A Feeling Led Huggins to a Crucial Moment

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Eli Huggins went with his gut. Huggins might be the most underrated defensive player at Kansas State. He doesn't get a lot of love from the Big 12 Conference. Yet the sixth-year senior nose guard is about as solid of a defensive tackle as there is in the league. The 6-foot-5, 297-pounder just as an innate sense about making the right play. He's done so time and time again for the Wildcats during this amazing 2022 season.

And he went with his gut. Something just told Huggins that he should be in the middle of things on that fateful play. It was overtime. TCU faced fourth-and-1 at the K-State 1-yard line. Everything was on the line. The Wildcats needed the greatest fourth-down stop in the history of the program.

"It's something I'll never forget," Huggins says.

Huggins teamed up with linebacker Daniel Green to stop TCU running back Kendre Miller on that fateful play.

"What's crazy is I didn't do my job on that play," Huggins says. "I swiped across that tackle coming down and I really should stay in there, but something didn't feel right to me, so I made the decision to cross it, Daniel took (Miller's) legs, and I was there to catch him. I don't think you could draw it up another way."

Yes, they stopped Miller short of the goal line. TCU did not score. TCU turned the ball over on downs.

A few moments later, Ty Zentner nailed the most important field goal in K-State history — a 31-yarder dead center — to lift the Wildcats to a 31-28 victory to capture the 2022 Big 12 Championship, thus setting the Wildcats up for a date against No. 5 Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

It's the stuff of dreams. It's why the Wildcats, starting on last January 20, broke every single huddle saying, "Big 12 Champs." See, the Wildcats had a goal. Everyone picked K-State to finish fifth in the Big 12 preseason rankings. The Wildcats had other ideas in mind. That included Huggins, who made one of the most important decisions of his life when he decided to return for a sixth year.

"About this time last year, I was trying to figure it out. I was dead set on leaving," Huggins said. "Senior Night I was super upset and crying. My mind was made up. Then it just didn't feel right."

What would we be talking about today had Huggins decided not to take advantage of his extra COVID year? Had Huggins, who earned his degree in finance and graduated with a master's in data analytics in December, decided to pursue a career? Had Huggins said "thanks for the memories" and headed off into the sunset?

No, Huggins went with his gut.

"I wanted to come back to win a Big 12 Championship," he says.

Huggins is a 24-year-old native of Cumming, Georgia. He grew up a Tennessee fan. He lived 70 miles from the University of Georgia. He had no idea about K-State until he began getting letters from K-State in 2016. He and his mother took an unofficial visit to K-State. They were hooked. It wasn't until Huggins committed to K-State on June 21, 2016, that schools such as Cincinnati, Navy, Central Florida and Georgia Tech came calling. But Huggins was an early enrollee at K-State. He graduated early from West Forsyth High School, where he was an All-Southeast Region pick by PrepStar.

Today, Huggins is a 2022 team captain who's started in 34 career games, including a defensive-best 32 straight contests. He has 81 tackles, including 16.5 tackles for a loss with 5.5 sacks and one fumble recovery in his career. He had a career-high eight tackles against Texas earlier this season.

"I've been the grandpa and the oldest guy around and have gotten to be a captain," he says. "I've always kind of been a quiet guy and hadn't spoken up too much and led with my actions. This year has kind of forced me in a good way to become a better leader, more vocal, and take command."

K-State head coach Chris Klieman doesn't hold back on his plaudits regarding Huggins, as he nears the final game of his career.

"Eli is everything," Klieman said. "He's a captain. He's one of our true leaders on defense. For him to make the plays on the goal line stops in that big game — Eli and I have had some conversations. He came back for a reason and that's not just to compete for a sixth year. It was to win a championship.

"Deep down I know that was one of the reasons — he felt that we had the opportunity and it was critical for us that he did come back because he's been such a huge part of this to get us where we're at."

He is in the center of the defensive line. He is on a defense that gave up its fewest points in a season since 2003. He is on a defense that held three conference opponents without a touchdown for the first time since 2002.

And now he and No. 9 K-State, 10-3, prepare to face No. 5 Alabama, 10-2, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at 11 a.m. December 31 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, in what could be one of the most important games in school history.

"It's an awesome opportunity to test ourselves and to test this program," he says. "They have been the gold standard for the last 10-15 years. They've dominated college football. I'm glad they're going to be at full strength. It's going to be a good matchup."

It doesn't get much better than facing Alabama. Legendary head coach Nick Saban is 188-27 in 16 seasons with the Crimson Tide. Alabama had been in the College Football Playoff in seven of the previous eight seasons, and entered as a No. 1 seed in five of those years. They're a mainstay in the National Championship Game.

Just not this season.

"I've been around the SEC my whole life," Huggins says. "It's cool to go out and go against the top dog in the SEC for a long time. It's very cool. My family is excited. They're definitely excited. It's going to be a cool moment."

So, too, will be the experience of playing the game in New Orleans. It's where Jeff and Heather, his parents, became engaged many years ago. It's also where one of his sisters got married last year.

"We've been going to New Orleans for a long time," Huggins says. "It's just an amazing place — great food, great atmosphere. When we saw the Sugar Bowl was a possibility a month ago, my family was already booking flights and hotels."

The Huggins' return trip to the Big Easy wouldn't have happened without Eli going with his gut and returning for his sixth season and without him going with his gut and helping make one of the most important stops in school history. It's truly amazing how far reaching one decision can make.

"Eli Huggins has definitely got to be one of the most underrated players on our team," All-American offensive lineman Cooper Beebe says. "The stuff that he has done from a leadership standpoint and from a performance standpoint, he's the most underrated player on our team by far."

Adds center Hayden Gillum: "Eli Huggins is the standard of Kansas State, and everybody has to rise to that when you're around Eli."

K-State, picked fifth in the Big 12, remained the proverbial underdog much of the season, yet became the first team in school history to beat three top-10 opponents in a single season in No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 3 TCU. The Wildcats were road warriors.

Now they'll be underdogs again for a final time this season.

"That's just a part of being a player here at Kansas State," Huggins says. "My whole career here I feel like almost every game we've done into as an underdog. We've bought into that, and we've made it a badge of honor. We're fine with that. It gives us a little extra motivation.

"It's a little chip on our shoulder and we're ready to go to work."

There's no telling how this game will go. K-State beat the top dog in the Big 12 to become conference champions. K-State could slay arguably the most dominant program in the last 20 years. There's simply no telling how these games can go.

But long after this incredible K-State season ends, Huggins will have a story to tell. One day, he'll tell his children about this special team and these special players and this special season. And he'll tell them about this special play, which was one of the most important plays in K-State history. And how he helped make the play. And what the play meant and why it was so important.

And, finally, he'll tell them that it's all because he went with his gut.

He stayed in school.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cooper Beebe

Hayden Gillum

Daniel Green

Eli Huggins

Ty Zentner

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