Kansas State Wildcats lose electric sophomore receiver to NCAA transfer portal
Joshua Youngblood entered this season with the loftiest of goals.
The sophomore Kansas State playmaker wanted to build off his electric freshman campaign with the Wildcats by piling up 1,000 yards as a receiver, another 1,000 yards as a rusher and yet another 1,000 yards as a return man. No matter what anyone else said, he thought those were attainable numbers.
Perhaps they are, but Youngblood won’t be reaching those heights at K-State. A source confirmed he entered the transfer portal on Tuesday following a disappointing start to his sophomore year that saw him go without a catch in the Wildcats’ first four games. His other stats: three yards on one rushing attempt and 54 yards on three returns.
Not exactly what he had in mind.
His departure will be a tough pill for K-State fans to swallow, given how much Youngblood accomplished as a freshman coming out of Tampa, Fla.
The former three-star recruit became a freshman All-American after returning three kickoffs for touchdowns last year. He also had nine catches for 73 yards and 11 rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown.
He seemed on track to have a stellar college career with the Wildcats, and he appeared to have a terrific relationship with K-State coach Chris Klieman when Klieman arranged for Youngblood to briefly live with him during the offseason following a surgical procedure on both his legs.
But his relationship with the football team soured at some point this season, and he became frustrated enough to try and continue his college career elsewhere.
Youngblood only played in two of K-State’s first four games. He missed the opener against Arkansas State, presumably because of COVID-19 protocols, as he watched from the sideline with nearly 40 inactive teammates in matching sweats. He got on the field against Oklahoma and rushed for three yards, but then he was nowhere to be seen during K-State’s third game against Texas Tech. Klieman said he was simply “unavailable.”
Youngblood returned to action last week against TCU but had another quiet game.
News of Youngblood entering the transfer portal surfaced early Tuesday afternoon, following Klieman’s weekly video conference with reporters. Klieman did not mention Youngblook during his news conference.
Youngblood is the fourth young K-State football player that has entered the transfer portal this season, joining Ronald Triplette, Derick Newton and Demarquese Hayes.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 2:29 PM with the headline "Kansas State Wildcats lose electric sophomore receiver to NCAA transfer portal."