Hutchinson football coach sees bright future for Kansas State’s latest juco transfers
Kingsley Ugwu and Tyrone Howell are about to be teammates again.
That is excellent news for Kansas State football, according to the man who coached both of them at Hutchinson Community College before they became the latest additions to the Wildcats’ 2021 recruiting class.
“Both of them still have extremely high ceilings in their football game, but they’re already playing at a high level,” Hutchinson coach Drew Dallas said during a phone interview on Wednesday. “They still have a lot of growth they can make. They haven’t played a ton of football, but you can tell by what they did last season that they are both very, very talented football players.”
It’s easy for Dallas to praise his former players, because they accomplished special things together. A few short weeks ago, the Blue Dragons put the finishing touches on an undefeated season and won a junior college championship.
That opened up bigger opportunities for the team’s star contributors like Ugwu, a 6-foot-4 and 311-pound offensive lineman, and Howell, a 6-foot-3 and 205-pound wide receiver.
K-State was one of the Division I schools that took notice.
It was hard to miss Howell during the championship game against Snow College. Despite putting up average numbers in his previous five games (12 catches for 193 yards and three touchdowns) he became a focal point of Hutchinson’s offense when it mattered most by catching six passes for 108 yards.
“He took the game over in the fourth quarter,” Dallas said. “We found ways to isolate him and work vertical and post routes to him. We let him go to work and he came up time after time with some big catches.”
Howell might not seem time to learn Chris Klieman’s offense at K-State, and there will certainly be an adjustment period for him as he gets used to the Big 12. But he also seems ready to contribute at a position of need for the Wildcats.
K-State suffered from a dearth of quality receivers last season. Chabastin Taylor had the best numbers of the group at 19 catches for 293 yards and a touchdown.
“He has the makings of a pretty dominant, physical outside receiver,” Dallas said. “He is physically gifted from a size standpoint, but he’s really starting to develop his speed, which doesn’t show up on film. He is really, really good with his body control, catching the ball in traffic, adjusting to the ball when it’s in the air and going up and competing for it.”
One more thing about Howell: He is an excellent perimeter blocker.
Hutchinson leaned on its rushing game last season and averaged a whopping 273.4 yards per game on the ground. Dallas credited Howell for springing several long runs with blocks on the outside. That’s a skill that should translate easily at K-State.
Of course, Ugwu is also a skilled blocker. When the junior college season came to an end, the Tuscon, Arizona native was named a first-team All-American by the NJCAA.
He was an easy choice given how productive the Blue Dragons were on offense, averaging 45.4 points and 472.8 yards per game.
“He is a pretty special kid off the field. He is really dynamic on the field,” Dallas said. “He’s got a good personality and he’s a great teammate. He also has a ton of tools to develop on top of his athleticism and length. His wingspan is nearly 85 inches wingspan. With long arms and quick feet, I expect him to continue to get better and refine his position to the point where he is a really good football player at the Big 12 level.”
Ugwu didn’t see much action as a freshman at Hutchinson, because he was stuck behind another Division I offensive lineman at tackle. But he started at left tackle all last season and Dallas said he became the leader of the unit.
The Wildcats will give Ugwu an opportunity to play right away. Tackle is a bit of a question mark for K-State. Christian Duffie, Kaitori Leveston and Cooper Beebe have all played there before, but Beebe seems better suited for guard and Leveston is no lock to start next season.
Perhaps Ugwu can push his way into the rotation, just like he did at Hutchinson.
“He’s always been a quick-twitch guy that moves really well for his size,” Dallas said. “His tenacity and toughness are things that stick out with him. He played with a chip on his shoulder for us, and I’m sure he will do the same for Kansas State.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2021 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Hutchinson football coach sees bright future for Kansas State’s latest juco transfers."