Kansas State Wildcats add to 2023 recruiting class with defensive back from Oklahoma
Chris Klieman defeated some familiar competition to land Kansas State’s latest football recruit.
Kanijal Thomas, a 5-foot-10 and 168-pound defensive back from Del City, Oklahoma, announced his intentions to play college football for the Wildcats on Tuesday. He chose K-State while also holding scholarship offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Memphis, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
Thomas picked K-State over four other Big 12 schools quickly after he received a scholarship offer at a recent camp. Both sides clearly made an impression on the other, as Thomas is now ready to wear purple.
The defensive playmaker has a three-star rating, according to Rivals.
He becomes the eighth member of K-State’s 2023 recruiting class and the first from Oklahoma. He is the second defensive back of the group, joining Kennedale, Texas native Kameron Sallis.
It wasn’t all good news for K-State football recruiting on Tuesday. Samuel Same, a 6-foot-5 and 215-pound defensive end from Derby, orally committed to Iowa State over K-State, KU, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon State and others.
But the Wildcats may not need to wait long before they land another pledge. Donovan McIntosh, a 6-foot-3 and 170-pound defensive back from St. Louis, is ready to announce his college decision on Friday. He holds offers from Arkansas, KU, K-State, Memphis and Nebraska.
Not long afterward, two more K-State recruiting targets will announce their decisions. Joe Jackson, a 6-foot and 180-pound running back from Davenport, Florida plans to choose among Duke, Rutgers and K-State on July 4.
Then Maize quarterback Avery Johnson will announce whether he intends to play for K-State, Oregon or Washington on July 5.
This story was originally published June 28, 2022 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Kansas State Wildcats add to 2023 recruiting class with defensive back from Oklahoma."