This week in K-State recruiting: Busy month of camps, visits in store for Wildcats
One could argue that the sport of college football took its first major step toward normalcy on Tuesday.
That’s when a prolonged dead period of recruiting came to an end and teams got back to hosting prospects on visits, showing high school standouts around campus and speaking with them face to face for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began more than a year ago.
It was a busy day all over, including at Kansas State, where football coach Chris Klieman and his staff entertained an important group of in-state 2023 prospects that included Maize quarterback Avery Johnson and Derby running back Dylan Edwards, plus St. Louis running back Allen Mitchell. Those visits kicked off a long and hectic month of recruiting activity that should make for an exciting June for the Wildcats.
Klieman’s team has visits lined up with high school players every weekend as summer approaches. The Wildcats will also host players from various regions at six different camps at Bill Snyder Family Stadium this month, starting on Thursday.
It’s been a slow few months for K-State football recruiting, as the Wildcats have only picked up commitments from four players in the recruiting class of 2022. And only one of them, two-star defensive back Colby McCalister, has pledged to K-State since January. But things could start moving faster at any point over the next month.
With recruits coming and going to Manhattan for the first time in what feels like ages, the Wildcats are bound to land some pledges like they traditionally do every June.
Names to keep an eye on
It’s hard to find a player with a more impressive list of scholarship offers than Terian Williams. The 6-foot and 180-pound safety from Johns Creek, Georgia boasts 41 offers, according to Rivals. Out of all those skills, he will visit K-State first this month. The three-star recruit is scheduled to visit on Thursday.
In March, he announced a list of 12 finalists. They were: Arizona, Duke, Harvard, Liberty, Michigan, Mississippi State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Texas Tech, Washington State and K-State.
His recruiting buzz seems to have dipped nationally in the past several months, making the Wildcats a legitimate contender for him.
Staying on the defensive side of the ball, St. Louis safety Kaleb Purdy will also visit Manhattan this week. He boasts offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri, but it seems as though the Wildcats have shown the most interest in him lately.
Grant Page is the type of player who could potentially help the Wildcats at receiver early on during his college career. A 6-foot-3 and 185-pound athlete from Boulder, Colorado, he plans to visit Manhattan on Friday and check out K-State before he takes a hard look at the other nine schools that have offered him a scholarship.
He also has a visit scheduled at Nebraska on June 11. Some of his other choices are currently Colorado, Georgia Tech, Iowa State and Michigan State.
Robert Spears-Jennings is another intriguing possibility at receiver. The 6-foot-3 and 200-pound playmaker from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma announced his June visit schedule on Tuesday and first up is K-State on Wednesday.
He will also visit Houston, Oklahoma State, Boston College, Mississippi and Texas Tech before making his college decision.
Another prospect with plenty of offers who wants to check out Manhattan is Shakaun Bowser, a three-star outside linebacker from Gilbert Arizona. He is also scheduled to visit K-State this week before traveling north to Oregon State on June 11. He currently has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Iowa State, Michigan, Oregon State and K-State.
Though he isn’t scheduled to visit K-State this week, San Antonio quarterback Richard Torres is shaping up to be an important recruit for the Wildcats.
The three-star passer has plans to visit Nebraska on June 3, followed by SMU, TCU, K-State and UTSA this month.
K-State offers juco defender
It seems the Wildcats are interested in adding at least one junior-college transfer to their roster in time for next season.
K-State offered a scholarship to Coffeyville defensive back Jacob Proche on Tuesday, one day after her orally committed to play for Coastal Carolina.
Proche made 14 tackles while playing in six games this past season for Coffeyville.
It is an interesting time for K-State to recruit the Coastal Carolina pledge, but the Wildcats could still use more immediate help in their secondary after striking out on higher profile transfers this spring.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 2:34 PM with the headline "This week in K-State recruiting: Busy month of camps, visits in store for Wildcats."