Kansas State moved this player to defensive end to help replace Felix-Anudike Uzomah
.jpg "K-State defender Khalid Duke")
Replacing a football player like Felix Anudike-Uzomah is no easy task.
Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman has gone so far as to say “you don’t replace Felix” this spring as the Wildcats have worked to generate a consistent pass rush with a group of young defensive ends that no longer includes their most talented tackler. But that doesn’t mean K-State has lost the ability to put pressure on a quarterback.
Optimism is growing on the defensive line with each practice that goes by. The Wildcats actually think they have a capable successor on the edge in Khalid Duke.
Remember him? The 6-foot-4, 246-pound playmaker has made tackles as a linebacker the past two seasons, and he is still technically listed at that position on K-State’s spring football roster. But he started his college career at defensive end and he is once again practicing there for the Wildcats.
This time, he is there to stay.
“He looks really natural doing what he’s doing right now,” K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman said. “He’s so explosive. He is in a little bit of a limited role this spring because our goal is not to stress the guys that have played a lot of ball, but Khalid is a dangerous, dangerous dude at defensive end. He has got incredible rush ability, he has got heavy hands, he is tough and he can get off blocks. He is going to pick up, hopefully, where Felix left off last year.”
That would be a dream come true for the Wildcats.
Anudike-Uzomah played so well during his three seasons at K-State that he left early for the NFL Draft and some project him as a first-round pick. He piled up 19.5 sacks of his past two years with the Wildcats and he simply couldn’t be blocked in some games, such as when he recorded four sacks as a sophomore against TCU.
As mentioned earlier, it will be hard for anyone to duplicate those numbers. But Duke has also had his moments as a pass-rusher. He had two sacks as a freshman, one as a sophomore and then two more as a junior when he switched to linebacker in a new 3-4 look for K-State’s defense and his season was limited to three games because of injury. He returned healthy last year and had 44 tackles, including three sacks.
Switching positions also gave him a new perspective on football. Duke learned more about K-State’s entire defensive scheme and now understands how two positions affect the game. He is smarter now.
The Wildcats put some thought into leaving him at linebacker, but that wouldn’t have played to his strengths. If he could get to the quarterback while spending half his time chasing down running backs and dropping into coverage, coaches figured he wouldn’t have much of a problem getting sacks at defensive end.
Those will be expected from him, just like they were with Anudike-Uzomah.
“The one thing I have noticed about Khalid is confidence,” K-State defensive ends coach Buddy Wyatt said. “When he left me and moved to linebacker he wasn’t very confident. Now he has a lot of confidence, because he has played a lot of football. I am pleased with what he has been doing.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2023 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Kansas State moved this player to defensive end to help replace Felix-Anudike Uzomah."