SE: K-State’s 2018 Recruiting Class Loaded with Early Arrivals
Feb 08, 2018 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
The sooner the better. When it comes to getting signed recruits on campus, this is K-State head coach Bill Snyder's preference.
It's one of the many reasons Snyder likes what his program is getting with its 2018 signing class, a group of 24 student-athletes announced on Wednesday. Eight of those players are already enrolled at K-State, the most since the 2013 class had nine on campus by signing day.
"Having young people in the second semester of the school year is vital for them. It gives them the opportunity to learn the system, the nuances of the system, the mechanics, the drill work, the execution of schemes," Snyder said. "All those things become vital for them to get to become a part and a teammate of the entirety of the program. They get to know each other. They develop a trust within the ranks, so to speak. I think that's beneficial."
Of the eight Wildcats who are already becoming familiar with the system, four are straight out of high school — Wayne Jones, a defensive back out of Oklahoma; Aidan Mills, an offensive lineman out of Newton; EJ Thomas, a defensive back out of Georgia and Samuel Wheeler, a quarterback from Lenexa. Three more — Kevion McGee and Darreyl Patterson, both defensive backs, and a fullback in Luke Sowa — come from community colleges. Hunter Rison, a wide receiver transfer from Michigan State, is also already on campus.
"It gets them well prepared for spring practice, and that prepares them well for the summer, when they're doing the same thing they do in spring practice, only they're doing it without coaches on the field. So they don't have that constant uncertainty about what they're doing," Snyder said. "All of that prepares them so well to go into the proverbial two-a-day time (in the fall). Coaches want to work fast in order to get everybody prepared and if you haven't gone through all (those things) then so much of it goes in one ear and out the other. It's just too fast for the learning process to take place and consequently it sets them back. It doesn't give them the opportunity to get on the field and compete right away when the season starts. It's a major benefit (to come early)."
Overall, K-State's recruiting class consisted of 18 high school players, five community-college transfers and Rison — a former four-star recruit and the son of Andre Rison, a five-time Pro Bowl receiver in the NFL.
"First and foremost, he handled it the right way. He was very open and honest about the transfer," Snyder said of Hunter Rison, who played one season at Michigan State and will have to sit out the 2018 season at K-State. "We like his ability to run. He has excellent quickness, good change of direction. His speed is good. He's a good wide receiver and we need some help having some losses there. He obviously has to sit a year with the early transfer (rule), but he'll still have ample eligibility left."
This year's national signing day marked the first to follow the newly implemented December early signing period, when the majority of K-State's 2018 class signed. Snyder said he's not a fan of the change, mostly because of the added stress it can put on coaches trying to balance in-season preparation with recruiting. There are benefits to it, however, he added.
"It ended up being a positive thing for us because the vast majority of our signees were in that initial signing," he said. "It allowed us to give a little more attention to 2018 recruiting."
That attention, both to and from an athlete, starts with K-State's recruiting staff, led by Taylor Braet. This effort also includes assistant directors of recruiting in Kelli Krier, Drew Liddle and Taylor Godinet. Spencer LaHaye, the Wildcats' graphic designer who creates the K-State themed images recruits post on social media after a visit, is another key part of the early recruiting process.
"Taylor does really a nice job. He's a very gregarious young guy and gets along well with young people," Snyder said of Braet, heading toward his sixth season as director of recruiting operations and his 13th year overall at K-State. "As it relates to the social media aspect of it and the communication, online or otherwise, with young people that we're interested in, he's very, very detailed, precise and works diligently at it. I appreciate what he does."
The sooner the better. When it comes to getting signed recruits on campus, this is K-State head coach Bill Snyder's preference.
It's one of the many reasons Snyder likes what his program is getting with its 2018 signing class, a group of 24 student-athletes announced on Wednesday. Eight of those players are already enrolled at K-State, the most since the 2013 class had nine on campus by signing day.
"Having young people in the second semester of the school year is vital for them. It gives them the opportunity to learn the system, the nuances of the system, the mechanics, the drill work, the execution of schemes," Snyder said. "All those things become vital for them to get to become a part and a teammate of the entirety of the program. They get to know each other. They develop a trust within the ranks, so to speak. I think that's beneficial."
Of the eight Wildcats who are already becoming familiar with the system, four are straight out of high school — Wayne Jones, a defensive back out of Oklahoma; Aidan Mills, an offensive lineman out of Newton; EJ Thomas, a defensive back out of Georgia and Samuel Wheeler, a quarterback from Lenexa. Three more — Kevion McGee and Darreyl Patterson, both defensive backs, and a fullback in Luke Sowa — come from community colleges. Hunter Rison, a wide receiver transfer from Michigan State, is also already on campus.
"It gets them well prepared for spring practice, and that prepares them well for the summer, when they're doing the same thing they do in spring practice, only they're doing it without coaches on the field. So they don't have that constant uncertainty about what they're doing," Snyder said. "All of that prepares them so well to go into the proverbial two-a-day time (in the fall). Coaches want to work fast in order to get everybody prepared and if you haven't gone through all (those things) then so much of it goes in one ear and out the other. It's just too fast for the learning process to take place and consequently it sets them back. It doesn't give them the opportunity to get on the field and compete right away when the season starts. It's a major benefit (to come early)."
Overall, K-State's recruiting class consisted of 18 high school players, five community-college transfers and Rison — a former four-star recruit and the son of Andre Rison, a five-time Pro Bowl receiver in the NFL.
"First and foremost, he handled it the right way. He was very open and honest about the transfer," Snyder said of Hunter Rison, who played one season at Michigan State and will have to sit out the 2018 season at K-State. "We like his ability to run. He has excellent quickness, good change of direction. His speed is good. He's a good wide receiver and we need some help having some losses there. He obviously has to sit a year with the early transfer (rule), but he'll still have ample eligibility left."
This year's national signing day marked the first to follow the newly implemented December early signing period, when the majority of K-State's 2018 class signed. Snyder said he's not a fan of the change, mostly because of the added stress it can put on coaches trying to balance in-season preparation with recruiting. There are benefits to it, however, he added.
"It ended up being a positive thing for us because the vast majority of our signees were in that initial signing," he said. "It allowed us to give a little more attention to 2018 recruiting."
That attention, both to and from an athlete, starts with K-State's recruiting staff, led by Taylor Braet. This effort also includes assistant directors of recruiting in Kelli Krier, Drew Liddle and Taylor Godinet. Spencer LaHaye, the Wildcats' graphic designer who creates the K-State themed images recruits post on social media after a visit, is another key part of the early recruiting process.
"Taylor does really a nice job. He's a very gregarious young guy and gets along well with young people," Snyder said of Braet, heading toward his sixth season as director of recruiting operations and his 13th year overall at K-State. "As it relates to the social media aspect of it and the communication, online or otherwise, with young people that we're interested in, he's very, very detailed, precise and works diligently at it. I appreciate what he does."
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