Cincinnati Bengals make Wyatt Hubert first K-State player selected in 2021 NFL Draft
A new NFL Draft streak has begun for the Kansas State football team.
Wyatt Hubert on Saturday became the first K-State player to be selected in the NFL Draft since 2019, ending a short drought for the Wildcats.
Hubert, a defensive end, was selected with the 235th overall pick, which came early in the seventh round.
Professional scouts began noticing Hubert when he burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman for K-State in 2018. He had 4.5 sacks and 35 tackles that season and backed that up with seven sacks and 33 tackles as a sophomore. Another 8.5 sacks and 27 tackles (in 10 games) last season were enough to convince Hubert that he was ready to leave college and turn his focus to the next level.
He wasn’t a heralded recruit coming out of Shawnee Heights High School, but he turned himself into a NFL prospect by working hard in the weight room and on the field as an edge rusher.
It was a long journey for him to become a pro prospect, but it ended happily during a watch party at his home in Topeka surrounded by friends.
“I have always wanted to play in the NFL,” Hubert said leading up to the draft. “It has been a dream that I have been working toward since I was in high school. It’s good to know that through all the ups and downs and hard work that everything I have done is finally going to pay off, and it’s a rewarding feeling.”