Kansas State’s reaction to Dylan Edwards’ exit hasn’t been one-note, and Avery Johnson made that clear with a short answer when asked about the running back’s move to Kansas.
In his Big 12 interview, Johnson said he “wish him the best” in his new home with the Jayhawks. Joe Jackson offered the same sentiment, giving Edwards a similarly calm sendoff rather than feeding the bitterness that has surrounded the transfer for many Wildcats fans.
That split in feeling makes sense given how Edwards’ time in Manhattan played out. He arrived with the kind of hype that usually comes with a future star, the next back expected to carry the torch after DJ Giddens and Deuce Vaughn. His 2024 Rate Bowl showing only added to that buzz, as he ran 18 times for 196 yards and two touchdowns while also catching two passes for 27 yards and a score.
But 2025 never took off the way Kansas State hoped. Edwards was injured in Week 0 against Iowa State and never fully recovered.
He finished the season with just 34 carries for 205 yards and two touchdowns, plus three receptions for 17 yards. With the offense built around the run game and Edwards supposed to be the lead piece, his absence changed everything and helped send the Wildcats into one of their roughest seasons in recent memory.
The frustration in Manhattan was obvious. Many fans felt Edwards had checked out or wasn’t giving the team his full effort, and he left after playing only two full games before heading to the program’s biggest rival.
Edwards leaned into the reaction when he met the Kansas media, saying, "I knew it was gonna be different, and I like to be different. So why not?
That's why I'm here," in his opening Jayhawks press conference.
Still, not everyone in the Kansas State locker room seems eager to turn that into a grudge. Edwards’ production in 2024 helped keep the Wildcats afloat, and the staff clearly trusted him enough to hand him the offense heading into the next season.
And there’s also a new name in the backfield picture. Jackson had his own breakout in 2025, ripping off a school-record 292 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Utah in one of Kansas State’s most resilient performances. That late-season surge gave the program a reason to believe it has another back ready to become part of the next wave.
In Other News...
K-State Is Closing In On A Stadium Change Fans Will Notice
Kansas State is nearing a change at Bill Snyder Family Stadium that fans will notice right away, with athletic director Gene Taylor saying the school is close to finalizing a sponsorship agreement that would put logos on the football field. The deal is being negotiated through K-States sports marketing partner, Learfield, and it is expected to take effect this season, adding another visible layer of branding to a venue that has long been identified with the Wildcats football tradition.
There may be more coming beyond the field itself. K-State is also exploring a possible logo patch on its football jerseys, with the school focusing on local companies as it weighs that option, though nothing has been completed yet. For now, the field sponsorship appears to be the next concrete step, while the jersey conversation remains in the discussion stage. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Romaine Is Already Making K-State Fans Feel This Loss
Austin Romaines departure from Kansas State already has the feel of the kind of loss that takes more than one offseason to fully absorb. A high-profile linebacker with a reputation for competitiveness and real impact, he leaves behind a track record that made him one of the more reliable defenders in the room, and his former teammates have been quick to acknowledge how much he brought to the field.
Now at Texas Tech, Romaine is settling into a new defense and working toward a major role on a unit that expects him to matter right away. For K-State fans, the uneasy part is simple: this is the sort of player who tends to keep showing up on the biggest snaps, and the Wildcats will get a firsthand reminder of what they lost the next time he lines up across from them. [Read more 🡒]
Collin Klein Faces Big First Test As K-State Questions Keep Building
Collin Klein is about to get his first public turn as Kansas States head football coach, and it comes at a stage where every answer will be parsed for clues about what the Wildcats want to become. Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas, on July 8 will put Klein alongside quarterback Avery Johnson, running back Joe Jackson, linebacker Rex Van Wyhe and defensive back Wesley Fair, giving K-State a chance to set the tone for a season that already has plenty of curiosity around it.
The questions are easy to see coming. Klein will be asked about the shape of his offense, Johnsons place in the program under the new NCAA landscape, and what expectations should look like as the Wildcats try to build on recent momentum. There will also be the usual summer health check-ins and roster updates, the kind that can matter just as much in July as anything that happens on a practice field in August. [Read more 🡒]