Lastly, I'll go through some recruiting notes since we haven't been able to provide a notebook in a week or so. It had been quieter on the trail. The first is that it may be time to pump the brakes a bit on Myles Purchase. He has set an announcement date for the end of October, and he might be waiting too long. Other targets could pop up in the near future.
11) I think they'll still target another cornerback, too. They had hoped it would be Al Ashford but it didn't work out. They'll look for a late grab at the position kinda like last year when they landed Tee Denson.
12) The other two spots that seem to be still open will probably be slotted for tight end and offensive tackle. Offensive tackle will take some more high school tape eval, of course, to find another prospect. The tight end target is clearly James Carnie of Nebraska, and while there is still more to play out, it isn't the slam dunk for Iowa that it is made out to be. I can't go into much more detail than that. I will share that he is in constant communication with the coaches and he and his parents are doing extensive homework on the Wildcats, even communicating with some current players and their parents to get a feel for how it is in Manhattan.
13) I was a little down on Hays linebacker Gavin Meyers after watching him in the opener. I'm going to chalk it up to him having to knock off the rust. He's been very good since. In addition to that, he has some connections (don't know the details) to Manhattan that I wasn't aware of originally and some close to him believe he's becoming more open to the Wildcats. That battle with Nebraska is going to be closer than initially thought and there is a newfound confidence from Kansas State's side.
14) It is not much of a secret but they have built a huge lead and a ton of comfort and relationships with Jaren Kanak and his family, too. Of course, they are also from Hays. The coaches are doing well but Gaven Haselhorst probably deserves a lot of credit for the movement at Hays. Haselhorst and Klieman have gotten K-State back in the game.
15) I'm told Tyson Struber and his family may be at the game this weekend. Obviously, it won't be as a recruit since that is not permitted due to the dead period but on their own. They bought their tickets. It is believed the same could be true of Caden Crawford, too, who is not hiding his affinity for K-State as much as before. He has also seen his relationship with Buddy Wyatt really, really take off.
I think that is all. We will possibly have another tomorrow, that could have some focus on basketball.
