Kansas State’s tight end room just got thinner, and that puts the spotlight squarely on Linkon Cure.
First-year coach Collin Klein said Monday that Will Anciaux will miss the rest of the season because of a lower leg injury, a blow that came in the loss to Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener. Anciaux, a senior, finished with six catches for 84 yards before getting hurt.
That leaves Cure with a real opening, and the timing couldn’t be better for a player Kansas State has been waiting to unleash. The Wildcats have already made it clear they want to get him more involved, and for good reason: he’s the first five-star recruit ever to sign with the program.
Cure arrived with a reputation that stretched far beyond football. He was a standout basketball player and track athlete, too, and as a senior he won the hurdles at the state track meet. That blend of size, speed and versatility is what made him one of the nation’s most heavily recruited players two years ago, before he picked Kansas State over Texas A & M, Oregon and Penn State.
K-State’s staff has every reason to keep leaning into that talent now. Cure may be the most athletic player on the roster, and the Wildcats need production to replace what they’ve lost at tight end.
The next chance comes Saturday, when Kansas State hosts Houston at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. That game also puts Klein across from Willie Fritz, a coach he said he has long admired.
"I have looked up to Coach Fritz for a long time," Klein said during his weekly press conference. "Having gotten into this profession and seeing his track record, seeing how hard his teams play, how disciplined they are, the pressure they put on you schematically in all phases."
In Other News...
Kansas State Faces A Familiar Return As Injuries Start To Mount
Saturday brings a little extra storyline to a Kansas State game that already carries some intrigue, as Michael Bishop returns to face the Wildcats in a new role with Houston. The former Kansas State quarterback is now an offensive assistant for the Cougars, and first-year Wildcats coach Collin Klein, another familiar name from the programs quarterback lineage, said he has nothing but respect for Bishop. It adds a bit of old-home flavor to a matchup that already feels personal on both sidelines.
The bigger concern for Kansas State, though, is the health of the roster as game week unfolds. With injuries beginning to pile up, the Wildcats are working through availability questions while trying to stay sharp for a Saturday test that now comes with an added layer of familiarity. For Klein and his staff, the challenge is less about nostalgia and more about getting enough bodies ready to handle a Houston team led in part by someone who knows exactly what it means to wear purple. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Just Got A Big 12 Reality Check
Week 5 has a way of sorting out which Big 12 teams are really built for the long haul, and Kansas State is now feeling some of that pressure in the leagues latest pecking order. The conference picture has tightened quickly, with BYU, Texas Tech, Utah and Baylor all making their cases through recent results and key playmakers, while the Wildcats have been pushed into a more uncomfortable spot as the seasons early optimism meets a tougher reality.
For Kansas State, the bigger concern is not just where it sits right now, but how narrow the margin has become in a league that seems to be changing by the week. The updated rankings reflect a conference with several programs trending up and very few easy wins left to claim, which leaves the Wildcats needing a sharper response if they want to stay in the mix rather than simply watching the race take shape around them. [Read more 🡒]
Avery Johnson Is Giving K State Fans Another Reason To Believe
Avery Johnson spent the offseason turning a physical goal into part of his preparation, adding weight through a heavy focus on protein intake and weight training before the season. The added strength has shown up in the way he has handled the job at quarterback for Kansas State, where staying healthy has helped him settle in as a true dual threat.
Through the first four games, Johnson has already thrown for 910 yards and seven touchdowns while adding 291 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. For Kansas State fans, that combination is more than encouraging because it gives the offense a dimension that can stress defenses in more than one way, and it leaves plenty of reason to keep watching what he can become as the season moves along. [Read more 🡒]