Kansas State is still waiting on its first commitment from the 2028 class, but the Wildcats keep working the board.
The latest offer went to tight end AJ Criss, a Krum High School product in Krum, Texas. Criss is listed at 6-foot-7 and 205 pounds, and he put together a productive season with 34 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns. Florida State and Texas Tech are among the other programs that have already offered him.
Criss is currently unranked, though he is expected to settle in as a three-star prospect, which fits the profile of many Kansas State targets.
The Wildcats have also been active with several other 2028 names. One of them is defensive lineman Ronald Crawford, who attends De La Salle High School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Crawford has 15 other Division I offers on the table, including Auburn, Baylor, and Houston. He is considered one of the top-ranked defensive linemen in Louisiana in his class.
Kansas State also offered Antonio Dural, a two-way player at Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas. Dural works at both cornerback and wide receiver, and Wildcats cornerbacks coach Marcel Yates extended the offer.
Last season, Dural recorded 15 total tackles and five pass deflections on defense, while adding 30 offensive touches for 468 total yards and three touchdowns. SMU, Kansas, and Nebraska are among the other schools involved.
Another name on the list is four-star edge rusher Steven McClendon from Douglas County High School in Douglasville, Georgia. McClendon posted 51 total tackles, four sacks, and eight tackles for loss last season. The 2027 class includes seven defensive linemen, with two edge rushers, and Kansas State’s new recruiting class is shaping up as one of its strongest in years as coach Collin Klein and his staff build out the next wave.
The Wildcats also offered four-star defensive back Bryce Willingham, who attends North Atlanta High School in Atlanta, Georgia. Kansas State still has time before it needs to make any real decisions in the secondary, but the position remains one worth tracking.
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Villarouel is the most obvious line-of-scrimmage piece, with a path to starting on the offensive line once his exact spot is settled. Whitakers healthy spring mattered after injuries slowed his true freshman year, while Porter flashed enough in camp to keep the wide receiver rotation in play. Miller has also made a strong early impression since arriving, which is no small thing for a player who drew heavy interest before signing with Kansas State. [Read more 🡒]
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The connection has held even with the teams now on opposite sides of the conference. Johnson is back under the guidance of Collin Klein, the coach who originally recruited and signed him to Kansas State, while Dillingham now has to prepare for him as a rival head coach. It is the kind of relationship that lingers because the evaluation was never just about talent, and because both sides know how much history still sits behind one of the leagues more familiar names. [Read more 🡒]
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For K-State fans, the sight of Bishop on the other sideline is a little jarring, even if it is also a reminder of how respected he remains in football circles. Houston coach Willie Fritz spoke highly of Bishop during Big 12 Media Days, praising both his coaching ability and his character. The larger question now is how quickly Bishops influence shows up in a conference setting, and what that means when Houston lines up against the Wildcats. [Read more 🡒]
