‘We can’t wait to see what he turns into’: DJ Giddens showing potential as K-State RB
One of the scariest things possible happened to the Kansas State football team earlier this season.
As the Wildcats were attempting to clinch a narrow victory over the Iowa State Cyclones, star K-State running back Deuce Vaughn was watching from the sideline with an injury. Not ideal, considering that K-State coach Chris Klieman’s plan was to keep the ball on the ground and rush for game-ending first downs.
But there was nothing to fear. Turns out, the Wildcats had another running back who was ready for the moment.
Enter DJ Giddens. The redshirt freshman from Junction City closed out the game by rushing for 32 important yards that helped K-State protect a 10-9 advantage.
His role within the K-State offense has grown ever since.
“It was easy to see the pop in him and his explosiveness and his ability to run through contact,” Klieman said. “It was just a matter of time or circumstance before he got an opportunity ... We have got to find some ways to continue to get him on the field,” Klieman said, “and get him some touches.”
Giddens followed up his impressive performance at Iowa State by making a wide variety of plays in K-State’s last game against TCU. The Wildcats showed more trust in him last week and lined him up in the same formation as Vaughn on certain plays and used him as a slot receiver, on top of his duties as a traditional running back.
That resulted in 7 rushing yards and a 26-yard catch against the Horned Frogs. He now has 213 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns this season.
His production has come as a surprise to some. Not to Vaughn.
“I was his biggest cheerleader on the sideline, because I understand all the work that he has put in over the past two years to get himself ready for this opportunity,” Vaughn said. “You see the way he runs with his pads. He is powerful, he is a big, strong kid. The way he totes the football, it was one of those things where the entire team was like, ‘Oh yeah, this guy can run the football.’ We can’t wait to see what he turns into over these next couple years.”
K-State players have raved about Giddens as a runner since he arrived on campus. Once he mastered the team’s playbook, they expected him to have success.
That remains a work in progress, but he is clearly moving in the right direction. Giddens did much more than take handoffs and run downhill against TCU.
“I haven’t mastered it, but I have been going up to see coach more than last year and I have been learning a lot,” Giddens said. “I am getting comfortable. I can say that.”
Perhaps the most interesting part of Giddens carving out a meaningful role within the K-State offense is that he didn’t envision this for himself in high school.
Giddens was lightly recruited at Junction City despite rushing for 1,912 yards and 34 touchdowns. The Wildcats only knew about him because Klieman used to watch Giddens play against his son at Manhattan High.
But Klieman was impressed by what he saw. When the Wildcats needed running back help late during the 2021 recruiting cycle, they reached out to him.
Ask Giddens if he expected to play for any Division I school before then, and he responds honestly. He is grateful to be at K-State. That’s one of the reasons why he is running so hard.
“Not really,” Giddens said. “I didn’t have too many people recruiting me out of high school. Kansas State was the only school, and it happened last minute. They believed in me when not too many people were recruiting me and my grades were low. They gave me an opportunity and I appreciate it.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2022 at 12:34 PM with the headline "‘We can’t wait to see what he turns into’: DJ Giddens showing potential as K-State RB."