Looking to Make an International Introduction

By: D. Scott Fritchen

He wears a white hoodie and sits in the front row in the team theater room at the Vanier Family Football Complex. Nobody is for sure who he is. But they know he is someone. When he stands and is introduced as Jaron Tibbs — here come the cameras. It's Tibbs in the flesh, the 6-foot-2, 212-pound transfer wide receiver we've seen glimpses of while making spectacular catches during Kansas State training camp. He's been the buzz. We just hadn't made a formal introduction.

Tibbs shakes hands and is all smiles.

He hopes that he and his teammates are smiling even wider after No. 17 K-State plays No. 22 Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, on Saturday.

"I just want to show that we're the most explosive team in the country," Tibbs says. "I want to show them what I can do."

Tibbs, a junior who will wear the No. 12 jersey this season, started turning heads almost the minute he stepped on the football field in the spring. He was everywhere. Seemed there was nothing that he couldn't do on the football field. Then in training camp, he went up high in the back of the end zone and came down with a grab. Another time, he laid out flat, midair, floating, waiting to gobble up a ball for a big gain.

"Yeah, he's good," K-State first-year offensive coordinator Matt Wells said last week, trying to conceal a half smile. "I think he's going to have a very good year."

Added wide receivers coach Matthew Middleton: "He's a really savvy, confident football player."

It was during the second week of December, following a recruiting dinner at K-State during a 36-hour visit, that this all began.

That's when Tibbs found himself "chopping it up" with junior quarterback Avery Johnson in his sports car. Tibbs, on a visit from his home in Indianapolis, Indiana, sought a new college football home after two seasons spent at in-state Purdue. He had seen Johnson's highlights on SportsCenter as he eluded would-be tacklers and threw darts to wide receiver Jayce Brown. Tibbs envisioned himself playing opposite Brown — a potentially deadly one-two punch, yet he just needed this trip to confirm his decision.

"I was definitely envisioning this," Tibbs says, recalling the conversation. "(Johnson) was telling me how last season was kind of underwhelming and how what we needed were some explosive receivers. I was like, 'That's exactly what I'm looking for, too.' I was like, 'This thing can definitely work out.'"

Tibbs cancelled his remaining recruiting visits to Arkansas and USC.

"K-State is getting a player that's ready to come in and is all about winning and just wants to help take this program to the next level," Tibbs said upon signing with K-State on December 18.

And now Tibbs is going to be catching footballs from Johnson as a starting wide receiver alongside 6-foot, 179-pound junior Jayce Brown and 6-foot-5, 223-pound senior transfer Jerand Bradley in the season opener.

"Now that I know the offense and have a connection with Avery and the other guys on offense, I understand my role and how I fit into the offense," Tibbs says. "I'm a deep-ball contested-catch type of guy. Third down, I get what we need to get to move the sticks."

It appears Tibbs' talents will mesh well with Brown and Bradley.

Brown has 18 starts over a two-year span to his credit, and he owns a career 17.0-yard average per reception, which ranks eighth in K-State history and fifth among active FBS players, and he was the seventh-fastest player to reach 1,000 career receiving yards as a Wildcat.

Last season, Brown tied for fourth in the FBS with seven catches of at least 40 yards and eighth with four receptions of at least 50 yards. He also posted 25 receptions of at least 20 yards, which equated to 53.2% of his total catches.

Bradley had 51 catches for 744 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman at Texas Tech in 2022 before eventually moving onto Boston College, and he brings 4.5 speed.

"JB is the perfect addition to the trio," Tibbs says. "If Jayce isn't open, and I'm not open, there's JB, and you can't double-team all of us. If you double-team one of us or two of us, that's going to leave one-on-ones for one of us and JB into the boundary one-on-one. I haven't seen a defensive back that can stop him because he's so big and physical. On a deep ball, you can't really press him, but if you play over top, he's going to go downhill and get the ball."

Tibbs' athleticism coupled with deft route running in traffic and speed on the post makes the sure-handed pass catcher and virtual threat across the field. After recording just five catches for 42 yards as a freshman at Purdue, he ranked third among the Boilermakers with 25 catches for 305 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore.

He got to business with Johnson soon after he arrived in Manhattan for good. They clicked instantly. After only a couple spring practices, Johnson was consistently hitting Tibbs with the deep balls.

"Being able to throw to a guy like Tibbs, it makes my job 10 times easier," Johnson says. "He's a big target. The dude can jump up and get jump balls, and he's smooth with strong hands. I can be off a little bit, and he can make up for it. Being able to have a forgiving receiver to throw to definitely makes me excited for the season."

K-State head coach Chris Klieman applauds their connection.

"What those two did in the summer was the unrequired when we weren't around them," Klieman says. "Avery had guys throw with him in June and July. I've seen a guy grow in confidence as we've been in camp and he's been very, very productive. He's a big target, runs really good routes, has the ability to stretch the field as well as run under the ball.

"The time that he and Avery have spent together in the film room or on different routes on air and getting that chemistry has been really fun to watch."

It all really gets underway on Saturday in Dublin.

"From what I've heard, there's supposed to be a lot of Kansas State fans there," Tibbs says. "I'm excited to see all the excitement from the fan base."

If cheers might ring out across Aviva Stadium, there might be a reason why. Tibbs is making his international introduction.

Everyone might know him after Saturday.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jerand Bradley

Jayce Brown

Avery Johnson

Jaron Tibbs

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