D
Derek Young
Guest
Going to do it differently this week and see how it goes. I'll have a landing page on the front page of the site kind of previewing what's inside the notebook, as a sales-y type thing. But the real thing is just going to be a message board post and I think most people like that a little bit more.
BEAT THE BIG TEN
Kansas State has chased a lot of prospects since Chris Klieman was hired that are more reflective of the Big Ten footprint. It makes sense. There is a lot of overlap, at least offensively, when it comes to their system and that of Big Ten schools.
Some past examples have been Beau Stephens, Cody Stufflebean, Ky Thomas, Aireontae Ersery, Seth Malcom, Yahya Black, Daniel Jackson, Keagan Johnson, Brody Brecht, Lukas Van Ness, Turner Corcoran, Alex Conn, Randolph Kpai, Jalen Logan-Redding and Dawson Delforge.
Some current examples that have yet to make a decision include Joe Alt, Tyler Maro, Ryan Keeler and Jordan Oladokun.
And again, those are just some. There is more. Also, yes, a lot of that isn’t just the overlap in systems and styles with typical Big Ten teams. It is also a geographical similarity. If K-State wants to battle more in the Midwest, they will see coaches from the Big Ten more and more.
Additionally, Big Ten coaches are dipping into Kansas and Missouri more and more.
The point is that the Big Ten isn’t going away. They’ve defeated them a few times but will need to be more and more efficient in doing so because that is going to continue to be a trend.
PROJECTING DEVRIN WEATHERS
Webb City athlete Devrin Weathers was offered by Kansas State not long ago. This was another elite discovery by Conor Riley, I believe. When looking for a coach that is able to find some of the gems in Missouri that others can’t, Riley should be at the top of the list.
Weathers’ only offer to this point is from the Wildcats and it remains to be seen if it will remain that way. However, he’s pushing forward with his process pretty quickly. At the time of being offered, he admitted that a decision could come soon. Clearly, K-State should be viewed as the leader and the frontrunner.
But what is his future position? That’s a bit of a complicated question and there’s no hard and fast answer to it, admittedly. We are beginning to lean to one particular spot on the field, though.
Linebacker would seem to fit his skillset very well and he has the frame that could grow into a role that would be similar to the one played by Elijah Sullivan. In fact, he has a better frame for additional weight than Sullivan, so he’s closer to that build than some realize.
Additionally, it was the first position that was discussed with him at the time of the scholarship offer.
REMEMBERING LAST YEAR
I have been on record as saying that I still think this year’s recruiting class will be ranked higher than the one of last year. The Class of 2020 finished at number 49 in the nation. Currently, Kansas State is ranked 60th, nationally, in the Class of 2021.
However, they do have two prospects in the fold right now that are ranked higher than anyone they signed in the Class of 2020. That is the reason for my optimism that the ranking could improve.
For those that are arguing that the size could make a difference, in the negative, I’d agree. There’s a chance that some lower-rated recruits could factor in more than they did a year ago. It is true that only the 20 highest-rated prospects are considering when formulating the point totals that determine the team rankings.
My argument would be that I think some are under-shooting the class size. There isn’t an enormous amount of room, but there will still be 20 signed and likely a couple more. I’d put the range of players signed in the Class of 2021 at anywhere from 20-22 at this point. That means they would still be able to dump a couple lower-rated prospects when factoring in their point totals.
Also, last year finished 49th and they were not some juggernaut that had a ton of commits before June. They barely had any and folks were panicking then. This year is about the same but with a couple higher-rated recruits already committed.
STILL AT IT
It isn’t the biggest piece of news and I have extreme doubts that it will actually turn into anything, but it was shared to KSO that contact with Noah Bolticoff and DeShawn Page has continued.
As a reminder, Bolticoff and Page both were in the K-State class at one point but de-committed not long ago.
Bolticoff is an offensive lineman from Rose Hill, Kansas that chose to depart once the TCU offer came through for him. Page only was committed to the Wildcats for a week and made it known that he was going to remain open even upon giving Chris Klieman and Kansas State his verbal pledge.
Again, I personally don’t believe it will amount to anything, but they haven’t completely abandoned the efforts on either.
THIS UPCOMING WEEK
This will be bolder than I’ve been with the timing of things so far, but the overriding sentiment is that K-State will add at least two new commitments this week. The college decisions of Austin Weiner and Brayden Wood are both expected to take place within the next seven days.
Weiner has been a formality ever since the Wildcats offered last summer. He’s moved to Kansas with the rest of his family and has even spent some time in Manhattan over the last month.
While it has taken him some time to go ahead and announce his college choice, there was never any doubt as to who would win his services. It should come to a close in a few days.
Wood’s recruitment has been a bit more of a battle. Louisville is likely going to finish second and they have made it difficult for Kansas State. It helped that they actually were able to host him on a visit.
A video has already been made so that it can be released when he unveils where he will commit. It should be good news for Mike Tuiasosopo. A huge assist, or maybe even the primary credit, should go to quarterback commit Jake Rubley and Director of Recruiting, Taylor Braet, for edging out the Cardinals.
Even though I am not aware of any other impending decisions, it would not shock me if there was another. A part of me has a feeling that it will be a busy week in the K-State recruiting world.
BEAT THE BIG TEN
Kansas State has chased a lot of prospects since Chris Klieman was hired that are more reflective of the Big Ten footprint. It makes sense. There is a lot of overlap, at least offensively, when it comes to their system and that of Big Ten schools.
Some past examples have been Beau Stephens, Cody Stufflebean, Ky Thomas, Aireontae Ersery, Seth Malcom, Yahya Black, Daniel Jackson, Keagan Johnson, Brody Brecht, Lukas Van Ness, Turner Corcoran, Alex Conn, Randolph Kpai, Jalen Logan-Redding and Dawson Delforge.
Some current examples that have yet to make a decision include Joe Alt, Tyler Maro, Ryan Keeler and Jordan Oladokun.
And again, those are just some. There is more. Also, yes, a lot of that isn’t just the overlap in systems and styles with typical Big Ten teams. It is also a geographical similarity. If K-State wants to battle more in the Midwest, they will see coaches from the Big Ten more and more.
Additionally, Big Ten coaches are dipping into Kansas and Missouri more and more.
The point is that the Big Ten isn’t going away. They’ve defeated them a few times but will need to be more and more efficient in doing so because that is going to continue to be a trend.
PROJECTING DEVRIN WEATHERS
Webb City athlete Devrin Weathers was offered by Kansas State not long ago. This was another elite discovery by Conor Riley, I believe. When looking for a coach that is able to find some of the gems in Missouri that others can’t, Riley should be at the top of the list.
Weathers’ only offer to this point is from the Wildcats and it remains to be seen if it will remain that way. However, he’s pushing forward with his process pretty quickly. At the time of being offered, he admitted that a decision could come soon. Clearly, K-State should be viewed as the leader and the frontrunner.
But what is his future position? That’s a bit of a complicated question and there’s no hard and fast answer to it, admittedly. We are beginning to lean to one particular spot on the field, though.
Linebacker would seem to fit his skillset very well and he has the frame that could grow into a role that would be similar to the one played by Elijah Sullivan. In fact, he has a better frame for additional weight than Sullivan, so he’s closer to that build than some realize.
Additionally, it was the first position that was discussed with him at the time of the scholarship offer.
REMEMBERING LAST YEAR
I have been on record as saying that I still think this year’s recruiting class will be ranked higher than the one of last year. The Class of 2020 finished at number 49 in the nation. Currently, Kansas State is ranked 60th, nationally, in the Class of 2021.
However, they do have two prospects in the fold right now that are ranked higher than anyone they signed in the Class of 2020. That is the reason for my optimism that the ranking could improve.
For those that are arguing that the size could make a difference, in the negative, I’d agree. There’s a chance that some lower-rated recruits could factor in more than they did a year ago. It is true that only the 20 highest-rated prospects are considering when formulating the point totals that determine the team rankings.
My argument would be that I think some are under-shooting the class size. There isn’t an enormous amount of room, but there will still be 20 signed and likely a couple more. I’d put the range of players signed in the Class of 2021 at anywhere from 20-22 at this point. That means they would still be able to dump a couple lower-rated prospects when factoring in their point totals.
Also, last year finished 49th and they were not some juggernaut that had a ton of commits before June. They barely had any and folks were panicking then. This year is about the same but with a couple higher-rated recruits already committed.
STILL AT IT
It isn’t the biggest piece of news and I have extreme doubts that it will actually turn into anything, but it was shared to KSO that contact with Noah Bolticoff and DeShawn Page has continued.
As a reminder, Bolticoff and Page both were in the K-State class at one point but de-committed not long ago.
Bolticoff is an offensive lineman from Rose Hill, Kansas that chose to depart once the TCU offer came through for him. Page only was committed to the Wildcats for a week and made it known that he was going to remain open even upon giving Chris Klieman and Kansas State his verbal pledge.
Again, I personally don’t believe it will amount to anything, but they haven’t completely abandoned the efforts on either.
THIS UPCOMING WEEK
This will be bolder than I’ve been with the timing of things so far, but the overriding sentiment is that K-State will add at least two new commitments this week. The college decisions of Austin Weiner and Brayden Wood are both expected to take place within the next seven days.
Weiner has been a formality ever since the Wildcats offered last summer. He’s moved to Kansas with the rest of his family and has even spent some time in Manhattan over the last month.
While it has taken him some time to go ahead and announce his college choice, there was never any doubt as to who would win his services. It should come to a close in a few days.
Wood’s recruitment has been a bit more of a battle. Louisville is likely going to finish second and they have made it difficult for Kansas State. It helped that they actually were able to host him on a visit.
A video has already been made so that it can be released when he unveils where he will commit. It should be good news for Mike Tuiasosopo. A huge assist, or maybe even the primary credit, should go to quarterback commit Jake Rubley and Director of Recruiting, Taylor Braet, for edging out the Cardinals.
Even though I am not aware of any other impending decisions, it would not shock me if there was another. A part of me has a feeling that it will be a busy week in the K-State recruiting world.
