K-State could look to Linkon Cure for help at WR as Wildcats deal with injuries
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Freshman Linkon Cure may shift to wide receiver as K-State faces depth issues.
- Coach Chris Klieman reports Cure is practicing and nearing full game readiness.
- With Jerand Bradley out, Cure and others could enter K-State's WR rotation.
Kansas State freshman Linkon Cure is a former five-star football recruit who many expect to help the Wildcats at tight end both this year and beyond. But at least one of his teammates would like to see him line up at a different position on Friday against Arizona.
Ask Jaron Tibbs for a list of players who could help K-State at wide receiver while usual starter Jerand Bradley is out multiple weeks with an undisclosed injury, and he is quick to give Cure a shoutout.
“You know, we have got Linkon Cure,” Tibbs said. “He’s still young and getting adjusted, but he has a lot of potential and he’s super athletic.”
Cure has missed the first three games of the season with an injury of his own. But the 6-foot-5 and 245-pound athlete has been healthy enough to suit up and go through warm ups before each of K-State’s past two contests. He has looked good running and catching passes in a No. 0 jersey.
On his weekly radio show, K-State football coach Chris Klieman said Cure was close to making his college debut.
“I wouldn’t say he’s 100%, but he’s probably 80%, and he’s practicing and doing a really good job,” Klieman said. “He just has to get some rust knocked off him and get into the flow.”
Klieman went on to say that Cure has been practicing with the K-State scout team as he adjusts to the physicality of college football.
Wide receiver requires less physicality than tight end. So it might make sense for K-State to use him in the slot and target him as an oversized pass-catcher. It’s a familiar role he played at times in high school.
Maybe K-State coaches don’t want to ask a freshman to make plays in the first true road game of the season, but Cure is a fascinating option to help replace Bradley.
So far this season, K-State quarterback Avery Johnson has thrown for 763 yards and six touchdowns with Jayce Brown (216 yards and two touchdowns), Jaron Tibbs (151 yards and two touchdowns) and Jerand Bradley (152 yards and one touchdown) serving as his primary targets.
The Wildcats will need someone else to step up while Bradley is on the sideline.
Adonis Moise has played in all three games, making two catches for 15 yards. So he is the most logical next man up in this situation. Sterling Lockett, Jemyri Davis and Caleb Medford could also be options.
But don’t be shocked if Cure gets a look there over the next few weeks.
“We have a lot of people on the depth chart that will be moving up from scout team this week,” Tibbs said. “There will be a lot more people in the rotation now.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 12:35 PM with the headline "K-State could look to Linkon Cure for help at WR as Wildcats deal with injuries."