Kansas State’s transfer issues continue as another player departs football team
Different day, same story for the Kansas State football team.
The Wildcats lost another player Wednesday when Will Jones, a redshirt freshman defensive back from Mansfield, Texas, announced plans to transfer.
His decision continued a concerning trend for K-State. He became the 10th football player to transfer from Manhattan this season. Those departures have hurt depth at certain positions this year. They will also present a new challenge to K-State coaches as they work to find new players on the recruiting trail.
But K-State football coach Chris Klieman downplayed the team’s transfer situation earlier this week by saying “I think it’s just 2020.”
Transfer issues are certainly not unique to K-State. This is a strange year for all college football teams as they deal with the coronavirus pandemic, players opting out and frozen eligibility.
Four of the departing players originally chose to “opt out” of the current season because of COVID-19 concerns and then decided to transfer. They are Walter Neil, Thomas Grayson, Matthew Pola-Mao and Jonathan Alexander. The other six transfers were Will Jones, Ronald Triplette, Tyrone Lewis, Joshua Youngblood, DeMarrquese Hayes and the late Derick Newton.
“I don’t really have a reaction to it,” Klieman said, “in the sense that everybody has a different situation and everybody has a different circumstance. I am excited about the guys that have stuck with each other and have stuck together for their teammates, but it’s not easy.
“I’m not condemning anybody that has left or opted out. Everybody has their own reasons and I respect all those reasons. Everybody is going through some of this stuff, whether it is a kid who is opting out or a kid who is deciding to leave the program.”
Jones began the season as a starter in K-State’s secondary, but his playing time has gone down since the Wildcats moved senior defensive back A.J. Parker from corner to nickelback.
He leaves K-State after making 15 tackles and one interception for the Wildcats this season.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 3:03 PM.