State Pride

By: D. Scott Fritchen

One by one the Kansas State leaders sat shoulder to shoulder in chairs on the second floor of the Ford Center at the 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days on Tuesday morning in Frisco, Texas.

There was junior quarterback Avery Johnson of Wichita, Kansas.

There was senior offensive lineman Taylor Poitier of Kansas City, Kansas.

There was senior linebacker Des Purnell of Topeka, Kansas.

And there was Cody Stufflebean of McPherson, Kansas.

They were proud representatives of a football program that captured the 2022 Big 12 Championship and has won at least nine wins in each of the past three seasons.

Each of them would take turns entering the ESPN Studio and touting K-State to the college football nation.

Each of them would talk about the sense of pride they harbor for their home state.

"It's super cool being able to play for K-State and represent the state of Kansas," Johnson said. "You see it all the time. There's so much talent in the state of Kansas, and it gets overlooked a bunch. K-State does a great job of scooping those players up and developing guys. Four of our five captains here today are from the state of Kansas. It means a lot to be here and represent the state."

Johnson, of course, came to K-State as the highest-rated dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2023, and a year ago was one of three quarterbacks from a Power 4 school to record 2,700 passing yards and 600 rushing yards. He is among the most hyped players in the Big 12 Conference heading into the fall.

He hopes to put on a show for the nation and K-State fans, but there's a particular part of his heart reserved for his family and friends from Wichita and Maize High School.

"It means a lot," Johnson said. "The biggest thing is I get to stay close to my friends and family. I get a lot of support from those people, and they're able to come to games. A lot of people might not realize when you stay in-state and play for K-State you already have a build-in fan base for yourself. So many people come up to me all the time and thank me for staying at K-State, and they're so appreciative. It's not that I need appreciation because this is the place I want to be.

"This is where I want to be."

It's a place that Stufflebean has wanted to be for quite some time. Although Stufflebean was a first team all-state performer and was picked to play in the Kansas Shrine Bowl, he was also the 96^th-rated defensive end by ESPN in the Class of 2020. Perhaps undervalued in some people's eyes, Stufflebean harkened back to many, many years prior when his dream began.

"In the second grade, I took a K-State football to pose with on picture day," Stufflebean said. "I told my parents that Coach Snyder was going to come into our living room. Then Coach Snyder retired, and Coach Klieman came into our living room instead.

"It's been awesome having grown up and being able to play for this great university."

K-State has 33 in-state players on its 109-man roster.

"When you hear the buzzwords, 'blue collar' and 'hard working,' I have a lot of respect for those types of people," Stufflebean said, "and being able to be a part of a program that embodies that is awesome."

It's flowed through the veins of K-State players for more than 30 years. They're traits that Taylor Braet, longtime director of K-State football recruiting, has been able to spot across football fields for years.

"Accountability, charisma, pride and just tough, gritty kids," Braet said. "One thing we are is a blue-collar state and a blue-collar school, and we want blue-collar kids. We all know this in recruiting just as we've watched over the years. We've seen 4-star kids transfer after one semester and we've seen walk-ons drafted in the high rounds.

"There's nothing perfect about it, but if you recruit the right kids who represent who you are and what you are, it takes care of itself."

One such player who is one of the best examples of such characteristics is Purnell, who was born in Fort Riley, Kansas, and who first turned heads when he ran past Manhattan High School in a football game down the street from Bill Snyder Family Stadium — a game that a few K-State coaches attended. Purnell was viewed as the sixth-best prospect in the state of Kansas for the Class of 2021 by 247Sports and a finalist for the 2020 Kansas 3A Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year out of Hayden High School.

"There's huge pride in being from the state of Kansas," Purnell said. "I've lived an hour and a half within everything I've been around. It brings a great sense of pride to me. We're going to outwork you. We don't want to shame our fans and everyone around the state. Kansas State is the best team in the state of Kansas, and there's phenomenal pride."

Poitier, who is of a rare breed in college football to return for a seventh season, thinks back to 2019. He was regarded as the eighth-best player in the state of Kansas and the 56th-best offensive guard in the Class of 2019. He believed that he was overlooked, which was fine, because the Kansas City native had his sights set on the Little Apple.

"A lot of people sleep on football in the state of Kansas," Poitier said. "I tell people, 'You got to come here.' We're a good state when it comes to football. A couple of my friends are coming in and excelling, and then you have Avery and Des and Stuff, and we've seen those players grow and grow.

"There's no idea what their future holds."

Meanwhile, the highest-rated high school prospect ever to sign at K-State is just getting started.

Linkon Cure, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound native of Goodland, Kansas, was rated as the No. 1 high school tight end in the country and the 30^th-best overall player in the Class of 2025. The 5-star signee prepares to participate in training camp with a big fan in Johnson, who easily could spot Cure's talent.

Cure is keeping that in-state pride alive.

"Linkon comes in and puts his head down and works," Johnson said. "He can come in and help us this fall. You go to those other schools, and there's a lot of politics and coaches can overlook you. Linkon can come to K-State and have an impact and really help us a lot early. I'm excited to see what he does this fall. Just because you're the highest recruit in the country doesn't mean you have to go to Alabama or Georgia. There's talent everywhere. NFL teams will find you if you produce and do things the right way."

When it comes to doing things the right way, it typically isn't hard to find.

It's usually inside the Vanier Family Football Complex or on the football field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Linkon Cure

Avery Johnson

Taylor Poitier

Cody Stufflebean

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