New Batch of Corners Ready to Replenish NFL Talent

By: D. Scott Fritchen

At a time when Kansas State's bruising defensive line is the talk and returning starters Daniel Green and Austin Moore could prove to be among the top linebacking duos in the Big 12 Conference, a wealth of defensive discussion centers on the vacancies left by NFL-bound cornerbacks Julius Brents and Ekow Boye-Doe and who might fill their spots.

"There were some sleepless nights wondering what I was going to do without Julius and Ekow," said cornerbacks coach Van Malone, who also serves as assistant head coach. "I'm past it and I'm OK now. We all have to be OK."

Brents, a 6-foot-3, 198-pounder, started in all 27 games of his two-year K-State career, earning All-Big 12 First Team honors while leading the Wildcats with four interceptions and recording 45 tackles and four pass breakups last season. He had a 41.5-inch vertical leap at the NFL Combine, wowed scouts, and became a second-round pick by his hometown Indianapolis Colts.

The 6-foot, 177-pound Boye-Doe played in 42 games with 35 starts over a four-year career with 26 tackles and five pass breakups while running a 4.38 40-yard dash and recording a 37-inch vertical leap at K-State's Pro Day. He signed as a rookie free agent with the Kansas City and has impressed during training camp and in the Chiefs' first preseason game.

"Julius and Ekow set the standard for the (cornerback) room," Malone said. "Because they're not here anymore, that means nothing to me, it doesn't mean anything to our players, and won't mean anything to those fans sitting in the stands. We're going to have to get there and get there fast."

Malone lauded the efforts of four cornerbacks in particular in preseason practice: senior Keenan Garber, junior Justice James, and sophomores Will Lee III and sophomore Jacob Parrish.

The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Parrish, a native of Olathe, Kansas, played in all 14 games and recorded a career-high four tackles and one pass breakup against No. 3 TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game.

"He's a focused athlete, a very competitive guy who runs like the wind, and I'm very happy to have him," Malone said.

Asked to discuss the next step for Parrish, Malone replied, "His leadership."

"He and I have had discussions, and his leadership is important because he's a very good and focused player. I have continually talked to him about having an understanding that everyone is watching. There's no more lead by example. We need him to lead and be a vocal part of our defense because he has the creditability to be able to do that.

"This guy, when he's a junior and senior, he's going to be off the charts with his play. He runs well, he's competitive, he understands the schemes, and he communicates when he's on the field. From that standpoint, I just want him to continue to refine those things. Where I want him to grow the most will be his leadership off the field and being a vocal guy to bring guys along with him."

Garber, a 6-foot, 184-pounder from Lawrence, Kansas, began his career as a reserve wide receiver, then moved to cornerback toward the end of last season. He was pressed into action at cornerback in the Big 12 Championship Game due to an injury to Boye-Doe, and he recorded his first-career tackle while playing 21 defensive snaps.

"Here's a guy who played wide receiver, and toward the end of the latter part of the year decided it wasn't working out for him and he wanted to try something different," Malone said. "He spent a few weeks on scout team and with me in individual meetings trying to learn the position, and the next thing you know, he's in the (Big 12) championship game. It's a really cool story of a guy who got an opportunity and made the most of it."

James (formerly Clemons) is a 5-foot-10, 199-pound native of West Columbia, Texas, who played two seasons at Tyler (Texas) Junior College prior to redshirting last season at K-State. At Tyler, he totaled 51 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions and eight passes defended over his career and earned all-conference honors as a sophomore. James has defensive back football in his blood, as he is the cousin of Quandre Diggs and Quentin Jammer.

"Justice James has been really impressive," Malone said. "He's really worked hard to understand where exactly he needs to be, and more than anything else, it's been cool to watch him be right a whole lot of times. He's really done a good job preparing himself."

Lee arrived at K-State in the spring after transferring from Iowa Western Community College after one season. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Lee was ranked the 15^th-best overall community-college prospect – and the third-best cornerback – in the Class of 2023 by On3. He posted 34 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception and 10 passes defended over 12 games last season, which culminated in NJCAA First Team All-America honors while helping the Reivers capture the NJCAA National Championship.

"Will Lee is a guy who came in and has really locked into the scheme," Malone said. "He said it on the practice field a few times that things are starting to slow down for him. He's a long, aggressive athlete and reminds me a little bit of Julius Brents. I look for big things from him."

Malone tracked back to when Brents first came at K-State. Brents arrived in Manhattan after spending three seasons at Iowa where he was unable to gain a foothold on a starting spot.

"When Julius Brents walked in these doors nobody knew who he was," Malone said. "He was a guy from a different university who didn't make it, you could say. I take pride as a coach getting guys to understand it's a process that they have to go through and that I have to go through.

"No, they won't match (Brents and Boye-Doe) from the start, but they all have the ability to develop into the consistency that those guys showed as they finished out their careers here. Jacob Parrish, Will, Keenan, Justice — those guys are guys I know we're going to be able to depend on game one."

Malone continued.

"They're going to make some mistakes," he said. "Whenever you're playing with young or inexperienced guys, they just haven't seen enough pictures. They're going to struggle at times, but the expectation is they'll lift their games and raise their level to play at a high standard."

And the hope is that they'll reach that standard fast.

Players Mentioned

Ekow Boye-Doe

Julius Brents

Justice Clemons

Keenan Garber

Daniel Green

Will Lee III

Austin Moore

Jacob Parrish

Kansas State University Athletics