Kobe Savage took unconventional path to K-State that began at small Division 2 school
It may seem like hyperbole whenever a Kansas State football coach says that Kobe Savage “eats, sleeps and breathes” football, but it’s an accurate expression in his case.
Heck, it might not go far enough to describe his affinity for the game.
The sleep part is literal. Savage is such a football junkie that he has been known to stay up so late studying video inside Kansas State’s film room that he doesn’t go home for the night. Instead, he dozes off on a couch and gets back to work the moment he wakes up the following morning.
“I have done that multiple times,” Savage said. “I take naps up here. Sometimes I take a shower and lie on the couch and just go to sleep. I really enjoy it up here.”
With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Savage has made an immediate impact for the Wildcats since transferring to K-State from a junior college during the offseason.
Few are more knowledgable when it comes to Xs and Os. Perhaps only star running back Deuce Vaughn spends more time watching film. Teammates have joked that Savage has no need for an apartment because he spends so much time at the team’s football facility
A 5-foot-11, 206-pound safety, Savage ranks first on the team with two interceptions and second on the team with 23 tackles. He also delivered the most violent hit of the season, when he broke up a pass intended for a South Dakota receiver by sending him flying out of bounds with a shoulder-first tackle.
“I love contact,” Savage said. “It’s my favorite thing.”
“He’s aggressive,” added K-State quarterback Adrian Martinez. “I think we all kind of saw that in fall camp and spring ball, that type of stuff. He would come downhill real hard. But you never really know until you’re out there, and he has really shown what he’s about. He’s a great teammate. He has a contagious type of energy.”
That was Savage’s introduction to K-State fans. It was good one. He made a strong first impression. But he has more than backed up that big hit with several impressive plays in each of the Wildcats’ first four games.
He baited Missouri quarterback Brady Cook into throwing an interception in Game 2, then he read the offense perfectly before grabbing another pick in Game 3. Then he made a team-high 11 tackles against Oklahoma and was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
“Kobe is like a bullet,” K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. “He has done exactly what I expected. He’s going to be the type of guy that’s always going to play hard. He’s always going to be locked in. He’s always going to play with a bunch of intensity. I think the more comfortable he gets, he’s going to be better and better each week.”
Not bad for a guy who didn’t start playing defense until his senior year of high school.
Much like most junior-college players, Savage slipped through the cracks and was all but ignored as a football recruit growing up in Paris, Texas. He was a quarterback for a triple-option offense back then. He says he was pretty good at it but eventually moved to defense as a high school senior because he had a higher football ceiling at safety.
He was eventually proven right, but not until after he enrolled at Texas A&M Commerce, then a Division II school, and later transferred to Tyler (Texas) Junior College.
“No knock on Division II schools, I just didn’t feel like it was the right fit for me,” Savage said. “I wanted to play at a higher level. So I ended up going to junior college, had an amazing year and left for Kansas State.”
Klanderman took a chance on Savage after he was recommended to him by a recruiting connection. The K-State defensive coordinator flew to Texas, watched Savage work out and offered him a scholarship almost immediately last winter.
Then Savage took a visit to K-State, and they spent nearly three hours talking football in Klanderman’s office. They got so carried away with strategies and techniques that Savage didn’t get a full tour of campus.
But it didn’t matter. He was sold on the Wildcats, and ready to make a name for himself in the Big 12 ... even if it meant sleeping inside the K-State film room.
“I was under recruited,” Savage said. “I was undersized, just a typical 5-10 safety. So I put that all on my shoulder. I wanted to prove myself to a lot of people. I told my mom that I wasn’t going to come back without proving myself to everybody in this world and this conference that I could play.”
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Kobe Savage took unconventional path to K-State that began at small Division 2 school."