KT Leveston had to grow up before he became a star offensive lineman for Kansas State
.jpg "Kansas State Wildcats wide receiver Jadon Jackson (0) and offensive lineman KT Leveston (70) celebrated a touchdown in the first quarter against the Troy Trojans at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium.")
Ask anyone on the Kansas State football team to tell you what they think about KT Leveston now that he is a senior offensive lineman who has started 21 straight games at left tackle for the Wildcats and you will hear nothing but glowing reviews.
“He is playing exceptional football,” K-State center Hayden Gillum said. “His athleticism helps him a lot. He’s got long arms and he’s really strong and nasty. He just knows how to finish plays.”
“He leads the team,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “He’s helping everybody.”
“He’s a big, physical guy,” senior left guard Cooper Beebe added, “and he has an edge about him. It doesn’t matter who he’s going against you know he’s going to put him in the dirt.”
Thing is, it wasn’t always this way for Leveston. The 6-foot-5 and 330-pound blocker from Waco, Texas didn’t simply show up on campus and immediately start wowing everyone in the locker room.
Quite the opposite, actually.
He needed years to mature before he even sniffed playing time, let alone start playing like one of the best offensive linemen in the Big 12.
Leveston was such a raw talent coming out of high school that most of his K-State coaches and teammates used to think he didn’t have much of a future in football.
Klieman, who inherited Leveston after he was recruited by longtime former head coach Bill Snyder, has said that he thought about kicking Leveston off the team after watching his first few practices.
“He was trying to just help KT when he was younger,” Klieman said.
Leveston did not make a good first impression.
“There were times when he was younger that KT might not have listened when coaches were talking to him,” Beebe said. “And he complained about way too much stuff.”
Fortunately, Leveston and K-State found a way to grow together.
His journey to college football stardom is a story of maturity. He has grown up so much since he first arrived in Manhattan in 2018 that he doesn’t try to sugar coat his slow start.
He is proud of how far he has come.
“Early in my career here I had a lot of ups and downs and had a lot of growing up to do,” Leveston said. “I had to step back and do a self assessment of daily habits and what was going on in my life. Once I really locked in and bought into what my teammates and coaches were preaching to me then my game just elevated from there.”
Leveston was low on confidence when he spent his first college season on the sideline with a redshirt and then barely saw any action the following year. But somewhere along the way he learned how to treat practices and games in a new way.
When he was young, he was afraid to fail and didn’t attack challenges with maximum effort. As he got older, he learned how to play football without stress and he immediately noticed results.
Leveston said he felt like he turned a corner when he held his own against LSU as a junior in the Texas Bowl.
“I attacked the reps that I got head on,” Leveston said. “From then on I really had full confidence in myself that I was able to play at a high level.”
He hasn’t looked back.
Last season, Leveston started all 14 games at left tackle and received honorable mention status on the All-Big 12 team. Then he decided to return to K-State as a “super senior” and now he is playing at an even higher level.
Klieman now describes him as “a great role model and a great example to young players.” He also thinks Leveston might have a future in the NFL.
Leveston has come a long way from almost getting kicked off the team.
“To see him grow up during my time here has just been truly impressive,” Beebe said. “He’s matured so much and he’s really got into a leadership role. He cares about this team. He busted his butt week in and week out to get here. It’s truly remarkable to see the kind of man he’s grown into.”