Austin Romaine’s move from Kansas State to Texas Tech already looks like one of the Big 12 transfer decisions worth watching this fall.
Romaine entered the transfer portal in January and ended up with the Red Raiders, the defending Big 12 champions. In the NIL era, that kind of move is tough to fault, especially with Texas Tech also being picked by the media to win the league again.
The buzz around Romaine has been strong enough that Pro Football Focus College put him among its top 10 returning linebackers. He came in at No. 3, trailing only Notre Dame’s Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Texas’ Rasheem Biles.
Texas Tech had a chance to see what Romaine could do up close last season, and he made an impression in that matchup with 11 tackles against the Red Raiders. For Kansas State, he finished with 60 tackles and a half sack before making the switch.
That reputation has carried over quickly in Lubbock. At Big 12 Media Day in Frisco, Texas, Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts praised the former Wildcat and made clear the respect Romaine has already earned inside the program.
"When he got here, I knew he was a ballplayer," Texas Tech linebacker Ben Roberts said at Big 12 Media Day in Frisco, Texas. "He's one of those guys that comes in and just fits the program the way he's supposed to.
He's very intentional about the way that he goes about things. He's competitive, and he wants to be great.
I have nothing but good things to say about him."
Elsewhere in the Kansas State orbit, the Wildcats are still looking for their first commitment in the 2028 class. The latest player to receive an offer from the program was offensive lineman Jerry Richmond, who attends East St.
Louis High School in East St. Louis, Illinois.
Richmond also holds offers from Florida Atlantic, North Carolina, and South Dakota.
Kansas State also saw one former player make his next move late Saturday night. Jones announced that he will continue his career at Pacific.
He averaged 4.7 points in 64 games over two seasons for the Wildcats and is joining a Pacific team that went 9-24 last season in the West Coast Conference. Pacific is the third stop of Jones’ college career after he began at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
In Other News...
Brandon White Is Emerging As A Key Piece For Kansas State
Brandon White arrived at Kansas State with the sort of transfer profile that can quietly reshape a receiver room, and the Wildcats are already treating him like someone who should matter this fall. Avery Johnson gave White a notable endorsement during Big 12 Media Days, pointing to both his ability on the field and the presence he has brought into the locker room, a good sign for a program looking for reliable targets as it settles into a new season.
The timing is useful, too, with the program set to put its roster in front of fans at the upcoming Meet the Cats event, where coach Collin Klein and players will be on hand. For a team that wants to keep building around Johnson, White looks like one of the newcomers worth watching closely, even before the first real test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Freshman Garrick Dixon Could Help Sooner Than Expected
Garrick Dixon arrived in Manhattan with the kind of rsum that usually comes with a little more long-range planning, even for a freshman cornerback. The St. Louis product signed with Kansas State after being rated one of Missouris top prospects at the position and stacking up multiple high school football honors, which is part of why he entered the program with real buzz despite the expectation that he would take the slower developmental route.
Stanton Weber said Dixon is expected to redshirt, but the special teams coordinator also made it clear the rookie should have a role there right away, which can change a freshmans timeline in a hurry. For Kansas State, that makes Dixon one of those early-camp names worth tracking: not necessarily because he is being asked to jump into a full-time defensive role, but because special teams can become the quickest path from promising newcomer to useful contributor. [Read more 🡒]