K-State Q&A: Sugar Bowl, Bama, Deuce Vaughn and other Wildcats with decisions to make
This time of year, it is only natural for college football fans to ask two questions about their favorite team.
1. How many players will opt out before bowl season?
2. How many players will transfer or turn pro after bowl season is complete?
The first question isn’t of much concern to the Wildcats. There are only a handful of players on the roster who project to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft, and odds are high they will all choose to play in the Sugar Bowl. This is K-State’s first major bowl game in a decade and it comes against the most iconic team in all of college football — Alabama.
Deuce Vaughn already told XM Radio that you can count on him competing in New Orleans. I have heard nothing to indicate Felix Anudike-Uzomah and Cooper Beebe won’t follow suit. Playing in this game will help their draft stock, not hurt it.
The second question question is up for debate. We have already seen four K-State football players opt to transfer before the Sugar Bowl (more on them in a little bit) and we are sure to see a few more transfer afterward.
Plenty of K-State football players will have decisions to make about their futures in January. Let’s take a look at the biggest names before we get to your questions.
Deuce Vaughn: He projects as a Day 3 pick in the NFL Draft if he leaves or an All-American if he stays. The smart business decision is probably to turn pro, but he really loves it at K-State. Vaughn has repeatedly said he doesn’t want to think too much about this decision until the season is over. We might not know his answer for a while.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah: Some mock drafts have him as a Day 2 pick in the NFL Draft. If that holds up, it’s nearly impossible to see him staying. But some scouts aren’t as high on him as others. For example. Pro Football Focus only had him as a second-team defensive end in the Big 12 this season. There’s a chance he returns for another year, but only if he receives discouraging feedback from scouts during the evaluation process.
Cooper Beebe: He is good enough to play in the NFL right now. But his brother is about to join the team and it’s not like interior offensive lineman have a short shelf life. If I had to guess, I think he stays.
Malik Knowles: K-State’s best receiver could return as a “super senior,” but I think he is done with college. This was by far his best season and he really looked good catching passes from Will Howard. I will be surprised if he doesn’t turn pro.
Phillip Brooks: I’m sure the Wildcats would welcome him back at wide receiver next season, but he might not want to spend six years in college.
Julius Brents: After spending five years in college it seems like time for K-State’s best corner to leave for the NFL.
Ekow Boye-Doe: I could see this one going either way.
Jax Dineen: K-State is no longer using fullbacks like it once did under new offensive coordinator Collin Klein. It wouldn’t shock me if Dineen looked to play elsewhere or calls it quits as a senior.
Randen Plattner, Jack Blumer, Nick Allen, Hayden Gillum, Cartez Crook-Jones, KT Leveston, Jaylen Pickle, Christian Duffie: They can all come back as “super seniors” if they want to.
Now let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
K-State will look much different at wide receiver next season.
Kade Warner can’t come back to school for another year. Malik Knowles is unlikely to return. And Phillip Brooks is a toss-up at best to be a “super senior” next season.
The Wildcats are going to lose nearly all of their production at the wide receiver position. RJ Garcia (seven catches, 70 yards, one touchdown) and Seth Porter (one catch, seven yards) were the only two other receivers who caught a pass this for K-State this season.
That means Chris Klieman and company will turn to some new faces in 2023.
The good news is that Garcia caught an important touchdown pass in the Big 12 championship game. Perhaps he is ready to contribute at a higher level.
Sterling Lockett will also get a chance to prove how much he developed during his redshirt season. I can’t promise he will put up numbers like the rest of his family did in Manhattan, but coaches think he has a chance to be a good college receiver.
Ole Miss transfer Jadon Jackson will likely be thrust into a much more important position.
There is a chance Porter could return and help, too.
Otherwise, any new contributors will likely come from the transfer portal.
Not really.
I’m sure Kansas State will ultimately lose at least one player to the transfer portal that fans will be upset about. But nothing major.
The Wildcats are coming off a season in which they won a Big 12 championship and are now preparing for the Sugar Bowl. Everything is perfect in Manhattan right now. You don’t see many players look to walk away from that type of situation.
Four K-State players have already announced transfer plans: quarterback Jaren Lewis, tight end Konner Fox, safety T.J. Smith and linebacker Krew Jackson.
Insiders told me weeks ago to expect Fox and Lewis to transfer. Lewis was the fourth-string quarterback this season. If he wants to play, he needs to look elsewhere. Same with Fox. He would have been stuck behind Ben Sinnott for the rest of his days at K-State.
Smith leaving was a tiny surprise, but he was a reserve this season. Jackson is transferring closer to home at Arizona State.
All four players left for understandable reasons.
More players will transfer after the Sugar Bowl. That’s just the way things work in college football. But I’m not currently worried about K-State losing a major contributor because he is unhappy in Manhattan.
E-MAIL QUESTION: Will the Sugar Bowl be Deuce Vaughn’s last game as a Wildcat or will he come back for another year? - Will H.
Let’s dive in a little deeper on the Deuce Vaughn situation.
After talking to insiders about what he may possibly do, I think he wants to return to college as a senior running back but he also knows that turning pro is the smart business decision.
Running backs don’t get to play forever. They have one of the shortest careers of any position on the field. You could say running backs age in dog years. With that in mind, it might make sense for Vaughn to go ahead and make the most of the time he has left by getting paid as a NFL running back instead of playing for free in college.
His father is a NFL scout with the Dallas Cowboys, and I’m guessing he will tell him exactly that.
But I can think of two reasons why returning to school might be a more appealing option than usual.
For starters, Vaughn is a small running back who spends a lot of time in space. It’s not like he takes a ton of brutal hits between the tackles. So his shelf life might last longer than other ball-carriers. Darren Sproles lasted forever in the NFL. Secondly, I imagine he will be paid handsomely in NIL money if he returns to school. He wouldn’t make millions, but definitely six figures.
If he’s on the fence, maybe that could help convince him to stay.
He might have the toughest decision to make of all after the Sugar Bowl.
Alabama opened as something close to a touchdown favorite in the Sugar Bowl, but the betting line has dropped down to only a field goal over the past few days.
If former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young announces that he will play in the game then the Crimson Tide might end up being favored by double digits. But that is doubtful to happen. It seems like the sportsbooks aren’t expecting him to play, and that’s why the spread is as close as it is.
I don’t see further opt-outs helping K-State all that much. Only Young or star linebacker Will Anderson saying they will play should impact the line all that much.
We will see how both rosters shake out closer to game time, but right now I give K-State a decent shot at pulling off a win in New Orleans.
Motivation will definitely be on its side. The Wildcats may never get another opportunity to beat Alabama in a major bowl. They will badly want to prove themselves and win this game.
Alabama is on the other end of the spectrum. Nick Saban was publicly pandering for a playoff invite last weekend. This game is nothing more than a consolation prize for the Crimson Tide. Some of their fans will call it a meaningless game, especially if they lose.
Saban and Alabama have struggled in this situation before, losing to both Utah and Oklahoma (teams that were HIGHLY motivated) in the Sugar Bowl when it wasn’t part of the playoff.
I would much rather bet on a motivated K-State team than a disinterested Alabama squad that is missing some key starters.
Now, there is always a chance that Saban gets Alabama fired up for this game and the Crimson Tide roll in New Orleans. No matter how you slice it, Alabama is the more talented team. And K-State has struggled with that kind of opponent at times. I think that is why the Wildcats never beat Texas.
Bottom line: It should be a good game.
For starters, let me just say that I am happy to volunteer to cover the KU football game at Hawaii in 2028.
I’m sure our KU football writers won’t want to make that trip. It’s scheduled for Week 0, before K-State starts its season. Might as well just send me out there to write about the Jayhawks. That’s the kind of team player that I am.
I would be happy to go Reno, Nevada, next season and write about that KU game, too.
If Missouri has any exotic games coming up, I suppose I could also cover those.
But I digress ...
Here is a list of fun K-State road games in the near future:
- Missouri (2023)
- Tulane (2024)
- Arizona (2025)
- Colorado (2027)
- Washington State (2029)
- Rutgers (2031)
I’m not so jazzed about those trips to Mizzou and Rutgers, but the others look pretty good.
Here are a few suggestions that would be way cooler:
- Hawaii
- UNLV
- Army
- San Diego State
- Alabama
- Michigan
- Miami
Or they could follow in the footsteps of the NFL and schedule neutral games in Mexico City or London. Now that would be cool!
Jeff Mittie guiding the K-State women’s basketball team into the top 25 without Ayoka Lee is certainly not something I expected to happen this season.
Kudos to him and that roster for making it happen.
The Wildcats are 9-1 with wins over Wisconsin, Iowa, Clemson and Houston. Not too shabby.
Gabby Gregory (20.2 points per game), Jaelyn Glenn (14.4) and Serena Sundell (12.4) have all been excellent.
K-State is getting great play from its guards. Add Lee back into the mix next season after she recovers from injury and that team could be one of the best in the country.