K-State football offers scholarship to son of a famous retired NFL quarterback
The Kansas State Wildcats once played a memorable football game against Donovan McNabb.
The year was 1997. The game was the Fiesta Bowl. The final score was 35-18 in favor of the Wildcats, who beat up on a Syracuse team that had McNabb as its quarterback. That result is still fondly remembered as one of the best postseason victories in the history of K-State football.
Nearly 30 years have passed since then. That was enough time for McNabb to become a six-time Pro Bowler with the Philadelphia Eagles and for K-State to play in 20 more bowl games. Their paths haven’t crossed since then.
Until now.
Earlier this week, the Wildcats offered Donovan McNabb Jr. a scholarship in hopes of eventually convincing him to play college football in Manhattan.
The younger McNabb is following in his father’s footsteps as a football player. But he takes the field at a different position. McNabb Jr. is a 5-foot-11 and 160-pound wide receiver from Phoenix with a three-star rating from the recruiting sites.
He currently holds offers from Arizona, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Syracuse, Washington and others as a member of the 2027 recruiting class.
Now it appears that K-State has joined the party.
McNabb Jr. announced that he picked up a scholarship from the Wildcats after he spoke on the phone with wide receivers coach Matthew Middleton.
K-State also sent him some recruiting letters, which McNabb Jr. shared on social media.
The elder McNabb now coaches his son at Brophy College Preparatory School in Arizona.
Before he retired, he was a legendary quarterback and Syracuse and then an elite player in the NFL. He threw for 37,276 yards and 234 touchdowns over the course of a pro career that lasted 13 years.
Most of his success came with Andy Reid in Philadelphia. McNabb was a six-time Pro Bowl with the Eagles, and he led them to one Super Bowl appearance.
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 12:23 PM with the headline "K-State football offers scholarship to son of a famous retired NFL quarterback."