Kansas State running low on healthy tight ends as injuries, COVID-19 ravage position
For the second straight year, one of Kansas State’s most versatile tight ends won’t be able to finish the season after suffering a significant injury.
Samuel Wheeler, a 6-foot-4 and 226-pound sophomore who has made seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats this season, will be sidelined indefinitely because of a fractured clavicle.
“Unfortunately, his season is cut short again,” K-State football coach Chris Klieman said on Tuesday. “I feel awful for him, because he was doing some really good things. Unfortunately for Sammy, he just hasn’t been able to stay healthy and it’s an awful thing, because he is playing well.”
This is a particularly bad injury update for the Wildcats, as it comes at a position that was already hurting.
Starting tight end Briley Moore missed K-State’s most recent game against Oklahoma State because of an unspecified back injury and is considered questionable to play the next time the Wildcats take the field against Iowa State in two weeks.
A trio of freshmen tight ends are also currently in isolation, as the Wildcats deal with a COVID-19 outbreak that has impacted many of their young players.
“There won’t be a whole lot of tight ends out there this week,” Klieman said.
If both Moore and Wheeler are out against the Cyclones, it’s unclear which players the Wildcats will line up at tight end.
When asked about that possibility on Tuesday, Klieman didn’t have a definitive answer.
“We are struggling,” Klieman said. “We have got Konner (Fox) and we have got Nick (Lenners) and we have got a bunch of fullbacks we will have to move around a little bit ... We have to be pretty creative on offense and hope that we have a chance to get Briley back and keep moving in the right direction.”
Getting Moore back in the lineup would be a huge boost for the Wildcats, but Klieman says it is too early to know when he will be healthy enough to return to action. Moore is unlikely to practice this week, and Klieman expects to have a better grasp on his status next week.
Moore leads K-State in receptions this season with 19 for 271 yards and three touchdowns.
Wheeler filled in for him admirably as a pass-catcher last week and delivered a big highlight for the Wildcats when he caught a pass from Will Howard and turned it into a 58-yard gain. But that turned out to be his final play of the season, as he was tackled awkwardly.
“It definitely is a tough loss,” Howard said, “but at this point it is what it is. We have faced a lot of adversity already this year, and other guys have gone down. I am confident somebody will step up. It’s awful for Sammy and a big loss for us, but I am confident some other guys will step up into his spot.”
After first arriving at K-State as a quarterback, Wheeler seems to have carved out a promising future as a tight end. But health has been a concern for him. He missed the majority of last season with a torn ACL after making four catches for 78 yards.
The Wildcats were prepared to lean on him as a valuable member of the passing game until Moore was able to return to the lineup. Now, they will have to look elsewhere.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Kansas State running low on healthy tight ends as injuries, COVID-19 ravage position."