Darien Whitaker was expected to spend this season at linebacker for Kansas State. That was the spot he held last year, and it was where the Wildcats had him listed in their preseason media guide. Instead, the 6-foot-3, 246-pound sophomore has been shifted to defensive end, and the early returns have been loud.
In K-State’s first two games of the 2026 season, Whitaker has piled up four tackles and a sack. He has also forced a fumble and recovered two more, giving the Wildcats a jolt from a new spot on the defensive front.
“He’s just a freak of nature, athletically,” K-State linebacker Rex Van Wyhe said. “His motor is nonstop. He plays so hard that he can probably play every position on the field.”
The move did not catch head coach Collin Klein off guard. When asked whether this was the kind of production he expected from Whitaker as a pass-rusher, Klein smiled, nodded for several seconds, and then said, “I tried to tell you,” he said.
Klein expanded on that confidence afterward.
“Darien’s ceiling is extremely high,” Klein said later. “The great part about what he’s doing is he is attacking it and getting better.
That’s a great thing for him. It’s also a great thing for our program.”
Whitaker’s rise has come even with plenty of other pressure players already in the mix. Wendell Gregory had two sacks last weekend against Washington State, and Jordan Allen, Elijah Hill and Travis Bates have also been getting after quarterbacks.
Kansas State did not need Whitaker to become part of that rotation. The defensive line was not a glaring issue. But the new staff saw enough during spring practices to ask him to try something different.
“Right before camp they pulled me up and said, ‘We want you to move to the edge,’” Whitaker said. “They thought I was one of the blitzers that they’ve got, and they thought I could do some stuff at the point of attack at the line of scrimmage. They wanted to try me there, and it’s worked out for the best.”
The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 105-10 since the switch.
Whitaker said his linebacker background may not be gone for good, either. There is a chance he splits time between defensive end and linebacker later this season. Even so, he would not mind staying on the defensive line if that’s where he ends up.
Two games into the season, the fit already looks obvious.
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