K-State Q&A: Deuce Vaughn’s primary backup, Jerome Tang’s basketball rebuild and more
I was admittedly worried about Kansas State’s depth at running back when the vast majority of its ball-carriers decided they were tired of playing behind Deuce Vaughn and transferred to other schools last season.
Great as Vaughn is, he can’t tote the rock on every single play. Right?
Well, now that a few months have passed since those transfers, I no longer think Vaughn needs all that much help in the backfield. Some help? Sure. He can’t handle every carry, of course. But Vaughn is an extremely smart running back who knows how to avoid big hits and stay healthy. K-State would be wise to feature him as much as possible next season.
Still, someone else is bound to see a few carries. Will it be Devrin Weathers, Jax Dineen, DJ Giddens, Jordan Schippers or new junior-college transfer Anthony Frias?
Collin Klein has been complimentary of Frias, saying he was a “big addition” late in the spring.
“It’s not just about having an extra body in there,” Klein said. “It’s the guy. We are really excited about Anthony, they type of person he is and the character that he has. Having him and Deuce will provide us some depth and experience at that position, and that will be big.”
Perhaps that makes Frias the favorite to operate as Vaughn’s primary backup.
But Vaughn was quick to talk up his other teammates when I spoke to him earlier this week. He had plenty of positive things to say about everyone in the room from a physical standpoint, particularly Schippers and Weathers. But he saved his biggest praise for Giddens.
Giddens is a 6-foot-1 redshirt freshman from Junction City who Vaughn predicts will be a very exciting player ... in time.
“He can squat the house,” Vaughn said. “Just today, he was running some team drills and he didn’t lose one rep. He’s unbelievable when it comes to athleticism. As soon as he gets that other side — the wisdom side — down he is going to be big-time for us.”
After hearing that, K-State’s depth at running back seems like less of a concern to me than it did immediately after the Texas Bowl.
With that, it’s time for another K-State Q&A. Let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
A million?
I’m not even sure that would be enough.
You see, there are only ever two true preseason football title contenders in the Big 12 — Oklahoma and Texas. It doesn’t matter how good or bad they are compared to the rest of the conference, they are the favorites while everyone else with championship aspirations is a darkhorse.
K-State has been the recipient of some preseason hype lately. Athlon Sports calls the Wildcats “a sleeper in the Big 12 title race” and listed 12 K-State players on its four (LOL) preseason all-conference teams. The Athletic has also pumped up Chris Klieman’s team as a Big 12 title hopeful.
It was that way last season with Baylor and Oklahoma State when they both reached the Big 12 championship game instead of Oklahoma and Texas.
It will stay that way this season with anyone other than the two future SEC schools.
That being said, I do think the term “darkhorse contender” fits for the Wildcats this season. I love their chances to beat their over/under win total of 6 1/2. I’m truly puzzled as to why it’s that low.
But until we see Adrian Martinez complete his first pass and witness how Chris Klieman has rebuilt the secondary it’s hard to bet the farm on a Big 12 title run.
The Big 12 also seems wide open this season. Oklahoma could be down. Texas could be up. Baylor, Iowa State, K-State, and Oklahoma State are all in the same boat. There’s not a slam-dunk favorite in the preseason, unless you blindly pick OU and UT.
There are enough valid questions to keep K-State in darkhorse territory ... for now.
I have never been to Cincinnati, so I guess I am looking forward to my first visit there in 2023. But I’m not a big chili guy, so I’m going to have to find something else to eat other than the town’s most iconic fast-food joint.
Sorry Skyline Chili.
But there isn’t a bad trip in the bunch. Provo has mountains. I lived in Idaho for a few years and liked the region. Houston has warm weather and some of the best breweries in the country. Orlando excites me the least. I don’t love theme parks. But there is fun stuff to do there.
I will definitely miss visiting Austin for games, though. Sure, I’m biased because it’s my hometown, but I think most would agree it’s been the top college town in the Big 12 since the conference was formed.
Losing Colorado to the Pac-12 cost the Big 12 a great place to visit a decade ago. Losing Austin will feel the same way. Saying goodbye to Norman feels more like Columbia, Lincoln and College Station.
Veryl Switzer remains a legend around these parts, for good reason.
K-State should find more ways to honor his legacy than it already has. Maybe a statue?
We are past that point.
Long past it.
Jerome Tang will have eight scholarship players on campus for summer classes next week when Virginia Tech transfer David N’Guessan flies in from his home in The Netherlands. Simply put, that isn’t enough.
The summer months are a perfect time for a new coach to practice with his team, but Tang has to ask managers to step in and play just to have five-on-five right now.
That seems sub-optimal.
From my vantage point, it seems like Tang has been a little too picky on the recruiting front. He could easily have 10 to 12 scholarship players in Manhattan right now, but he pivoted away from a few potential impact transfers and decided against taking a pair of high school recruits after bringing them in for official visits.
Losing recruiting battles for Antoine Davis and Shawn Phillips was also costly.
To his credit, Tang has brought in a group of six new players who pass the eye test. I had a chance to meet five of them (Cam Carter, Jerrell Colbert, Dorian Finister*, Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Taj Manning) earlier this week at the Catbacker event in Manhattan and I was impressed by how long and athletic they all looked, even in jeans and polo shirts. They looked like good basketball players.
*Check back soon for a feature on him.
They all seemed to fit the same physical mold that Tang previously had success with at Baylor.
By no means does that mean they will be ready to dominate next season. But I think it is a good sign.
You can tell Tang has a type of player that he likes to recruit. He would rather teach an impressive athlete how to play basketball than teach a fundamentally sound player how to jump out of the gym.
After meeting them in person, I am more optimistic about K-State’s chances next season than I was previously. But I still think the Wildcats are going to struggle to not finish last in the Big 12 in Year 1 under Tang ... unless he finds some impact transfers this summer. Eight players in June is troubling.
The newest Whataburger in Kansas City, which is owned by Patrick Mahomes, is located less than 90 minutes away from my house in Manhattan.
I can say with supreme confidence that I will dine there before anything else in your question. Spoilers: there’s a good chance it happens this weekend.
Michael Bishop is a Hall of Famer in my book, but I’m starting to wonder if it’s going to happen for him. The voters like him enough to keep him on the ballot, but not enough for him to be inducted.
I don’t have the faintest clue about what Dylan Edwards will decide to do for college. But K-State stands a better chance of landing him than yours truly swooning over Culver’s.
Kellis would gladly take a NIL from any car company, but a Bentley sounds best out of that group. It would fit best in the Whataburger drive-thru lane.
This story was originally published June 10, 2022 at 12:19 PM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Deuce Vaughn’s primary backup, Jerome Tang’s basketball rebuild and more."