Kansas State Wildcats dealing with injuries ahead of football opener against SEMO
When it comes to injuries, Chris Klieman is the type of football coach who likes to share good news before he dives into the bad.
“We don’t have anybody out long term,” Klieman said during his weekly news conference on Tuesday.
Even though Kansas State could be down a handful of starters when it opens the 2023 season against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, he is optimistic that the Wildcats should be closer to full strength with each passing week.
A number of key contributors who have missed practice time with injuries in recent days were able to return to the field this week. It’s possible some of them will be ready to play against the Redhawks.
That’s the good news.
The bad: Christian Duffie, a 6-foot-5 and 300-pound senior offensive lineman who has started 35 consecutive games, will not be able to suit up and play right tackle for the Wildcats as he continues to recover from an offseason injury to his foot/ankle. Carver Willis, a junior from Durango, Colorado, will start in his place.
“Duffie is the one that I know is not going to play on Saturday,” Klieman said. “We hope to have him back in the next couple weeks. Whether that is Troy or whether that is Missouri is going to be dependent on how he continues to progress.”
There is also a chance that defensive tackle Uso Seumalo, linebacker Daniel Green and wide receiver Seth Porter will be sidelined with injuries for Game 1, but all three could end up being healthy enough to contribute.
One could describe them as game-time decisions.
Seumalo seems the most unlikely player of that group to be ready, as K-State did not list him on the depth chart it released on Monday. But he did return to practice this week.
“Uso is going to practice (this week) and I was not thinking that he would,” Klieman said. “We will see how he can progress. He has been out a couple weeks. But it’s good to have him back.”
Porter was listed as a backup punt returner and a backup holder on the K-State depth chart, but his name did not appear with the wide receivers.
He is expected to be a major contributor on special teams and a reserve on offense when healthy this season. He is also a leader in the locker room and a team captain.
“The biggest thing is Seth was another one of those guys who was banged up quite a bit through fall camp,” Klieman said. “He is in the mix at wide receiver, for sure. I think when we did the depth chart we were hopeful that he could be a part of special teams, if nothing else, because that is his biggest role for us.”
Porter also returned to practice ahead of schedule this week, giving him a chance to play this weekend.
Green appears on track to start at linebacker, as he was listed there on the depth chart. But he has also been dealing with injuries during preseason practices.
He will be one of a handful of K-State players to monitor as game time approaches at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
This story was originally published August 30, 2023 at 11:56 AM.