Clyde Price is K-State’s newest KC football recruit and a potential impact freshman
Clyde Price knew he wanted to play football for Kansas State when he sat down with a pair of coaches and studied old games in the Wildcats’ film room while on a recruiting visit last weekend.
As he sat there with K-State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham and running backs coach Brian Anderson, they showed him clips of the run-heavy offense Chris Klieman employed at North Dakota State and painted a vibrant image of what his college career might look like in Manhattan.
“If I can come in over the summer and really get the playbook down, they envision me being the guy,” Price said. “They want to give me 18-20 carries a game, and that is just on the ground. I’m not talking about passing plays and other in-the-air stuff, which I’m also good at. That is something that is really cool, because not everybody gets that opportunity as a freshman. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, honestly.”
Price, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior running back at North Kansas City High, was sold. He orally committed to K-State on Monday and is now looking forward to his future as a Wildcat.
It’s rare for a freshman to contribute heavily at K-State, but Price is walking into a unique situation. With Klieman taking over as head coach, the Wildcats may show new levels of trust in newcomers. And with no proven running backs returning, playing time is up for grabs.
K-State lost its top three running backs (Alex Barnes, Dalvin Warmack, Justin Silmon) at the end of 2018, and Mike McCoy hasn’t played since the Cactus Bowl.
The current depth chart is far from ideal for Klieman, who spread the carries around at North Dakota State. The Bison rushed for 4,476 yards on 670 attempts last season, with five different players receiving 80 or more touches. He likes to run the ball, and that’s not going to change at K-State.
For a bruising, downhill runner like Price, who rushed for 1,295 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior, it’s an attractive setup. He says North Kansas City coach Leon Douglas physically prepared him so well for college football that he will have problems keeping up in the weight room.
“They come out and pound the rock,” Price said. “I have been known to do that. I am ready.”
Still, Price will face competition. He is the third running back to pledge his services to Klieman since he took over as coach, joining Ball State graduate transfer James Gilbert and incoming freshman Joe Ervin.
Price is a two-star prospect, according to Rivals, and he never received much recruiting interest from other power-conference teams. But he says there is a reason for that. Though he has always looked the part of a college running back, his grades weren’t always in order.
Some coaches didn’t think he could qualify academically and chose not to recruit him. But K-State coaches reached out to him during his junior year and offered encouragement. Klieman also recruited him at North Dakota State.
Price says he pushed himself in the classroom and took the ACT five times. His grades are no longer a concern.
“I’m good to go now,” Price said. “But K-State coaches had faith in me from the beginning. That meant a lot.”
The Wildcats also made Price a recruiting priority immediately after Klieman was hired as coach. He was the first player Klieman offered a scholarship and one of the first he visited, flying straight from Fargo, N.D. to Kansas City to meet him the day after a FCS playoff game.
“Three days after he was announced as head coach he gave me a call and offered,” Price said. “I will never forget that. I was sitting down to eat lunch and it excited the heck out of me. It was a great moment. Then, for him to fly in a few days later, showed how much he cared about me.”
We will soon find out what Klieman and Clyde can accomplish together. Clyde is expected to sign with K-State during the traditional signing window in February and then join the football team in June.
He hopes to hit the ground running, so he can take advantage of an “opportunity of a lifetime.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Clyde Price is K-State’s newest KC football recruit and a potential impact freshman."