Kansas State Wildcats lose two receivers to transfer portal ahead of Pop-Tarts Bowl
Departing transfers are starting to pile up for the Kansas State football team.
The Wildcats lost a pair of wide receivers to the NCAA transfer portal on Friday when RJ Garcia and Xavier Loyd announced their intentions to play elsewhere next season.
Garcia is the bigger loss. The 6-foot sophomore from Tampa played in all 12 games for the Wildcats this season and began the year as one of Will Howard’s primary targets.
Much was expected of Garcia after he caught a touchdown pass in the Big 12 championship game as a freshman. And it looked like he was on his way to a big role with the offense when he started off his sophomore campaign by catching five passes for 119 yards and one touchdown in the season opener against Southeast Missouri State.
But he was unable to sustain that pace and finished out the year in a backup role. He recorded a total of 14 catches for 184 yards and one touchdown.
Loyd is a 6-foot-2 sophomore receiver from Blue Springs who played in eight games this year. He made one catch for 16 yards in the opener but didn’t record any other statistics.
He joined K-State as a walk-on, but didn’t have to pay his own tuition thanks to a special NIL deal that helped him chase his college football dreams that paid him the equivalent of a football scholarship.
Without them, the Wildcats may have to rely on some young talent at receiver when they play North Carolina State in Orlando at the Pop-Tarts Bowl later this month.
Senior receiver Phillip Brooks has announced that he is ready to pursue a NFL career, which means he will most likely “opt out” of the postseason game. The WR position will lack depth without Brooks, Garcia and Loyd.
Their departures push K-State north of a dozen transfer for this cycle. Other major contributors on their way out are cornerback Will Lee, quarterback Will Howard and defensive end Nate Matlack.