Why Keenan Garber changed positions ... and how it helped K-State win Big 12 title
Keenan Garber had an unusual request for Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman earlier this season.
After spending the entirety of his college career as a wide receiver, the 6-foot junior from Lawrence wanted to change positions and finish out the year on defense.
“He came to me five weeks ago,” Klieman said, “and he said, ‘I would like to be a defensive back. I want to help the team.’”
Request granted. Garber quietly made the transition away from catching passes and began learning how to defend them as the Wildcats finished the season strong and earned a berth in the Big 12 championship game.
The position change meant lots of work behind the scenes on the scout team and little hope of playing this year ... until things changed in a hurry last week.
Two days before K-State played TCU for a trophy at AT&T Stadium, the Wildcats were dealing with injuries on defense. So they promoted Garber off the scout team and told him to be ready to play against the Horned Frogs, just in case they needed him as an emergency defender.
K-State was already down Kobe Savage and Cincere Mason in the secondary. Next thing they knew, starting cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe went down with an injury and Julius Brents briefly had to exit the TCU game after losing his helmet. Klieman also said reserve defender Jacob Parrish was not 100% healthy.
The timing was right for Garber to play.
Not only was he called upon, he was sent onto the field during the second half of the biggest game of the season.
He responded by making an important tackle and helping the Wildcats defeat the Horned Frogs 31-28 in overtime. Strange as it seemed to see Garber wearing No. 35 on defense instead of No. 1 on offense, he held his own and accomplished his primary goal of helping his team.
“He was on the scout team up until Thursday of (last) week,” Klieman said. “Thursday, we moved him from scout team and said, ‘You’ve got to be the emergency guy in case Jacob Parrish can’t go.’ That’s the sign of culture. That’s the sign of not wanting to let guys like Daniel Green and Eli Huggins down. I thought Keenan Garber played his tail off.”
Garber is a former three-star recruit out of Free State High School. He chose K-State over KU and fans had high hopes for him as a receiver with the Wildcats.
He showed off his skills during practices and even caught six passes for 82 yards during his first three seasons on campus. His speed made him a deep threat within Klieman’s offense. But he was unable to crack the primary rotation at receiver this season and found himself stuck on the sideline behind Malik Knowles, Phillip Brooks, Kade Warner and R.J. Garcia.
Garber hasn’t caught a single pass this season.
At some point along the way, he decided his future was brighter on defense.
Few expected him to change positions, but the Wildcats are glad he did. Garber ended up playing a small role in their championship season.
This story was originally published December 5, 2022 at 3:36 PM.