Kansas State University Athletics
Welcome to the Fraternity
Apr 17, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Ekow Boye-Doe is the first former Kansas State football player on the putting green at Manhattan Country Club on Friday morning, around 1 ½ hours before first tee, and he putts long and putts true, the clouds parting and sunlight illuminating his purple Powercat polo. Just three months since Boye-Doe completed his career as a standout cornerback, he hears from NFL teams ahead of the upcoming draft, and trains in Lenexa, Kansas. But golf in Wamego has recently shared his attention.
He gets out on the golf course at least twice a week. He smiles. He has absolutely caught the golf bug.
"I was just golfing yesterday," he says. "I'm all warmed up."
K-State football alums, dressed in purple and dressed in white, begin filing down the concrete pathways to check in. Josh Freeman stands with Collin Klein. Curry Sexton heads toward a golf cart. B.J. Finney wields a large golf bag. Matt Argo, who lettered at K-State as a punter in 1991, arrived from Tulsa, Oklahoma. His son is finishing his degree in Manhattan. He'll see him on Saturday. Friday was about golf. And it was about football family. And it was about brotherhood.
This was the inaugural Golden Cats Golf Tournament with a noon shotgun scramble. The Golden Cats is the former football players' club. There'd be beverages and appetizers at 7 p.m. at the Shamrock Zone at Bill Snyder Family Stadium followed by a formal K-State Senior Recognition celebration attended by even more Golden Cats. The Manhattan Country Club buzzes with activity.
"I've talked with some people who I work with who went to other schools and they don't have something like this," Argo says. "Bringing the young kids in as they graduate and to get them into our family, I mean, family is what we are. Anytime we can do that and recognize then and have that brotherhood is awesome."
The Senior Recognition is the brainchild of K-State head coach Chris Klieman, who enjoyed such an event annually as head coach at North Dakota State.
"We play for all the guys who played before us and all the guys who wore the purple before the guys wearing purple right now," Klieman says, holding a pair of shades while standing under an overhang outside the country club. "We're forever grateful and indebted to those guys."
Eli Huggins will have stories to share with incoming Golden Cats members years from now. He'll tell them about a football career in the midst of COVID, and how he played six years on the gridiron. He'll tell them about the player-led culture inside the locker room. And he'll tell them about the time that he helped execute the greatest goal-line stand in school history against No. 3 TCU during the Wildcats' 31-28 overtime victory in the 2022 Big 12 Championship Game — a play that'll be played and replayed upon the videoboards at Bill Snyder Family Stadium forever and ever. On Friday, Huggins, recovering from a recent injury, sits on a scooter and chats with old teammates.
"This is a great idea and an event that has a ton of potential to bring back a lot of former players and be with the staff," Huggins says. "Hope this event gets bigger and bigger every year."
"We could have 200 people here," Klein says. "Why not? It's an unbelievable deal being able to have past players welcome in this class of Golden Cats as they move on with the next phase of their lives. There's a ton of potential. We're trying to grow it as big as we can make it and get as many former players back and involved from a networking standpoint and involvement standpoint and mentorship standpoint.
"Really excited for a lot of the possibilities."
After an hour of swapping stories, munching on appetizers and sharing an icy beverage, the nighttime event begins at 8 p.m. inside the Shamrock Zone. White helmets with purple numerals lay upon a table to the rear of a stage and a podium with dark purple trim. Each Golden Cat inductee will be formally presented with a helmet with his uniform number. The Shamrock Zone is filled with Golden Cats, six to a table, and each heavy dark wood table bears a Powercat helmet, or an alternate helmet, as its centerpiece. Upon one big, tall table sits the 2022 Big 12 Championship trophy. The Governor's Cup Trophy sits upon an adjacent table. Harry Manges, a 94-year-old former K-State player from 1945, sits near the front, closest to the podium, where Klieman stands under seven different K-State logos. Each logo tells a story from a different era, a different time, the evolution of a football program dialed back to its beginnings, and eventually brought to present, where an illuminated purple Powercat rests front and center above the stage.
"Welcome home, former Wildcats," Klieman begins.
Applause fills the air.
"We celebrate you guys," Klieman continues. "We do this, and we do it because of what you guys have done. I can't thank you enough."
Over the 2022 football season, former players Jaime Mendez, Denzel Goolsby, Brooks Barta, Finney and Tysyn Hartman each spoke to the football team. The goal is to keep those passionate stories flowing from former players, who tell tales of adversity and challenge, motivation and dreams, comebacks and success.
"I'd love for you to come back and visit with our team," Klieman says. "Fall camp is an awesome time. If there's ever a time you can come by in August, we'll make it a heck of a day for you — come to practice and the meetings. The message resonates with our players."
The hope is that someday soon the Senior Recognition will move into the Hilton Garden Inn ballroom in Manhattan, that former K-State players numbering close to 500 fill the ballroom and swap stories. Because there are stories to be told, timeworn tales, and the Golden Cat inductees can add their own stories. Tonight, the stories run thick among the group of Golden Cats and current K-State coaches and incoming members — a right of passage for new Golden Cats into a new world as members of an elite club.
"We want to welcome you into our fraternity," former K-State quarterback Stan Weber says. "There are great stories of all the people in this room who played K-State football. I hope you get to meet them. They want to meet you. We want to support each other for the rest of your lives. For the rest of your lives, you are a part of this group. Now I want you to support the next group of players, and the next group.
"Welcome to our fraternity. It doesn't matter if you're 22 or 78, we're all in the same fraternity. K-State football is special because of everything you do today and tomorrow, not just because of the past. It's so special for what happens in the future."
Tonight is about the past, present and future.
There's K-State assistant head coach/passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Van Malone, telling how Boye-Doe went from scout-team wide receiver to starting cornerback in a single week — "I respected his willingness do whatever he could for the team," he says. "I respected his love for K-State." There's Malone wrapping his arm around Vaughn Malone, his son. "When God gave me the blessing to coach my own son, it's something special. I could be no more proud of you to today be around these men."
There's Brian Lepak lauding Sammy Wheeler for his willingness and dedication on special teams as well as his impact as a tight end over a six-year career.
There's Joe Klanderman recounting how Josh Hayes rejoined him at K-State from North Dakota State — "One of the most competitive guys I've ever been around," he says. There's Klanderman recalling Drake Cheatham's dedication to the game and how he shared a meal with him at a Chipotle in Houston. There's Klanderman applauding Julius Brents — "He was a big impact guy for us, and I think he will play a lot of years at the next level," he says. There's Klanderman sharing how Jaylen Pickle adjusted from a four-man front to a three-man front — "He deserves a ton of credit for what he did." There's Klanderman remembering NFL-bound Felix Anudike-Uzomah during the recruiting process — "Three months later, he's put on 40 pounds and he's one of the better players in the country." And there's Klanderman wrapping his arm around Cincere Mason and saying, "He's a guy who I absolutely love."
There's linebackers coach Steve Stanard talking about Thomas Helton, who is resting at home after a recent bout with double-pneumonia, and who played 201 snaps on special teams. Helton recorded his first special-teams tackle against Baylor and pointed at Stanard in the coaches box. There's Stanard calling on former walk-on Nick Allen — "I was so happy when he received a scholarship," Stanard says — and how Allen played on all four special teams and practiced at linebacker every day in place of injured Daniel Green, who would start in the games. "He never complained once," Stanard says.
There's Klein starting off talking about NFL-bound Deuce Vaughn — "Off the charts," Klein says. "You can't say enough about him as a person and player." There's Klein lauding Malik Knowles, sitting down with him prior to the season, talking about his goals — "Watching his growth and maturity in key times, I could not be more proud of him." There's Klein talking about Adrian Martinez — "I just wish we had more time together," he says. There's Klein calling Kade Warner, 'Coach Kade.' "He's one of the best competitors I'd seen in a minute," Klein says. "He makes everything around him better." There's Klein recognizing walk-on Gabe Hoover and wrapping his arm around him — "Special teams to scout-team, whatever the team needed, you never flinched," he says.
There's special teams quality control coach Will Burnham recounting punter/kicker Ty Zentner: "We were talking about whether or not Ty was going to come back for a sixth year. One of the things we talked about was the best hugs in football are in big shirts, hats and confetti. We wanted to be in Dallas in big shirts, hats and confetti. We won the Texas Bowl, and I said, 'Isn't this the best? Big shirts and hats.' He said, 'Yes, but next year there's going to be confetti.' And Ty attacked the season like a mad man. Ty wills things to happen."
And there's defensive tackle coach Mike Tuiasosopo talking about Robert Hentz II, then, with tears welling up in his eyes, thanking departed sixth-year senior Huggins — "Eli Huggins came back for a lot of reasons but that play you made in the Big 12 Championship will live on forever."
"You have left an imprint in our room," Tuiasosopo continues, "because our guys are following your lead. I thank you for the legacy that you left."
Huggins, surrounded by the Golden Cats, his fellow inductees, and his coaches, holds the microphone in his hand. They will pass the mic, yes, to an inductee each year at this event, and he will share some thoughts on behalf of the incoming Golden Cats class. Friday night, the mic got passed to Huggins' hand.
"I want to thank the former players," Huggins begins. "It really takes years and years to build success and everyone in this room has played a part in the success this program in some form or another. You have built the foundation. Success doesn't just happen. It takes a long, long time to get to the point where we are and win a Big 12 Championship.
"Everyone has loved this football program and this university so hard."
This is just the beginning.
The goal is to soon make the Senior Recognition so heavily-attended that everyone won't be able to fit into a single frame.
Ekow Boye-Doe is the first former Kansas State football player on the putting green at Manhattan Country Club on Friday morning, around 1 ½ hours before first tee, and he putts long and putts true, the clouds parting and sunlight illuminating his purple Powercat polo. Just three months since Boye-Doe completed his career as a standout cornerback, he hears from NFL teams ahead of the upcoming draft, and trains in Lenexa, Kansas. But golf in Wamego has recently shared his attention.
He gets out on the golf course at least twice a week. He smiles. He has absolutely caught the golf bug.
"I was just golfing yesterday," he says. "I'm all warmed up."
K-State football alums, dressed in purple and dressed in white, begin filing down the concrete pathways to check in. Josh Freeman stands with Collin Klein. Curry Sexton heads toward a golf cart. B.J. Finney wields a large golf bag. Matt Argo, who lettered at K-State as a punter in 1991, arrived from Tulsa, Oklahoma. His son is finishing his degree in Manhattan. He'll see him on Saturday. Friday was about golf. And it was about football family. And it was about brotherhood.
This was the inaugural Golden Cats Golf Tournament with a noon shotgun scramble. The Golden Cats is the former football players' club. There'd be beverages and appetizers at 7 p.m. at the Shamrock Zone at Bill Snyder Family Stadium followed by a formal K-State Senior Recognition celebration attended by even more Golden Cats. The Manhattan Country Club buzzes with activity.
"I've talked with some people who I work with who went to other schools and they don't have something like this," Argo says. "Bringing the young kids in as they graduate and to get them into our family, I mean, family is what we are. Anytime we can do that and recognize then and have that brotherhood is awesome."
The Senior Recognition is the brainchild of K-State head coach Chris Klieman, who enjoyed such an event annually as head coach at North Dakota State.
"We play for all the guys who played before us and all the guys who wore the purple before the guys wearing purple right now," Klieman says, holding a pair of shades while standing under an overhang outside the country club. "We're forever grateful and indebted to those guys."
Eli Huggins will have stories to share with incoming Golden Cats members years from now. He'll tell them about a football career in the midst of COVID, and how he played six years on the gridiron. He'll tell them about the player-led culture inside the locker room. And he'll tell them about the time that he helped execute the greatest goal-line stand in school history against No. 3 TCU during the Wildcats' 31-28 overtime victory in the 2022 Big 12 Championship Game — a play that'll be played and replayed upon the videoboards at Bill Snyder Family Stadium forever and ever. On Friday, Huggins, recovering from a recent injury, sits on a scooter and chats with old teammates.
"This is a great idea and an event that has a ton of potential to bring back a lot of former players and be with the staff," Huggins says. "Hope this event gets bigger and bigger every year."
Klein wears a recently-coveted lavender quarter-zip with the flag-carrying Willie Wildcat. A decade has passed since Klein, a 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist, hoisted the Big 12 Championship trophy. Now the second-year offensive coordinator, one of the brightest young minds in college football, aims to help usher in this new Senior Recognition tradition for the Wildcats.The inaugural Golden Cats golf tournament was a success ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/bgauYL8aBA
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) April 15, 2023
"We could have 200 people here," Klein says. "Why not? It's an unbelievable deal being able to have past players welcome in this class of Golden Cats as they move on with the next phase of their lives. There's a ton of potential. We're trying to grow it as big as we can make it and get as many former players back and involved from a networking standpoint and involvement standpoint and mentorship standpoint.
"Really excited for a lot of the possibilities."
After an hour of swapping stories, munching on appetizers and sharing an icy beverage, the nighttime event begins at 8 p.m. inside the Shamrock Zone. White helmets with purple numerals lay upon a table to the rear of a stage and a podium with dark purple trim. Each Golden Cat inductee will be formally presented with a helmet with his uniform number. The Shamrock Zone is filled with Golden Cats, six to a table, and each heavy dark wood table bears a Powercat helmet, or an alternate helmet, as its centerpiece. Upon one big, tall table sits the 2022 Big 12 Championship trophy. The Governor's Cup Trophy sits upon an adjacent table. Harry Manges, a 94-year-old former K-State player from 1945, sits near the front, closest to the podium, where Klieman stands under seven different K-State logos. Each logo tells a story from a different era, a different time, the evolution of a football program dialed back to its beginnings, and eventually brought to present, where an illuminated purple Powercat rests front and center above the stage.
"Welcome home, former Wildcats," Klieman begins.
Applause fills the air.
"We celebrate you guys," Klieman continues. "We do this, and we do it because of what you guys have done. I can't thank you enough."
Over the 2022 football season, former players Jaime Mendez, Denzel Goolsby, Brooks Barta, Finney and Tysyn Hartman each spoke to the football team. The goal is to keep those passionate stories flowing from former players, who tell tales of adversity and challenge, motivation and dreams, comebacks and success.
"I'd love for you to come back and visit with our team," Klieman says. "Fall camp is an awesome time. If there's ever a time you can come by in August, we'll make it a heck of a day for you — come to practice and the meetings. The message resonates with our players."
The hope is that someday soon the Senior Recognition will move into the Hilton Garden Inn ballroom in Manhattan, that former K-State players numbering close to 500 fill the ballroom and swap stories. Because there are stories to be told, timeworn tales, and the Golden Cat inductees can add their own stories. Tonight, the stories run thick among the group of Golden Cats and current K-State coaches and incoming members — a right of passage for new Golden Cats into a new world as members of an elite club.
"We want to welcome you into our fraternity," former K-State quarterback Stan Weber says. "There are great stories of all the people in this room who played K-State football. I hope you get to meet them. They want to meet you. We want to support each other for the rest of your lives. For the rest of your lives, you are a part of this group. Now I want you to support the next group of players, and the next group.
"Welcome to our fraternity. It doesn't matter if you're 22 or 78, we're all in the same fraternity. K-State football is special because of everything you do today and tomorrow, not just because of the past. It's so special for what happens in the future."
Tonight is about the past, present and future.
There's K-State assistant head coach/passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Van Malone, telling how Boye-Doe went from scout-team wide receiver to starting cornerback in a single week — "I respected his willingness do whatever he could for the team," he says. "I respected his love for K-State." There's Malone wrapping his arm around Vaughn Malone, his son. "When God gave me the blessing to coach my own son, it's something special. I could be no more proud of you to today be around these men."
There's Brian Lepak lauding Sammy Wheeler for his willingness and dedication on special teams as well as his impact as a tight end over a six-year career.
There's Joe Klanderman recounting how Josh Hayes rejoined him at K-State from North Dakota State — "One of the most competitive guys I've ever been around," he says. There's Klanderman recalling Drake Cheatham's dedication to the game and how he shared a meal with him at a Chipotle in Houston. There's Klanderman applauding Julius Brents — "He was a big impact guy for us, and I think he will play a lot of years at the next level," he says. There's Klanderman sharing how Jaylen Pickle adjusted from a four-man front to a three-man front — "He deserves a ton of credit for what he did." There's Klanderman remembering NFL-bound Felix Anudike-Uzomah during the recruiting process — "Three months later, he's put on 40 pounds and he's one of the better players in the country." And there's Klanderman wrapping his arm around Cincere Mason and saying, "He's a guy who I absolutely love."
There's linebackers coach Steve Stanard talking about Thomas Helton, who is resting at home after a recent bout with double-pneumonia, and who played 201 snaps on special teams. Helton recorded his first special-teams tackle against Baylor and pointed at Stanard in the coaches box. There's Stanard calling on former walk-on Nick Allen — "I was so happy when he received a scholarship," Stanard says — and how Allen played on all four special teams and practiced at linebacker every day in place of injured Daniel Green, who would start in the games. "He never complained once," Stanard says.
There's Klein starting off talking about NFL-bound Deuce Vaughn — "Off the charts," Klein says. "You can't say enough about him as a person and player." There's Klein lauding Malik Knowles, sitting down with him prior to the season, talking about his goals — "Watching his growth and maturity in key times, I could not be more proud of him." There's Klein talking about Adrian Martinez — "I just wish we had more time together," he says. There's Klein calling Kade Warner, 'Coach Kade.' "He's one of the best competitors I'd seen in a minute," Klein says. "He makes everything around him better." There's Klein recognizing walk-on Gabe Hoover and wrapping his arm around him — "Special teams to scout-team, whatever the team needed, you never flinched," he says.
There's special teams quality control coach Will Burnham recounting punter/kicker Ty Zentner: "We were talking about whether or not Ty was going to come back for a sixth year. One of the things we talked about was the best hugs in football are in big shirts, hats and confetti. We wanted to be in Dallas in big shirts, hats and confetti. We won the Texas Bowl, and I said, 'Isn't this the best? Big shirts and hats.' He said, 'Yes, but next year there's going to be confetti.' And Ty attacked the season like a mad man. Ty wills things to happen."
And there's defensive tackle coach Mike Tuiasosopo talking about Robert Hentz II, then, with tears welling up in his eyes, thanking departed sixth-year senior Huggins — "Eli Huggins came back for a lot of reasons but that play you made in the Big 12 Championship will live on forever."
"You have left an imprint in our room," Tuiasosopo continues, "because our guys are following your lead. I thank you for the legacy that you left."
Huggins, surrounded by the Golden Cats, his fellow inductees, and his coaches, holds the microphone in his hand. They will pass the mic, yes, to an inductee each year at this event, and he will share some thoughts on behalf of the incoming Golden Cats class. Friday night, the mic got passed to Huggins' hand.
"I want to thank the former players," Huggins begins. "It really takes years and years to build success and everyone in this room has played a part in the success this program in some form or another. You have built the foundation. Success doesn't just happen. It takes a long, long time to get to the point where we are and win a Big 12 Championship.
"Everyone has loved this football program and this university so hard."
The Golden Cats, the members of this grand fraternity, stand, and shower Huggins with applause. The attending Golden Cats and inductee class poses on stage for a group photo. Smiles abound. Handshakes are exchanged along with hugs.Thank you seniors 💜
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) April 17, 2023
2022 Senior Banquet ✨ pic.twitter.com/AmJNh4ifeX
This is just the beginning.
The goal is to soon make the Senior Recognition so heavily-attended that everyone won't be able to fit into a single frame.
Players Mentioned
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NG
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WR
/ Football
NG
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WR
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CB
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P/K
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