<table> </table> Year three for Josh Freeman is one of change.</p><p>Freeman, a Kansas State junior quarterback, is tending to the little things, such as progressions, footwork and reads. He watches film of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, seeking nuances he can call his own.</p><p>And after the departure of All-America receiver Jordy Nelson to the NFL, the onus of sustaining the Wildcats&#8217; aerial assault falls on Freeman&#8217;s powerful but streamlined right arm. He&#8217;s down to 240 pounds after weighing a muscular 270 last summer, before he threw for a school-record 499 times and 3,353 yards last season.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s his time,&#8221; K-State coach Ron Prince said. &#8220;It&#8217;s his team.&#8221;</p><p>Freeman reflected Tuesday at Big 12 media days on his last two seasons, especially when he was thrust into the starting lineup as a freshman out of Grandview. He took over at QB for the Wildcats&#8217; final eight games in 2006, when they finished 7-6 with a Texas Bowl loss. K-State dropped to 5-7 last season, but Freeman did help the Wildcats to a second straight victory over a top-10 Texas team, this time on the road.</p><p>Now, Freeman is charged with directing an offense without Nelson and with four new junior-college receivers.</p><p>If he had to do it all over again, Freeman said, he wouldn&#8217;t change anything.</p><p>&#8220;I liked jumping right in, but that&#8217;s who I am,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I liked the challenge.&#8221;</p><p>Which is why All-Big 12 defensive end Ian Campbell, Freeman&#8217;s fellow co-captain, believes Freeman&#8217;s latest test won&#8217;t be an issue.</p><p>Freeman, Campbell explained, isn&#8217;t vocal. He&#8217;s visible.</p><p>&#8220;His physical ability alone commands respect,&#8221; Campbell said. &#8220;These guys will need to be challenged, and Josh needs to present that challenge so they can reach their full potential. These guys don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re capable of yet. They know they&#8217;re talented, might have some cockiness, some swagger, but they don&#8217;t know Big 12 football yet. Josh has played long enough, and he needs these guys to step up and do things for him.</p><p>&#8220;I think Josh is that type of talent to challenge that type of talent.&#8221;</p><p>Of Freeman&#8217;s school-record 316 completions last year, 122 (another school record) were handled by Nelson, a second-round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers. Filling his void are Adrian Hilburn, Aubrey Quarles, Attrail Snipes and Brandon Banks. If they&#8217;re to assimilate with the offense, it will be up to Freeman.</p><p>&#8220;Other than those guys, we have two proven guys (Deon Murphy and Ernie Pierce, who both attended junior college) who have done it,&#8221; Freeman said. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to be a matter of how quickly we can get them acclimated and ready for them to produce on the field.</p><p>&#8220;They&#8217;re great players already &#8230; Somebody asked if I feel obligated to get them ready. I have to. My success is hanging on their success. If they have great years, I&#8217;ll have a great year.&#8221;</p><p>Hilburn, Quarles, Snipes and Banks combined to haul in 221 receptions for 3,083 yards and 38 touchdowns in their last seasons of junior-college football. Whether those gaudy statistics translate to major-college football is an uncertainty.</p><p>&#8220;Adrian Hilburn was there in the spring,&#8221; Freeman said. &#8220;He&#8217;s a big kid, about 6 feet, maybe 6 foot 1, and he does a good job in general. He&#8217;s a well-rounded receiver. Aubrey Quarles is a lot like Ernie Pierce, maybe with a little more speed and more flair. Not as big.</p><p>&#8220;Attrail Snipes is a flat-out speed guy with excellent hands. And Brandon Banks is kind of an all-round game-breaker.&#8221;</p><p>How that translates at Kansas State, however, depends a great deal on the quarterback.</p><p>&#8220;The skill players we&#8217;ve brought in, whether it takes four days or four weeks, it&#8217;s part of the equation,&#8221; Prince said. &#8220;We bring the players in, and they&#8217;re given an opportunity to integrate quickly.</p><p>&#8220;Our kid has charisma, he&#8217;s intelligent, and he&#8217;s personable with those players along with our coaching staff. I have all of the confidence he&#8217;ll be prepared for that.&#8221;