‘Too talented not to play’: This K-State freshman tops list of Wildcats up-and-comers
If any freshman is able to make a significant impact with the Kansas State football team this season it might just be a former two-star recruit from Olathe North.
His name is Jacob Parrish and he plays cornerback for the Wildcats.
Even though he arrived on campus with little fanfare at a position with two returning starters, he has impressed K-State football coach Chris Klieman so much during preseason camp that he was more or less penciled into a backup spot on the depth chart Tuesday. He has more than held is own against K-State’s best receivers.
“We think we will play him,” Klieman said. “He is a guy who is just going to continue to get better. The stage has not been too big.”
K-State swooped in late to steal Parrish away from a list of mostly FCS schools that were recruiting Parrish last December.
Some questioned if the 5-foot-10 and 177-pound defender was good enough to play in the Big 12, even though he made 55 tackles and six interceptions as a senior while also playing running back and receiver on offense.
Not Klieman.
“There was no way that that kid wasn’t going to be a scholarship guy,” Klieman said. “I saw him at camp the year before and I just loved how competitive he was.”
Eight months later, Klieman is glad he took a chance on Parrish.
“I don’t know how many plays he is going to play, based on the the two older guys we have,” Klieman said. “But he is a guy that’s too talented not to play this year.”
Parrish wasn’t the only up-and-coming football player that Klieman is pleased with as the season-opener against South Dakota approaches on Sept. 3.
He also told reporters that they should keep an eye out for fellow freshman corner VJ Payne and redshirt freshman corner Omar Daniels. Payne could see action in up to four games while the Wildcats work to preserve his redshirt. Daniels might be the team’s primary backup at corner now that he has returned healthy from an injury.
Elsewhere on defense, Klieman had good things to say about sophomore end Cody Stufflebean and freshman linebacker Jake Clifton.
On offense, it sounds like redshirt freshman Jake Rubley has made enough progress to serve as the team’s third quarterback this season behind Adrian Martinez and Will Howard.
That would be a positive development for the former four-star recruit.
“Jake Rubley has really impressed me this fall camp,” Klieman said. “He’s just going about his business. He knows he’s got to continue to fine tune some things. But he’s throwing the ball really well. I’m excited about Jake, because Jake is gaining confidence and understanding of what we’re doing offensively.”
It also seems like the Wildcats are ready to go young at their No. 2 running back spot.
D.J. Giddens, a redshirt freshman from Junction City, will see most of the carries behind Deuce Vaughn at the start of the season.
“He has made that next step for us in practice,” Klieman said. “Now, we need D.J. to make that next step in games. I think he’s comfortable, more confident and we believe in him. He’s going to take a good chunk of the reps, because we need to find out, and D.J. is ready.”
This story was originally published August 23, 2022 at 3:32 PM with the headline "‘Too talented not to play’: This K-State freshman tops list of Wildcats up-and-comers."