K-State Casts Wide Net to Nab Stellar Class

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Eighteen days after No. 9 Kansas State captured the Big 12 Conference title, the Wildcats enjoyed more excitement Wednesday as K-State head coach Chris Klieman announced the signing of 26 prospects during the early 2023 signing period.

There are 23 high school student-athletes and three community-college transfers. There are 15 players on defense and 11 on offense. It's the most total signees for K-State during an early signing period since it was established for the Class of 2018.

And from a national perspective, it's perhaps the best signing class at K-State in nearly 20 years. With 13 states represented, it's the most states from one signing class since at least 1997. The Wildcats cast a wide and talent-rich net.

"The K-State name is getting bigger and bigger and stronger and stronger," Klieman said. "Just look at what we did this year with some of the wins we had, especially some of them on the road, and then to cap it off with two-plus weeks before signing day with the Big 12 Championship, there's some validation there with some guys that were maybe unsure if this was the place they were going to go or, yep, I'm going to the right spot, I'm going to the Big 12 Champs.

"There's sustainability there with the kids that we have returning and the guys we have coming in and with the coaching staff.

"It's an upward trend we're excited about."

Brought the sauce pic.twitter.com/WOJc5PumpQ
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 21, 2022

K-State's theme for the early 2023 signing period was "Bring the Sauce."

K-State got the sauce.

Asked if he believed this was the best recruiting class that he'd been a part of since he's been at K-State, director of recruiting Taylor Braet, replied, "Since I took over recruiting maybe 10 years ago and was strictly recruiting once Coach Klieman got here, this would be the best class I think I've been a part of — based off the rankings. I don't know the rankings that really matter because look at what Felix (Anudike-Uzomah) and Deuce (Vaughn) were probably ranked coming out of high school, but if you're going off (rankings) this is probably the best class we've had."

Klieman said that 24 of the 26 players signed attended a K-State home football game, 10 attended a K-State summer camp, and four were observed at satellite camps. Of the 26 early signees, 13 are expected to enroll at K-State for the 2023 spring semester.

The state of Kansas led the class with six signees, followed by Florida and Missouri (three apiece), Arizona, Texas, Alabama and Iowa (two apiece), and Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota and Oklahoma (one each).

The talent within the class begins with quarterback Avery Johnson out of Maize High School. The consensus top player in the state of Kansas for the Class of 2023, the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Johnson is rated as one of the top dual-threat passers in the nation. He threw for 2,768 yards and 29 touchdowns and three interceptions and rushed for 817 yards and 15 scores on the ground while leading Maize to a 12-1 record in 2022.

Lauded for his competitiveness and leadership ability, Johnson possesses special talent that excites Klieman and offensive coordinator Collin Klein.

"(Johnson) has got really good arm talent and that's the first thing we look for is really good arm talent," Klieman said. "He sees the field really well and can throw it from the hash to the sideline and throws the vertical ball exceptionally well. Then there's the athleticism and ability to make plays with his feet. Many of us saw the clip in the US Army All-American game where he makes three or four guys miss and outruns everybody. That's pretty special. That's God-given ability to just roll and run like he does, and you combine that athleticism with the fact that he has tremendous arm talent, and we're excited about his future."

The state of Kansas talent pool proved to be rich for K-State, as defensive end Jordan Allen (Olathe), wide receiver Andre Davis (Stilwell), safety Wesley Fair (Wichita), tight end Will Anciaux (Wichita), and offensive lineman Camden Beebe (Kansas City) all chose to play for the Wildcats. All were ranked among the top 15 players in the state by the major recruiting services.

"We need to keep the best players in state," Klieman said. "Credit Collin Klein. The relationship that he and Avery have built, when you get someone of the magnitude of Avery to come from in state and then some of the other guys gravitate toward that, it's important and it helped us land a bunch of guys. Especially when it's a quarterback, I think it's really important that you keep those best players in your state."

Klieman said that defensive backs, linebackers and wide receivers were areas of particular need. The Wildcats signed six defensive backs, five linebackers and four wide receivers in this early class.

At defensive back, Will Lee III is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety out of Iowa Western Community College will be in Manhattan in the spring and could instantly compete for playing time.

"He has great length, kind of like Julius Brents, not quite that size yet, but has a chance to get there," Klieman said. "He has really good ball skills. He'll really hit you. He won the national championship in junior college and went against some really good wide receivers from Hutchinson Community College and did a tremendous job against those guys. He'll be here at semester.

"Coach Van Malone did a phenomenal job from a long time ago recruiting him and we're really fortunate that he stuck with us, because I know he had a lot of opportunities late, but this was for him the best fit. He'll have an opportunity to compete early."

At linebacker, 6-foot-2, 230-pound Terry Kirksey Jr. (Hutchinson Community College) and 6-foot-5, 225-pound Rex Van Wyhe (Iowa Central Community College) should be in the mix to better prove themselves in the spring.

"Rex might be able to play all three (linebacker positions)," Klieman said. "He's long, and really a young player who's played just a year of football at the collegiate level."

Tre Spivey is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound wide receiver out of Chandler, Arizona, who was selected to play in the U.S. Army Bowl and is regarded as one of the top 100 wide receivers in the nation.

"He's a 6-3 or 6-4 kid who can really stretch the field," Klieman said.

Davis is a 6-foot-4, 200-pounder who is also viewed as one of the top 100 wide receivers and is the second wide receiver in as many years from Blue Valley High School to sign with the Wildcats, following Sterling Lockett in 2022.

"(Davis) is big, tall, rangy with great hands, and can probably play either the X or Z spot," Klieman said.

Wesley Watson is a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder out of College Station, Texas, and Klieman said he could play all three wide receiver positions.

"It was important for us to stockpile that position again and not just with all one type of player but having that ability to play a few different spots and give us some size," Klieman said. "Getting Andre and Tre, big tall receivers, is going to be of benefit to our guys."

Another spot that the Wildcats hit? Running back. They signed 5-foot-10, 195-pound Joe Jackson (Haines City, Florida), who is considered to be one of the top 20 all-purpose backs in the nation. Jackson totaled 1,143 yards and 20 touchdowns in seven games during his senior season, including a school-record 326-yard, six-touchdown effort in a single game.

"He's a great competitor with really good hands, and he's one of the more fun guys we've had tons of interaction with, and he's been up here a number of times, which is a credit to he and his family for not just coming up here once but multiple times to make sure this is the right fit," Klieman said. "I know he hit it off with Coach Brian Anderson and enjoyed visiting with Deuce Vaughn. Joe has a chance now to play early because he's an exciting kid that is a speed kid but an explosive guy between the tackles, too."

Beebe is a 6-foot-2, 320-pounder out of Piper High School who is among the top 100 offensive linemen in the nation, and he is also the younger brother of junior All-American Cooper Beebe.

"We're so happy to keep the Beebe clan going and getting another Beebe in Camden," Klieman said. "He's going to write his own ticket and have his own story. I'm excited to see where he goes because he's had a really good career at the high school level and I know he's going to come in here and work extremely hard."

Excitement builds as the newest additions jump onboard.

"The culture is so great around here because (current players) want to win and they want the young guys to be a part of it," Braet said. "They want to know they're bringing in good guys to be with. Cooper Beebe wants good teammates to play with his brother. He appreciates the bond he has with guys right now and he wants that to be carried on to the teams ahead of him.

"This brand and the passion of the players is really tight."

Klieman indicated that the Wildcats are still looking to fill a few spots down the road, including perhaps defensive tackle, and safety/corner or running back.

But that's for another day.

"We feel good about where we are with our roster, so it's going to have to be the right fit for us with whomever that may be," Klieman said. "We're not in a hurry on that right now. We're going to take a few days to relax and enjoy ourselves a little bit."

He paused.

"And then we have a pretty good ballgame coming up in another week."

Bring the sauce?

K-State got the sauce on Wednesday.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cooper Beebe

Julius Brents

Sterling Lockett

Deuce Vaughn

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