Healthy Culture Drew Van Wyhe to K-State
Feb 14, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
One of the first things Rex Van Wyhe noticed was the intensity inside the Kansas State weight room. Players run station to station. Failure to do so results in 10 up-downs. It's a new intensity, an intensity that Van Wyhe knew would accompany his jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision level. He's on the ground floor. Everything is new. He knew it would be like this. He loves the grind.
And he loves the challenge that Director of Strength and Conditioning Trumain Carroll has set forth during winter workouts.
"All the strength coaches and all the coaches talk about hanging up that banner again and getting another Big 12 Championship," Van Wyhe says. "That fuels all of us."
There's a fuel that burns within Van Wyhe. He's a 19-year-old outside linebacker who is 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He's a young man who grew up in Rock Rapids, Iowa, and who suffered a knee injury that limited him his junior season at Central Lyon High School. He says that he didn't receive many scholarship offers in high school, so he sought to prove himself at Iowa Central Community College.
What did he do at Iowa Central? Last season, he earned Second Team NJCAA All-American honors. He was rated as the 10th best overall community-college prospect in the Class of 2023 by Rivals and finished ranked No. 2 among community college linebackers by ESPN. He had 79 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two pass breakups in 11 games. He had a season-high 13 tackles at Garden City and 10 tackles at Butler. He had a pair of sacks at Ellsworth, which included two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
"There's still more work to do," Van Wyhe says. "I want to get on the field this fall. You can't look back on your accomplishments."
That goes for K-State football as well.
"All the coaches are saying to leave 2022 in the past," Van Wyhe says. "It's a new year. We have to go win some games next year."
Van Wyhe remembers last season. He took an unofficial visit to K-State for the Texas game, he took his official visit to see K-State pummel Kansas. He took it all in. He loved the atmosphere. He connected with linebackers coach Steve Stanard. And he loved K-State head coach Chris Klieman.
"He's a great guy," Van Wyhe says. "He's such a friendly guy and a go-getter. At NDSU, he on all those national championships. He's just a winner. That's' what I really do like about him."
And now he's learning the 3-3-5 scheme under defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman. It's a different scheme than at Iowa Central. That's OK. Van Wyhe has the tools. K-State spotted those tools. The Wildcats believe he can help.
"What they really like about me is I get off blocks pretty easily," Van Wyhe says. "I can come off the edge and blitz, but I can also play in the box and cover running backs out of the backfield. I played safety up to my junior year of high school, so I'm comfortable in coverage.
"Linebacker is way more physical. I played linebacker my senior year of high school and then I played there last year at junior college. It's a lot different than playing safety. You've got those 300-pound offensive guards and it's a lot different than 100-pound wide receivers."
Van Wyhe projects to play either weakside linebacker or strongside linebacker.
He's steadily becoming acclimated with the assistance of a couple veterans.
"I've really talked to Austin Moore a lot, and he's a great guy and I'm been talking with Deuce Green, too," Van Wyhe says. "They've really done a lot. We have these captains' practices and they teach us coverage and to run to the ball and things like that. They've been really good."
Off the football field, Van Wyhe is majoring in construction science, which he says was a big draw to K-State. He loves the Midwest vibe around Manhattan. He says that he sees cornfields and soybean fields and it reminds him of home.
"I want to prove that I'm a hard worker and a great young man," Van Wyhe says. "That's what they teach you here. They don't want to just teach you to be a great football player, but also a good young man, which is something you'll carry on the rest of your life."
One of the first things Rex Van Wyhe noticed was the intensity inside the Kansas State weight room. Players run station to station. Failure to do so results in 10 up-downs. It's a new intensity, an intensity that Van Wyhe knew would accompany his jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision level. He's on the ground floor. Everything is new. He knew it would be like this. He loves the grind.
And he loves the challenge that Director of Strength and Conditioning Trumain Carroll has set forth during winter workouts.
"All the strength coaches and all the coaches talk about hanging up that banner again and getting another Big 12 Championship," Van Wyhe says. "That fuels all of us."
There's a fuel that burns within Van Wyhe. He's a 19-year-old outside linebacker who is 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. He's a young man who grew up in Rock Rapids, Iowa, and who suffered a knee injury that limited him his junior season at Central Lyon High School. He says that he didn't receive many scholarship offers in high school, so he sought to prove himself at Iowa Central Community College.
What did he do at Iowa Central? Last season, he earned Second Team NJCAA All-American honors. He was rated as the 10th best overall community-college prospect in the Class of 2023 by Rivals and finished ranked No. 2 among community college linebackers by ESPN. He had 79 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two pass breakups in 11 games. He had a season-high 13 tackles at Garden City and 10 tackles at Butler. He had a pair of sacks at Ellsworth, which included two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
"There's still more work to do," Van Wyhe says. "I want to get on the field this fall. You can't look back on your accomplishments."
That goes for K-State football as well.
"All the coaches are saying to leave 2022 in the past," Van Wyhe says. "It's a new year. We have to go win some games next year."
Van Wyhe remembers last season. He took an unofficial visit to K-State for the Texas game, he took his official visit to see K-State pummel Kansas. He took it all in. He loved the atmosphere. He connected with linebackers coach Steve Stanard. And he loved K-State head coach Chris Klieman.
"He's a great guy," Van Wyhe says. "He's such a friendly guy and a go-getter. At NDSU, he on all those national championships. He's just a winner. That's' what I really do like about him."
And now he's learning the 3-3-5 scheme under defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman. It's a different scheme than at Iowa Central. That's OK. Van Wyhe has the tools. K-State spotted those tools. The Wildcats believe he can help.
"What they really like about me is I get off blocks pretty easily," Van Wyhe says. "I can come off the edge and blitz, but I can also play in the box and cover running backs out of the backfield. I played safety up to my junior year of high school, so I'm comfortable in coverage.
"Linebacker is way more physical. I played linebacker my senior year of high school and then I played there last year at junior college. It's a lot different than playing safety. You've got those 300-pound offensive guards and it's a lot different than 100-pound wide receivers."
Van Wyhe projects to play either weakside linebacker or strongside linebacker.
He's steadily becoming acclimated with the assistance of a couple veterans.
"I've really talked to Austin Moore a lot, and he's a great guy and I'm been talking with Deuce Green, too," Van Wyhe says. "They've really done a lot. We have these captains' practices and they teach us coverage and to run to the ball and things like that. They've been really good."
Off the football field, Van Wyhe is majoring in construction science, which he says was a big draw to K-State. He loves the Midwest vibe around Manhattan. He says that he sees cornfields and soybean fields and it reminds him of home.
"I want to prove that I'm a hard worker and a great young man," Van Wyhe says. "That's what they teach you here. They don't want to just teach you to be a great football player, but also a good young man, which is something you'll carry on the rest of your life."
Players Mentioned
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