K-State Q&A: Jerome Tang, recruiting analysis and the Wildcats’ super-fast kicker
One of my favorite things about attending a Catbacker event in the spring is learning a completely random bit of Kansas State sports knowledge that I previously had no clue about.
It happens every year. I chat with student-athletes when they’re not shaking hands with fans. I listen to Wyatt Thompson interview all sorts of players and coaches in front of a crowd. Something unexpected always reveals itself.
This week, the obscure K-State sports factoid came from “super senior” kicker/punter Ty Zentner. He told me something that made me ask if he was joking around with me. He was not.
His information: Chris Tennant is the fastest player on the entire K-State football team.
That’s sophomore kicker Chris Tennant from Mill Valley, for those of you who don’t remember him connecting on five of eight field goals last season.
“Chris is a very good kicker,” Zentner told me. “Everyone on the team is really excited about his future. He’s the fastest guy on the team and probably the most freak athlete we have in the locker room.”
Really? The kicker?
“I’m not kidding,” Zentner said. “In terms of miles per hour traveled, yes, he is the fastest guy on our team. He’s got some long legs. He’s a former soccer player. He gets going.”
Seriously?
“I can’t remember which one, but he either ran the fastest 40 or 60 on the team,” Zentner said. “He’s a freak.”
After letting that sink in, I suppose it makes sense that Tennant is more athletic than your average kicker. He is 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds. He also drilled a 51-yarder against Texas last season.
Zentner is so confident in Tennant as a kicker (and a pure athlete) that Zentner is not expecting to kick any field goals or extra points next season. He is focusing the majority of his practice time on punts (he has more hang time than in the past) and kickoffs (he has mastered booting the ball through the end zone and is now trying to pin other teams near the goal line).
I found our conversation interesting enough that I ran it by Chris Klieman for confirmation. Is Tennant really the fastest guy on Kansas State’s roster, up there with Phillip Brooks, Ekow Boye-Doe, Malik Knowles and Deuce Vaughn.
“He had our fastest Catapult time,” Klieman said. “I don’t know that he would be our fastest football player, but he is a fast kid in our GPS systems. He can get up and roll. I always ask (his high school coach) why he didn’t play linebacker or receiver there at Mill Valley. He said he tried. We played him some at safety on defense this spring because we were down bodies. He’s a good athlete.”
There you have it. K-State has speed at kicker. Maybe that will come in handy on a fake field goal at some point.
Now, it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
Some K-State fans were ready to anoint Jerome Tang as the greatest recruiter in college basketball history when he lined up visits with five-star prospect Julian Phillips, four-star recruit Shawn Phillips and Detroit scoring machine Antoine Davis.
Had the Wildcats landed all three of those players, their roster would be looking mighty good right about now.
But Julian Phillips committed to Tennessee (and never actually visited K-State), Shawn Phillips went with LSU and Davis stayed put at Detroit with the help of a lucrative NIL deal.
Tang might still be an excellent recruiter at K-State, but he has struck out with his first class in Manhattan. The Wildcats only have seven scholarship players on their roster with summer school rapidly approaching.
That’s ... not good.
You are allowed to feel antsy. It’s hard to see Tang’s first K-State team being picked to finish anywhere other than last in the Big 12. That’s not to say the Wildcats couldn’t exceed expectations. But they’re not going to look great on paper, unless Tang has four aces up his sleeve.
Missouri State transfer Isiaih Mosley is still available, though there isn’t a ton of buzz about him and K-State at the moment. If the Wildcats can land two impact transfers of his caliber late in the process, the roster situation will get much more optimistic.
But I’m not sure where Tang is going to find four more impact transfers, which he has said is his desire.
The Wildcats are involved with several transfers who are currently testing the NBA Draft waters. Perhaps they will land someone in that group who elects to return to school.
K-State associate head coach Ulric Maligi told me earlier this week that the Wildcats would be comfortable only signing four more players (instead of six) and saving two scholarships for the 2023 cycle.
While the goal remains bringing in six more new players, that shows you that Tang’s staff realizes it will be an uphill climb at this stage.
E-MAIL QUESTION: Can you update us on when the men’s basketball schedule will be released or at least an update on confirmed non-conference opponents? - Todd N.
The schedule should be released at some point early on in the summer.
It’s not quite finished yet, but the Wildcats are getting close to locking in Jerome Tang’s first schedule. One interesting game that might appear on it is a game against Wisconsin on Nov. 11 at the Milwaukee Brewers’ baseball stadium. It is reportedly being discussed between the two schools.
Other games already on the books: Texas-Rio Grande Valley, Wichita State, Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, Radford, Nebraska (KC), at Butler and three games at the Cayman Islands Classic against a field of Akron, Illinois State, LSU, Nevada, Rhode Island, Tulane and Western Kentucky.
K-State will also play a home game in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
Why not both?
It would be amazing if I could figure out a way to watch some basketball in Milwaukee on that Friday and then be in Waco, Texas for a football game the following day.
Time to start selling my bosses on a private jet!
Interesting prop bet.
Well done!
Basketball (6-12) beat football (4-5) last season by a slim margin. But I’m thinking football is the better bet in 2022-23. Chris Klieman’s team could easily win five or six conference games next season. Jerome Tang’s squad will get more opportunities for wins, but seven Big 12 wins may be asking a lot in Year 1.
Not really.
I would say Sterling Lockett, because his older brother killed it as a true freshman. But receiver is K-State’s deepest position right now. Hard to see him making a big impact behind Phillip Brooks, Malik Knowles, Kade Warner, Chabastin Taylor, R.J. Garcia and everyone else at that spot.
But only a few true freshmen were on campus for spring practice. So it’s possible someone new blows the coaches away in the summer.
That’s a big jump that doesn’t seem all that likely for any returning K-State player to make.
But you asked so let’s roll the dice on Sammy Wheeler.
If Adrian Martinez wants to throw the ball to a tight end next season, Wheeler is going to be his primary target. Wheeler is a skilled receiver, and I can envision a world in which he makes enough catches to warrant all-conference consideration.
There is no strict criteria for Kansas State’s football Ring of Honor.
It’s more or less up to the football coach and athletic director to decide who gets inducted, though the goal is to honor former players who “achieved performance that warrants consensus All-America level status at Kansas State” or “performed at a program-transformational level.”
Players must also be five years removed from college.
I’m with you. I’m not going to argue against any of the latest six induction candidates. Arthur Brown, Larry Brown, Darren Howard, Collin Klein, Tyler Lockett and Ell Roberson are studs and deserve the honor.
But you could certainly make a case for there being more deserving players out there. Tyler Lockett going in before his dad is awful. Kevin Lockett absolutely deserves a spot in the Ring of Honor. Maybe Aaron Lockett, too.
Chris Canty was a consensus All-American and he isn’t in. Chad May, Jeff Kelly, Quincy Morgan and Josh Buhl were first team All-Americans and they aren’t in.
What about Nick Leckey or Daniel Thomas or Ty Zimmerman?
It would be nice if K-State honored its former players a little more regularly, especially in basketball. I will probably have grand children by the time they get around to retiring Jacob Pullen’s jersey.
As entertaining as that would be, I think we would all enjoy it more if Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban had a WWE style wrestling match.
I might rather watch that than Texas A&M at Alabama next football season.
This story was originally published May 20, 2022 at 10:39 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Jerome Tang, recruiting analysis and the Wildcats’ super-fast kicker."