Once touted football recruits ready to boost K-State defense as veteran transfers
Russ Yeast was once the type of football recruit who Kansas State had virtually no chance of landing.
He was a four-star prospect from the Indianapolis area with 21 scholarship offers coming out of high school. They came from high-profile teams such as Alabama, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. The 5-foot-11 and 205-pound defensive back ended up choosing Louisville over all of them in 2017 and predictably started as a freshman.
Three years later, after making 137 tackles in 45 games for the Cardinals, he opted for a change of scenery.
K-State was on his radar this time.
Even though Manhattan was an unfamiliar place and he never considered K-State when he was a high school recruit, it seemed like a perfect fit for him as an older and wiser transfer.
“It was a lot different from being recruited out of high school,” Yeast said, “because when you’re going through the portal you’re already in college. So you already know how things work and you’re looking for the best possible situation for you in the best possible situation for the program you’re going to.
“Coming out of high school is more guessing. That’s the main difference. Now you have to go somewhere where you feel like you’re going to be able to make a change.”
That shouldn’t be a problem for Yeast now that he is enrolled at K-State for the spring semester. The Wildcats will give the Louisville transfer every opportunity to make an impact as a senior next season. So much so, that he already looks like the projected starter at safety alongside returning senior Jahron McPherson.
Or perhaps the coaching staff will shift Yeast to corner or the nickel, depending on how the depth chart shakes out. Yeast also says he wants to be in the mix as a kick returner.
In any case, K-State fans will probably see lots of Yeast next season in the secondary.
“I see myself just coming in and being a player that can make some plays and in multiple different roles,” Yeast said. “I just want to do my best to make the team better on defense. I feel like it’s not far away from being pretty good. That’s what I was watching when I was researching the program and I was trying to make a decision. I just want to be a guy who can step in and be a leader.”
After losing eight defensive players to the NCAA transfer portal during the 2020 season, including five defensive backs, the Wildcats will be depending on a group of incoming transfers to help the unit bounce back in 2021.
K-State signed Iowa defensive back Julius Brents, Charlotte defensive tackle Timmy Horne, Utah State linebacker Eric Munoz and Yeast from other colleges this month, giving the Wildcats an infusion of both talent and experience at some positions where they need it.
“I’m a bigger defensive back,” said Brents, another former four-star recruit. “So I have a lot of versatility. We’ll see how it goes. Wherever I’m best needed or wherever coach needs me at, wherever that is, I am more than willing to venture out and play nickel, safety or corner.”
The growing transfer market also allowed K-State and a few players from outside its traditional recruiting footprint to cross paths.
“One thing I really liked about Kansas State was it seems like it’s just a lot of hard working guys that really just want to work hard and stick to the grind,” Munoz said. “They are blue-collar guys that want to win championships.”
Like Yeast, K-State’s newest players found themselves prioritizing factors in their transfer search that they never considered as high school recruits.
None of them have much college eligibility remaining, and they all want to make it count.