Kansas State is making a broad recruiting push across multiple classes, and the latest name on the board is linebacker Ben Puckett, a 2027 prospect from Bixby, Oklahoma.
Puckett has already committed to Montana State, but Collin Klein and the Wildcats are still working to get into the mix. He also holds offers from Toledo, Wyoming and Arkansas State, and Kansas State has room left in its 2027 class, which is shaping up to be one of the best in the Big 12.
The Wildcats’ offer list stretches well beyond Puckett. Among the other prospects Kansas State has targeted is Caden Palmquest, a tight end in the 2028 class and a three-star standout at Aledo (Texas) High School. Palmquest is already committed to SMU.
Kansas State is also taking an early swing at several younger prospects, including wide receiver Cyrus Johnson of Stillwater (Okla.) High School, a 2029 recruit who also has an offer from Arkansas. Another 2029 name is linebacker Jamison Mobley of Jenks High School in Oklahoma, who already has five Division I scholarship offers despite being 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds.
The Wildcats have also offered several 2028 players. Graham Uran, a linebacker at St.
Xavier High School in Cincinnati, is 6-2 and 195 pounds and already has offers from Syracuse and Minnesota. Defensive lineman Khalil Shavers of South Gwinnet (Ga.)
High School is just starting the recruiting process and is only 16. Edge rusher Darias Johnson of Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C., already has offers from Alabama, LSU, Florida and Auburn.
Linebacker AK Mekaowulu of McKinney Boyd High School in Texas has offers from Arizona State and Oklahoma State.
Kansas State has also extended offers to Israel Johnigan, a tight end from Center High School in the Kansas City area and one of the top players in the nation. He is a four-star player according to 247 Sports. The list includes Ashton Tayler, a two-way athlete at Trinity High School in Louisville; Jayden Stephens, an athlete at Waverly-Shell Rock High School in Iowa who is pegged as a three-star recruit by 247 Sports; and defensive back Jordan Hall of Aledo High School.
On the offensive line, Troy Falke of Prosper Rock Hill High School has offers from Baylor, Syracuse and TCU, while Benaiah Rizer of Topeka Seaman (Kan.) High School is part of Klein’s effort to bring in-state talent into the fold. James Bennett, a 2028 offensive tackle, is a massive prospect at 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds and already has offers from Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas Tech.
Kansas State is also in on several other prospects across the country. Quarterback/wide receiver Amari Roberts of Mary Country Day Institute in the St.
Louis area is a 2030 prospect. Cornerback Aisaiah Bollen of Northeast Lincoln (Neb.)
High School is 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds. Linebacker Drew Langford of Legacy Hills (Texas) High School has offers from Texas-San Antonio and Texas State.
Wide receiver Deuntra Scheanette is a 2029 prospect, and linebacker Cortez Jones of Westlake (Ga.) High School also has offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Missouri and Kansas.
The Wildcats’ wide receiver targets include Noah Gigger of CarrollWood Day School in Tampa, a 2030 prospect who also has offers from Maryland, North Carolina and Syracuse. Kansas State is getting in early there, with Gigger expected to become one of the nation’s top prospects after playing varsity since he was 14.
Other names on the list include defensive back Elijah Smith of Hough (N.C.) High School, a four-star 2029 recruit with offers from Miami and Indiana; cornerback Dailon Denkins of Fort Bend (Texas) High School, a four-star prospect; defensive end Julian Dwyer of Cincinnati Moeller High School, a three-star recruit ranked 16th in Ohio by 247 Sports with offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois and Indiana; and defensive end Jekai Lee of Butler Community College, who is 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds and also holds offers from Florida International, Georgia State, Southern Mississippi and UTSA.
Kansas State also offered tight end Brady Reeves of Hill-Murray High School in Maplewood, Minnesota. The three-star prospect is ranked just outside the top 20 at his position on 247Sports and had 25 receptions for 327 yards and nine touchdowns last season. Another tight end, Sloan Blackwell of Waco Midway High School in Waco, Texas, received an offer Tuesday night after posting 18 catches for 254 yards and two touchdowns last season, according to MaxPreps.
The latest offensive lineman offered is Jerry Richmond of East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis, Illinois, who also has offers from Florida Atlantic, North Carolina and South Dakota.
In Other News...
Collin Klein Just Made A Pressure-Filled K-State Offensive Adjustment
Collin Klein has made a notable in-season shift on the Kansas State sideline, turning over play-calling duties after the first eight games and asking offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson to handle that job beginning with the Oklahoma State game. For a coach who was already juggling the demands of running a program, the move reflects a desire to step back from the weekly grind and keep his attention on the broader responsibilities that come with being a head coach.
Klein framed the change as a way to reduce stress and sharpen his focus on the bigger picture, but it does not sound like a permanent handoff. He left open the possibility of resuming play-calling later, which makes this less like a full reset and more like a calculated adjustment as the Wildcats try to navigate the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Is Feeling Some Transfer Losses More Than Others
Kansas States transfer departures have become part of the backdrop to the programs recent transition, and the impact is showing up in different ways depending on who left and where they landed. Some of the former Wildcats who moved on after the coaching changes have settled into new roles at major programs, while others are still trying to find the same footing they had in Manhattan. For a team navigating the demands of the 2026 season, those exits are more than a roster note, because they shape both the depth chart and the sense of what might have been.
Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder at SMU and Jayce Brown at LSU are among the names drawing the most attention, not just because of where they ended up, but because of what their departures say about Kansas States talent pipeline. The Wildcats have had to absorb those losses while also dealing with the broader challenge of keeping the roster steady through a coaching transition, and the full effect is still unfolding as those former players continue their new chapters elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Heads To TCU With A Major Quarterback Problem
Kansas State heads into its trip to TCU dealing with a quarterback situation that leaves the offense in a difficult spot. Avery Johnson is out, and backup Jacob Knuth is also unavailable, adding to a list of absences that includes DeArieun Hicks, Sawyer Schilke and Eli Jackson. Max Lovett is listed as questionable, so the Wildcats are still waiting on one more possible answer before kickoff.
The injury report is a challenge on both sides of the matchup, with TCU also set to be without seven players and two safeties listed as questionable. Even so, the Wildcats concerns are the more immediate storyline because of what the quarterback losses mean for how they can function on offense. With depth already being tested, Kansas State will have to sort through its options quickly before facing a conference opponent that has its own availability issues to manage. [Read more 🡒]