Chris Klieman adds three new players to K-State football roster on signing day
After landing 23 recruits in December, signing day was bound to be relatively quiet for the Kansas State football team on Wednesday.
But Chris Klieman found a few ways to improve the Wildcats roster by adding three new players.
The biggest addition of the group appears to be Tyrone Taleni, a 6-foot-3 junior college defensive end. Taleni just finished up his sophomore season at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, California. He had 26 tackles, including six for loss last year.
Taleni committed and signed with the Wildcats on Wednesday, making him a bit of a surprise addition. The 245-pound defender is from Savai’i, Samao. He does not have a star rating on Rivals and chose K-State over Hawaii and UTEP.
K-State also officially added a local recruit fans have known for quite some time.
Sam Shields, a 6-4 offensive lineman from Manhattan, was expected to delay enrollment and join the Wildcats in a future recruiting class. But the longtime K-State pledge accelerated that timeline and signed with Klieman’s team on Wednesday.
The three-star recruit is the son of Jill Shields, who works as a K-State deputy athletic director.
The Wildcats also signed Hadley Panzer, a 6-4 offensive lineman from Lakin. He is rated as the 29th-best center in the 2020 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.
Like Shields, Panzer has been committed to the Wildcats for several months. He chose K-State over offers from Iowa State and Akron.
K-State announced Wednesday afternoon that it was not expecting to sign any more players during this recruiting cycle. That means previous pledges like Makholven Sonn and Joseph Wilson will not suit up for the Wildcats.
The new additions boost K-State’s 2020 recruiting class to 26. Twelve of those newcomers are already on campus and will take part in spring practices when they begin on March 18. The Wildcats will not hold a spring game for the second straight year under Klieman, but fans are invited to watch the final practice of the spring on April 17, a Friday, at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Admission is free.
Klieman was excited about the initial core group of players he signed in December. The Wildcats already have five players committed in their 2021 class.
This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Chris Klieman adds three new players to K-State football roster on signing day."