With K-State’s 2026 kickoff countdown at two days, the spotlight lands on Adrian Maddox and the simplest goal on the board: unselfishness. That fits the safety battle in Manhattan, where Maddox is competing with Koy Beasley and Ja’Son Prevard for a starting spot.
Maddox, listed as Adrian Markese Maddox and born Aug. 31, 2004, comes to Kansas State from Alabama State by way of UAB and Georgia. He is majoring in sociology and has already built a résumé that stretches across three programs and plenty of production.
His first college stop came in 2022 at FCS Alabama State, where he played in 10 games with nine starts as a true freshman. Across 491 defensive snaps and 89 special teams plays, he logged 49 tackles, six tackles for loss, a sack, two interceptions and three total passes defended. That season put him in the mix for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the most outstanding FCS freshman.
Maddox made an immediate impression in that freshman year. He opened with a season-high eight tackles and an interception against Howard, then added 1.5 tackles for loss and a pick at UCLA. He posted a career-best two tackles for loss against Miles, had 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack against Jackson State, and matched his high with nine tackles against Alabama A&M and again in the finale against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he also broke up a pass.
He stayed productive the next season, appearing in 11 games with nine starts and finishing with 41 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, seven pass breakups and two forced fumbles. He played 604 defensive snaps and 63 special teams snaps.
His numbers included a career-high-tying nine tackles against Grambling, along with 1.5 tackles for loss in that game, six tackles against Alabama A&M and five against Alcorn State, with sacks in both of those contests. He also had a career-high three pass breakups against Grambling, plus two against Alabama A&M and one each against Florida A&M and Alcorn.
That stretch earned him more attention, too. Maddox was on the Aeneas Williams Award watch list, given annually to the nation’s best defensive back at an HBCU, and he also made the preseason All-HBCU team and Phil Steele preseason All-SWAC team.
In 2024, after transferring to UAB, Maddox kept rolling. He played in 11 games with 10 starts for the Blazers, totaling 44 tackles, two tackles for loss, an interception, eight total passes defended and two forced fumbles over 393 defensive snaps, plus 133 special teams plays.
The highlight came against Rice, when his interception turned into a 99-yard touchdown. He also broke up two other passes in that game and led all American Athletic Conference players in 2024 with three pass breakups at Arkansas.
His other notes from the season include a seven-tackle day against Navy, five tackles apiece against Tulane, Army, South Florida and Rice, tackles for loss against Tulane and South Florida, pass breakups against Alcorn State and Charlotte, and forced fumbles against UConn and Rice.
His latest stop was Georgia, where last season he redshirted as a senior despite appearing in four games in 2025. He saw action on 67 defensive snaps in games against Marshall, Austin Peay, Kentucky and Ole Miss, with the Ole Miss game coming in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal loss at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Maddox finished with two tackles, including half a tackle for loss against Kentucky, and added solo stops against Austin Peay and Ole Miss.
Even with that Georgia stint not going as planned, there’s confidence around K-State that he can matter in Manhattan. The move to Georgia may have been complicated by the timing of his arrival after spring ball, but the belief inside the program is still there.
Collin Klein made that clear during spring practice in April, saying:
Well, like I was saying with the heated secondary competition, he’s high energy, he flies around the field and plays with a ton of passion. So, guys gravitate to him, for sure, and he’s made plays, which people see.
Before college, Maddox starred at Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia, where he played for Corey Johnson and Eddie Snell. He was named regional defensive player of the year after recording 63 tackles and three interceptions and helping the Patriots reach the playoffs as a sophomore.
His college path has included some notable turns. He moved from Alabama State to UAB over an offer from Temple, where he had previously been committed, and then from UAB to Georgia over offers from Florida and Nebraska, after previously decommitting from Florida.
K-State’s new eligibility classification system now lists players by year of eligibility rather than by whether they have redshirted, and the school’s SID has Maddox as a fifth-year player. For consistency, his playing history still places him in the redshirt category, with remaining eligibility noted under the new format.
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