Chris Klieman shares positive injury update on two prominent K-State football players
A pair of important Kansas State football players were noticeably absent when the Wildcats wrapped up practice over the weekend.
Chabastin Taylor, a senior receiver who started nine games last season, was nowhere to be found.
Julius Brents, a defensive back transfer from Iowa, was nothing more than a spectator and watched from the sidelines without a helmet.
The Wildcats will be counting on both players to make impacts this season, so missing them for any reason for any amount of time during preseason camp is reason for concern. But K-State coach Chris Klieman doesn’t sound worried about either of them as the opener against Stanford approaches on Sept. 4.
First, he shared some positive news on Taylor, who has been working to rehab a torn ACL he suffered during the final game of the 2020 season against Texas.
“He started (Tuesday),” Klieman said. “That was his first day for us.”
Skylar Thompson will count on Taylor in the passing game this season. The Wildcats haven’t been blessed with many playmakers at receiver in recent years, and that was most evident when a running back (Deuce Vaughn) and a tight end (Briley Moore) topped every receiver on the roster in both receptions and yards last season.
Nevertheless, Taylor was K-State’s leading receiver with 19 catches for 293 yards and a touchdown. Easing him back into the rotation is a priority. The process has begun.
“He had surgery in December, so it’s going to be a little bit of a process,” Klieman said. “He’s cleared, which is positive. I just don’t know if that’s going to be him feeling comfortable and us feeling comfortable with him over the next two weeks or over the next four weeks. But he’s making great progress, and we will start to add more reps to his plate over the next couple of weeks and see how he responds.”
As Taylor works his way back up to full strength, Malik Knowles has emerged as the team’s No. 1 receiver. Klieman said a handful of others have also looked good in practice, most notably Keenan Garber, Landry Weber, Seth Porter and junior-college transfer Tyrone Howell.
On the other side of the ball, Klieman doesn’t sound the least bit concerned about Brents.
The 6-foot-4 and 204-pound defender is expected to be a major upgrade for K-State at cornerback this season, and that remains the expectation. Klieman said he has missed portions of recent practice with a “soft tissue” injury.
“We don’t think it will be long term,” Klieman said.
Brents got a head start on adapting to K-State’s playbook by arriving in January and then participating in spring practice. Coaches already have a good idea of what he can do on the field.
His recent absence has allowed them to learn more about K-State’s other cornerbacks.
“It has enabled Reggie Stubblefield, Ekow Boye-Doe, Tee Denson and Justin Gardner to take all the reps, and those guys are getting a bunch better,” Klieman said.
Klieman thinks that has added valuable experience to K-State’s secondary, which will mean more dependable depth when the season begins.
“Those kids are playing at a much more confident level,” Klieman said. “So when Julius comes back, great, but he’s going to have great competition because we’re getting better at that spot.”