K-State Q&A: Jerome Tang recruits, football transfers and Nijel Pack’s huge NIL deal
It’s time for another K-State Q&A.
We have got lots of fascinating topics to cover this week, so let’s dive right into your questions. Thanks, as always, for your participation.
There is something important we should all try to remember when we talk about Nijel Pack’s massive NIL deal with the Miami Hurricanes.
It is hardly the norm.
Congrats to Pack for securing a deal that will pay him $800,000 over the next two years while he drives around Miami in a new car. If someone offered me that same deal to play basketball in South Florida, well, let’s just say this mailbag would go on hiatus for a little while.
Everyone would take that deal.
But not everyone is being offered that deal. Miami has recently added a handful of new men’s basketball players, and Pack was the only one of them that appeared to get a lucrative NIL deal.
Oscar Tshiebwe is expected to earn more to return to Kentucky next season. Some football players have been rumored to strike deals in the millions. But those are all extreme examples of NIL money.
It’s not like every player in the NCAA transfer portal is getting rich.
The vast majority of NIL deals are presumably much smaller, and that’s why we don’t hear nearly as much about what everyone else is getting.
The Wildcats can’t do much to prevent their next star basketball player from leaving for $1 million elsewhere. But they are well positioned to make sure their top student-athletes will be compensated.
Donors are beginning to show interest in making NIL deals with players and a pair of NIL collectives were recently founded to help the Wildcats.
It wouldn’t surprise me if some of K-State’s top 2023 recruits are making six figures once they arrive on campus. Deuce Vaughn could be in line for a large payday if he decides to return as a senior.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I think Pack’s NIL deal will prove to be a cautionary tale.
There’s no way he is actually worth $800,000 to LifeWallet. I can’t even tell you what that company does. People are eager to strike deals with college athletes right now because NIL deals are still relatively new.
Heck, most NBA players don’t make that kind of money in endorsement deals.
K-State will never be able to pay the most or lure players to Manhattan strictly on NIL opportunities. But it should be able to compete with its main rivals like KU and Iowa State just like it always has.
I don’t see how it would be legal for the NCAA to limit the amount of endorsement money any of its student-athletes can earn on a NIL deal.
First, a quick rundown of everything that has happened to the K-State basketball roster since Jerome Tang was hired as coach.
- Nine scholarship players have left the team as transfers, leaving the Wildcats with just two returners: Markquis Nowell and Ismael Massoud.
- Taj Manning, the lone player Bruce Weber signed during the 2022 recruiting cycle, still intends to play for K-State.
- Tang has signed a pair of incoming transfers. Jerrell Colbert, a 6-foot-10 freshman forward from LSU, and Cam Carter, a 6-foot-3 freshman from Mississippi State, will both be in Manhattan this summer.
That leaves K-State with enough players to form a starting lineup. Tang has eight open scholarships to use on the recruiting trail.
It’s not time to panic. But it’s not time to celebrate anything, either.
K-State fans will be happy to know that the Wildcats are in the running from some promising names.
Detroit transfer Antoine Davis is at the top of the list. The senior guard averaged 23.9 points last season, albeit in the Horizon League, and is one of the most prolific scorers in NCAA history. If he chooses K-State over Maryland, Georgetown, BYU and his previous school then maybe fans will stop thinking so much about Nijel Pack.
Some other names to keep an eye on:
- Dorian Finister, a three-star guard from Louisiana.
- Shawn Phillips, a four-star forward who is currently ranked 50th in his class by Rivals.
- Nae’qwan Tomlin, a 6-foot-8 forward who is one of the top uncommitted junior-college players still on the market.
All three of those recruits are expected to visit campus this week, according to Grant Flanders of K-State Online.
Phillips is obviously the biggest name. Landing him would be a major recruiting victory for the Wildcats. But they also need bodies to fill up space on the roster. Any of them would seem like a good addition right now.
I think Skylar Thompson gets drafted in the late rounds on Saturday. I’m not super confident about it, but my gut tells me someone will take a chance on the former K-State quarterback. Russ Yeast and Josh Rivas are also on the fence.
It is much more likely that the K-State men’s basketball team opens the 2022-23 season with a full roster than it is for me to win the lottery. But I hope I’m wrong on that!
Smoking an amazing brisket is kinda my thing. So I’m going to choose that over another linebacker transfer, even though they could lose one of their final eight.
Five different K-State linebackers have been “on the move” since November.
The outgoing transfers are: Gaven Haselhorst, Kienen Gaskin, Branden Jennings, Davonte Pritchard and Wayne Jones.
That is a lot of names for one position.
Jennings is obviously the biggest departure. When he decided to transfer from Maryland to K-State for the spring semester, most viewed him as a plug-and-play defender who could help immediately next season. And yet, he is back in the transfer portal before he could play a single game for the Wildcats.
The other transfers aren’t huge losses in my eyes. You would probably rather keep Haselhorst and Jones than watch them play elsewhere, but neither player was going to lead K-State in tackles next season. Pritchard was young. Gaskin was a walk-on.
Why did they all decide to leave?
The answer usually boils down to one thing — playing time. I’m thinking that’s what the issue is here, rather than players disliking position coach Steve Stanard or looking to cash in on NIL deals at another school. They could have transferred much earlier if that was the case.
Chris Klieman only likes to play two true linebackers at the same time, which can make it difficult for defenders to earn playing time in the middle of K-State’s defense.
Daniel Green is a lock to start at linebacker next fall. Some combination of Will Honas, Krew Jackson, Austin Moore and Nick Allen will also see action.
Khalid Duke, if you consider him a linebacker instead of a defensive end, is also expected to start in his hybrid position next season.
I’m not sure anyone I listed above was going to top those names on the depth chart.
Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said it was difficult for Jennings to adjust to K-State’s defense. The Wildcats still had high hopes for him, they just worried he might not be able to hit the ground running. So he looked for a different opportunity.
Players have to enter the NCAA transfer portal by Sunday in order to be eligible to play immediately somewhere else next season. I think that is why you have seen recent transfers. The fact that they all play linebacker seems coincidental.
Unless something incredibly unpredictable happens between now and the start of the season, Chris Klieman is not expected to make changes to his K-State coaching staff anytime soon.
But the changes he made after the Texas Bowl did help the Wildcats become more active on the recruiting trail.
Collin Klein is wielding extra power as offensive coordinator.
Brian Lepak lives to coach and enjoys the process of recruiting new players. He was a big reason why Wichita tight end Will Anciaux chose K-State over KU and Iowa State.
Thad Ward is also a very active recruiter. K-State’s new receivers coach likes to take a hands-on approach with prospects and doesn’t expect someone on the support staff to entertain his recruits while they are on a visit.
I don’t think it’s any coincidence that K-State football recruiting has picked up since those changes were made to the coaching staff.
Give me Collin Klein from the football coaching staff. He played through every injury and sickness known to man and never missed a game while he was K-State’s starting quarterback under Bill Snyder.
He is probably immune to Zombie bites.
I will take Jerome Tang from the basketball side of things. Not only is he a scrapper, but he knows how to cook and make a yummy meal without many resources. That could come in handy after a long day of manning the sniper rifle on top of my Zombie fortress.
They are all on schedule.
K-State’s indoor practice facility should be completed by the fall. If you drive by the athletic complex right now you can see the foundation being built as we speak.
Sure, there’s a chance Oklahoma will have to play road games against BYU and Central Florida while Texas has to play road games at Houston and Cincinnati.
The Big 12 office should do everything within its power to force Texas to play at Houston before the Longhorns leave the conference. The Cougars would love that game and Texas would hate it.
I don’t see Texas or Oklahoma getting favorable treatment of any kind for as long as they remain in the conference.
Of course, there’s also a chance they both decide to leave for the SEC before the Big 12’s new members arrive in 2023.
This is mostly speculation on my part, but I don’t think Texas or Oklahoma wants to deal with playing four new teams for two years. They could view that as their signal to leave.
It might also make sense for the Big 12 to cut ties and move on with 12 teams at that point. Does anyone really want 14 teams for two seasons?
There’s no way the Big 12 would simply let OU and UT walk to the SEC, but if all three sides can agree on the right exit penalty I think it happens.
This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Jerome Tang recruits, football transfers and Nijel Pack’s huge NIL deal."