K-State receiver Carlos Strickland hopes to build off promising spring

When was the last time Carlos Strickland felt completely healthy on the football field?

Strickland, a sophomore receiver at Kansas State, needs a moment to ponder the question. He was at full strength while making his public debut in a K-State uniform on Saturday at the Wildcats’ spring game, but it had been a long while before that.

“This was probably my first time being healthy since my sophomore year of high school,” Strickland said after a short pause. “I don’t have any pain. It’s tremendous. I feel optimistic about playing again.”

K-State teammates are optimistic about his future. Strickland is beginning to show off the talents that made him a four-star recruit out of high school and took him to California for the start of his college career. On Saturday, he snagged four passes for 62 yards, including a nifty over-the-head catch that turned into a 26-yard gain and a diving grab.

“He will be a playmaker for us,” sophomore quarterback Alex Delton said. “He has been learning every day, getting better every day, never taking any plays off. He is a quiet guy who is only going to get better.”

Strickland took a winding road to this point. His arrival was celebrated at Cal and then at K-State, where he decided to transfer in last year and play closer to his family in Dallas. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder can match every receiver on the Wildcats’ roster when it comes to potential. But it’s been a long while since he showed it, sitting out last season as a transfer.

Much of that is injury-related. Strickland said he played through a sports hernia for nearly four years before deciding to repair it with surgery last November.

“Every time I went out there I felt pain,” Strickland said. “But it felt great being out there (Saturday). I played in a spring game at Cal, but I wasn’t healthy. It felt really good to get back out there being healthier and being able to run around without pain.”

K-State played without its top two receivers (Byron Pringle and Dominique Heath) and its starting quarterback (Jesse Ertz) on Saturday, so Strickland’s role within the offense will likely look different when they return in a few months. But he was one of the top performers in the spring.

Strickland will likely challenge Isaiah Zuber, Corey Sutton, Dalton Schoen and Isaiah Harris for playing time in passing formations that feature three or four receivers.

His challenge will be gaining comfort in K-State’s offense. At Cal, he said he was only responsible for knowing his routes. At K-State, he has had to go deeper and learn how to block and read defensive formations.

“He is trying to work his way into the mix,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said. “He has not quite gotten there yet. He is still in the process of learning the system. I think there are some things he brings to the table. He has some capabilities. We also like his size. It comes down to how quickly he learns, and how he can practice and play with an ease of mind. We do not want him to think all the time, ‘Am I taking the right step here?’ He is kind of at that point right now.

“When we get beyond that, his skill will be forever present.”

Strickland definitely has a high ceiling.

“I love throwing to Carlos, because you can just lay it up there and he will go run under it,” freshman quarterback Skylar Thompson said. “He is great on fade routes and he does a really good job of going up and attacking the football at its highest point.”

Strickland considers that to be the best part of his game. He takes pride in getting open in the end zone, particularly when the offense is near the goal line.

“I would say jump balls (are my strength),” Strickland said, “just letting the quarterback throw it up and attack the football at its highest point. Most corners we go up against are 5-10. I’m 6-4. That’s a mismatch.”

This season, Strickland will get the opportunity to create mismatches in live games for the first time since high school. He sat out with a redshirt at Cal and sat out last season per NCAA transfer rules.

He’s been away for a long time. Now that he’s healthy, he’s ready to get back.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 10:54 AM with the headline "K-State receiver Carlos Strickland hopes to build off promising spring."