Kansas State University Athletics
‘I Really Trusted my Heart’
Dec 17, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Although Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman says that he knew Linkon Cure was going to be a Wildcat when the nation's No. 1-rated high school tight end took his official visit to Manhattan in June, Cure endured a sleepless night as hours dwindled toward his signing-day decision on December 4.
At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Cure is the top-rated high school prospect ever to sign at K-State and possesses a God-given blend of speed and athleticism that makes him one of the most agile athletes to wear a Wildcat uniform. Yet he was still an 18-year-old sitting and laying in silence as time ticked down toward whether the pride of Goodland, Kansas, would pursue his college career in the Sunflower State.
He had 28 scholarship offers, narrowing it down to K-State and Oregon.
"I stayed up all night contemplating my decision," Cure said. "It was a lot closer than some people think. That morning, I ultimately came up with that decision that I was happy with."
Imagine the looks on the faces of the K-State coaches when Cure popped up on the Signing Day Zoom call with the rest of the Wildcats' signees at around 8:20 a.m. wearing a K-State shirt and hat.
"The coaching staff was a little worried while I was still making my decision," he said. "Yeah, I was pretty happy with my decision. Signing that paper and seeing all their faces made me happy. That was a special moment, one I'll always remember."
It wasn't until 9 a.m. while doing a live online interview with 247Sports that they discovered Cure's intention. Then later that morning, folks filed into the school auditorium for an 11:30 a.m. signing day ceremony. The room was decorated in purple and white colors.
"We had a lot of K-State stuff set up when people walked in, but even my sister when she left the house for school just wore a random shirt because she didn't even know what I'd chosen yet," Cure said, chuckling.
K-State was the first school to offer Cure a scholarship on June 14, 2023. Iowa State offered Cure two days later. Then Kansas and Missouri offered. Things really began to pick up once Penn State offered Cure on September 12, 2023. Wisconsin and Purdue offered the same day. The remainder of September included offers from Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Michigan, Florida, Texas A&M, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Iowa.
Oregon offered Cure a scholarship on October 3, 2023, and three more offers came in from Tennessee and Notre Dame and Oklahoma that month. The month of January 2024 included offers from Duke, USC, Michigan State, Colorado, UCLA and Miami. Texas offered in March, along with Alabama.
In all, Cure took unofficial visits to Penn State, Miami, Texas A&M, according to 247Sports, and he took official visits to Kansas, Texas A&M, Oregon and K-State.
That's a lot for anyone to digest — much less an 18-year-old who is trying to balance high school academics, sports, and life with family and friends.
"It was a rollercoaster," Cure said. "It was really crazy. I had K-State, and then I went to camps and got a couple offers. When the season hit, that's when Penn State offered, and everybody came after that. It really took off from there, and I got to go on a lot of gameday visits. I got to go to a Penn State white-out game, I got to rush the field at KU, and I had some really special opportunities."
Cure was rated as the 32nd-best overall player in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports and ranked No. 16 on the 247Sports 2025 Freaks List. On the football field, he had 42 catches for 946 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior, and 1,049 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns in addition to 208 rushing yards and six scores as a senior. Off the football field, he is a standout performer in basketball and track and field — a two-time state champion in the 300-meter hurdles in addition to a state title in the 110-meter hurdles as a junior.
"How we're going to utilize him, he can be a flex guy, he can be a pseudo-wide receiver as he develops from a weight and strength standpoint to being an in-line tight end," Klieman said. "His versatility is going to be so important for what we do offensively, and we can highlight guys like that, and the fact that he's one of the best athletes in the country, speed, size, strength, ability to jump and run and all those things, we're excited to get him."
Asked if football was his first love growing up, Cure referred to a photograph of him wearing a Denver Broncos jersey as an infant. His cousin, Mitch Unrein, played seven years in the NFL with the Broncos, Chargers and Bears.
"Yeah, probably football was my first love, but I was all over the place," he said. "I did swimming, track, baseball and basketball. Basketball was my favorite probably freshman and sophomore year, and then my body started developing."
As he grew, so did his interest on a state and national level.
And he chose K-State.
"They were there at the beginning of my process," Cure said. "They didn't have a lot of film on me my sophomore year because I was injured, so all they had was basketball and track, and I went to their camp, and they trusted what they saw there, and they showed me they were there for me from the very beginning. At the end, they kept recruiting me hard. There was nothing but love for me. I love the fan base, the culture, the area, and it's close to home. I'm definitely happy with my decision.
"I really trusted my heart."
And that closed the end of a wild 18-month journey and opened the door to the start of a new chapter.
"Again, really a lot of relief now," he said. "When I signed, it felt like a lot of weight was taken off my shoulders. I'm definitely blessed for the opportunities and the journey I went on, but it was a lot of added stress and pressure. Especially being in a smaller community, all eyes are on me, and also around the country, so it was definitely a really special moment for it to be over.
"The person I am, my mind immediately went to, 'Let's go to work.' I was ready to start Zoom calls with tight ends coach Brian Lepak to learn the playbook and start the strength program. I want to prepare myself the best to be great."
But first, Cure, who graduates in May, has unfinished business at Goodland High School.
"What's important to me is giving back to the people who gave to me," he said. "Playing basketball and getting the state track record is really valuable to me."
What can K-State fans expect to see from Cure in the fall?
"Really all of the above," he replied. "I'm explosive, very agile. At my size, it's pretty rare to do the things that I can do. My athleticism is pretty important to me. I'm an all-the-above player.
"I really want to make an early impact," he added. "In whatever way I can see the field, I want to get on the field. That's extremely important to me. It's going to require a lot of work, but I'm willing to do whatever I can and even more.
"I'm ready to get to work."
Although Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman says that he knew Linkon Cure was going to be a Wildcat when the nation's No. 1-rated high school tight end took his official visit to Manhattan in June, Cure endured a sleepless night as hours dwindled toward his signing-day decision on December 4.
At 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, Cure is the top-rated high school prospect ever to sign at K-State and possesses a God-given blend of speed and athleticism that makes him one of the most agile athletes to wear a Wildcat uniform. Yet he was still an 18-year-old sitting and laying in silence as time ticked down toward whether the pride of Goodland, Kansas, would pursue his college career in the Sunflower State.
He had 28 scholarship offers, narrowing it down to K-State and Oregon.
"I stayed up all night contemplating my decision," Cure said. "It was a lot closer than some people think. That morning, I ultimately came up with that decision that I was happy with."
Imagine the looks on the faces of the K-State coaches when Cure popped up on the Signing Day Zoom call with the rest of the Wildcats' signees at around 8:20 a.m. wearing a K-State shirt and hat.
"The coaching staff was a little worried while I was still making my decision," he said. "Yeah, I was pretty happy with my decision. Signing that paper and seeing all their faces made me happy. That was a special moment, one I'll always remember."
It wasn't until 9 a.m. while doing a live online interview with 247Sports that they discovered Cure's intention. Then later that morning, folks filed into the school auditorium for an 11:30 a.m. signing day ceremony. The room was decorated in purple and white colors.
"We had a lot of K-State stuff set up when people walked in, but even my sister when she left the house for school just wore a random shirt because she didn't even know what I'd chosen yet," Cure said, chuckling.
K-State was the first school to offer Cure a scholarship on June 14, 2023. Iowa State offered Cure two days later. Then Kansas and Missouri offered. Things really began to pick up once Penn State offered Cure on September 12, 2023. Wisconsin and Purdue offered the same day. The remainder of September included offers from Vanderbilt, Nebraska, Michigan, Florida, Texas A&M, Auburn, Oklahoma State and Iowa.
Oregon offered Cure a scholarship on October 3, 2023, and three more offers came in from Tennessee and Notre Dame and Oklahoma that month. The month of January 2024 included offers from Duke, USC, Michigan State, Colorado, UCLA and Miami. Texas offered in March, along with Alabama.
In all, Cure took unofficial visits to Penn State, Miami, Texas A&M, according to 247Sports, and he took official visits to Kansas, Texas A&M, Oregon and K-State.
That's a lot for anyone to digest — much less an 18-year-old who is trying to balance high school academics, sports, and life with family and friends.
"It was a rollercoaster," Cure said. "It was really crazy. I had K-State, and then I went to camps and got a couple offers. When the season hit, that's when Penn State offered, and everybody came after that. It really took off from there, and I got to go on a lot of gameday visits. I got to go to a Penn State white-out game, I got to rush the field at KU, and I had some really special opportunities."
Cure was rated as the 32nd-best overall player in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports and ranked No. 16 on the 247Sports 2025 Freaks List. On the football field, he had 42 catches for 946 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior, and 1,049 receiving yards with 17 touchdowns in addition to 208 rushing yards and six scores as a senior. Off the football field, he is a standout performer in basketball and track and field — a two-time state champion in the 300-meter hurdles in addition to a state title in the 110-meter hurdles as a junior.
"How we're going to utilize him, he can be a flex guy, he can be a pseudo-wide receiver as he develops from a weight and strength standpoint to being an in-line tight end," Klieman said. "His versatility is going to be so important for what we do offensively, and we can highlight guys like that, and the fact that he's one of the best athletes in the country, speed, size, strength, ability to jump and run and all those things, we're excited to get him."
Asked if football was his first love growing up, Cure referred to a photograph of him wearing a Denver Broncos jersey as an infant. His cousin, Mitch Unrein, played seven years in the NFL with the Broncos, Chargers and Bears.
"Yeah, probably football was my first love, but I was all over the place," he said. "I did swimming, track, baseball and basketball. Basketball was my favorite probably freshman and sophomore year, and then my body started developing."
As he grew, so did his interest on a state and national level.
And he chose K-State.
"They were there at the beginning of my process," Cure said. "They didn't have a lot of film on me my sophomore year because I was injured, so all they had was basketball and track, and I went to their camp, and they trusted what they saw there, and they showed me they were there for me from the very beginning. At the end, they kept recruiting me hard. There was nothing but love for me. I love the fan base, the culture, the area, and it's close to home. I'm definitely happy with my decision.
"I really trusted my heart."
And that closed the end of a wild 18-month journey and opened the door to the start of a new chapter.
"Again, really a lot of relief now," he said. "When I signed, it felt like a lot of weight was taken off my shoulders. I'm definitely blessed for the opportunities and the journey I went on, but it was a lot of added stress and pressure. Especially being in a smaller community, all eyes are on me, and also around the country, so it was definitely a really special moment for it to be over.
"The person I am, my mind immediately went to, 'Let's go to work.' I was ready to start Zoom calls with tight ends coach Brian Lepak to learn the playbook and start the strength program. I want to prepare myself the best to be great."
But first, Cure, who graduates in May, has unfinished business at Goodland High School.
"What's important to me is giving back to the people who gave to me," he said. "Playing basketball and getting the state track record is really valuable to me."
What can K-State fans expect to see from Cure in the fall?
"Really all of the above," he replied. "I'm explosive, very agile. At my size, it's pretty rare to do the things that I can do. My athleticism is pretty important to me. I'm an all-the-above player.
"I really want to make an early impact," he added. "In whatever way I can see the field, I want to get on the field. That's extremely important to me. It's going to require a lot of work, but I'm willing to do whatever I can and even more.
"I'm ready to get to work."
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