A Familiar Newness
Jan 27, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
There's a first for everything, and Josh Manning experienced his first K-State weight and conditioning session last Thursday while Jeremy Jacobs demonstrated to Kansas State players proper lifting technique, mechanics and fundamentals during his own debut as K-State's director of strength and conditioning. Then Manning ran sprints for the first time, and then he ran routes for the first time inside the indoor practice facility. Yes, everything appears new at the football program of which he's very familiar, the school Manning almost joined in 2022 before the native of Lee's Summit, Missouri, chose to stay close to home and begin his college football career with the Tigers.
Now Manning, who decommitted from K-State to play at Missouri a few years ago, is in a way back where he belongs — as a Wildcat.
"Being a hometown kid, I decided to play at Mizzou and play in the SEC because it just seemed right at the time," Manning says. "We had a lot of success my freshman year winning the Cotton Bowl, and we had a really talented wide receiver room, and I grew a lot.
"But I just wanted a change of scenery. There was something in the back of my mind saying, 'What if things were different and I went to K-State?' I just want to leave college football with no regrets."
There will be plenty of firsts along the way — on January 17, Manning opened the doors to the Vanier Family Football Complex for the first time as a member of the K-State football team, and on September 5, Manning will race out of the tunnel at Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the first time in a K-State uniform — but yet there's biting familiarity he feels in Manhattan.
K-State head coach Collin Klein served as the Wildcats' offensive coordinator in 2022 and played a part in Manning's high school recruiting process alongside quarterback Avery Johnson. Manning, a four-start recruit and the No. 38-rated wide receiver nationally by 247Sports, and Johnson, the top-rated dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals, became fast friends on the visit to K-State and daydreamed about the possibilities if they were teammates someday.
Didn't work out in 2022.
But 2026 could be their year.
And Manning hit up Johnson on FaceTime after his visit to K-State in January to reveal his announcement.
"I'm so glad we were able to keep our relationship," Manning says. "When I was getting ready to leave my visit to K-State earlier this month, I was like, 'This is the place I want to be.' I FaceTimed Avery. I told him, and it was amazing how big he was smiling. He's excited that we're going to do things right the second time."
The 6-foot-2, 211-pound Manning heads into his final college season after steadily emerging as a contributor for the Tigers. Manning had 42 catches for 510 yards and three touchdowns over his three seasons at Missouri. He finished fourth on the team with 29 catches for 318 yards and two touchdowns in 2025.
Manning's favorite game was also his best game.
He had a career-high five catches for 63 yards as Missouri stormed back to beat Auburn, 23-17, in double-overtime to silence the crowd of 88,043 at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 18.
"It was fun to hush their fans," Manning says. "I'm a playmaker and I'm explosive. I love the big plays. At the end of the day, I just want to win. That's all I want to do — is just win."
He's eager to do so under Klein and wide receivers coach Thad Ward, who served as K-State wide receivers coach in 2022 before working at Illinois. Ward returned to Manhattan as associate head coach and wide receivers coach in January.
"Me, Klein and Ward have such a good relationship," Manning says. "It's cool that that connection is there. That's not really common, especially in today's age of college football, so to have that genuine relationship is big.
"Klein is very nice and very competitive."
That Klein, who left Texas A&M after two years as offensive coordinator to take over as head coach at K-State, will be calling the plays for the Wildcats? That makes Manning particularly excited for the fall.
"We're going to be explosive," Manning says. "We're going to be explosive this year. We're going to make plays and get yards after catch and get deep balls. Whatever we do, we're going to make the play, and we're going to score a lot of touchdowns."
Scoring touchdowns began at an early age for Manning, who describes himself as that elementary school kid who nobody could catch. He possessed hands and sprinters speed at an early age, and athleticism pumped through his veins. His father, Brian Manning, was a standout wide receiver at Stanford and played for the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers, while his mother, Roxanne, was a basketball player at Arkansas and Colorado State.
"Football? I grew into it," Manning says. "I was around it at a young age. I began playing wide receiver my freshman year in high school. I liked it because I was on the outside, on an island, and usually only had one or two guys to beat. From an early age, I knew I was really good at football.
"I always knew I had a chance."
And now he gets his chance, a new chance, at a place he already knows pretty well, while playing under a head coach, a wide receivers coach that he knows, and playing alongside the quarterback, the close friend, who he remained in contact with over the years.
It's Johnson and Manning, finally together, in purple.
It's new terrain, the start of a new chapter, the beginning of a new journey.
"I'm ready," Manning says. "Let's go make some plays. And let's go win."
There's a first for everything, and Josh Manning experienced his first K-State weight and conditioning session last Thursday while Jeremy Jacobs demonstrated to Kansas State players proper lifting technique, mechanics and fundamentals during his own debut as K-State's director of strength and conditioning. Then Manning ran sprints for the first time, and then he ran routes for the first time inside the indoor practice facility. Yes, everything appears new at the football program of which he's very familiar, the school Manning almost joined in 2022 before the native of Lee's Summit, Missouri, chose to stay close to home and begin his college football career with the Tigers.
Now Manning, who decommitted from K-State to play at Missouri a few years ago, is in a way back where he belongs — as a Wildcat.
"Being a hometown kid, I decided to play at Mizzou and play in the SEC because it just seemed right at the time," Manning says. "We had a lot of success my freshman year winning the Cotton Bowl, and we had a really talented wide receiver room, and I grew a lot.
"But I just wanted a change of scenery. There was something in the back of my mind saying, 'What if things were different and I went to K-State?' I just want to leave college football with no regrets."
There will be plenty of firsts along the way — on January 17, Manning opened the doors to the Vanier Family Football Complex for the first time as a member of the K-State football team, and on September 5, Manning will race out of the tunnel at Bill Snyder Family Stadium for the first time in a K-State uniform — but yet there's biting familiarity he feels in Manhattan.
K-State head coach Collin Klein served as the Wildcats' offensive coordinator in 2022 and played a part in Manning's high school recruiting process alongside quarterback Avery Johnson. Manning, a four-start recruit and the No. 38-rated wide receiver nationally by 247Sports, and Johnson, the top-rated dual-threat quarterback in the nation by Rivals, became fast friends on the visit to K-State and daydreamed about the possibilities if they were teammates someday.
Didn't work out in 2022.
But 2026 could be their year.
And Manning hit up Johnson on FaceTime after his visit to K-State in January to reveal his announcement.
"I'm so glad we were able to keep our relationship," Manning says. "When I was getting ready to leave my visit to K-State earlier this month, I was like, 'This is the place I want to be.' I FaceTimed Avery. I told him, and it was amazing how big he was smiling. He's excited that we're going to do things right the second time."
The 6-foot-2, 211-pound Manning heads into his final college season after steadily emerging as a contributor for the Tigers. Manning had 42 catches for 510 yards and three touchdowns over his three seasons at Missouri. He finished fourth on the team with 29 catches for 318 yards and two touchdowns in 2025.
Manning's favorite game was also his best game.
He had a career-high five catches for 63 yards as Missouri stormed back to beat Auburn, 23-17, in double-overtime to silence the crowd of 88,043 at Jordan-Hare Stadium on October 18.
"It was fun to hush their fans," Manning says. "I'm a playmaker and I'm explosive. I love the big plays. At the end of the day, I just want to win. That's all I want to do — is just win."
He's eager to do so under Klein and wide receivers coach Thad Ward, who served as K-State wide receivers coach in 2022 before working at Illinois. Ward returned to Manhattan as associate head coach and wide receivers coach in January.
"Me, Klein and Ward have such a good relationship," Manning says. "It's cool that that connection is there. That's not really common, especially in today's age of college football, so to have that genuine relationship is big.
"Klein is very nice and very competitive."
That Klein, who left Texas A&M after two years as offensive coordinator to take over as head coach at K-State, will be calling the plays for the Wildcats? That makes Manning particularly excited for the fall.
"We're going to be explosive," Manning says. "We're going to be explosive this year. We're going to make plays and get yards after catch and get deep balls. Whatever we do, we're going to make the play, and we're going to score a lot of touchdowns."
Scoring touchdowns began at an early age for Manning, who describes himself as that elementary school kid who nobody could catch. He possessed hands and sprinters speed at an early age, and athleticism pumped through his veins. His father, Brian Manning, was a standout wide receiver at Stanford and played for the Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers, while his mother, Roxanne, was a basketball player at Arkansas and Colorado State.
"Football? I grew into it," Manning says. "I was around it at a young age. I began playing wide receiver my freshman year in high school. I liked it because I was on the outside, on an island, and usually only had one or two guys to beat. From an early age, I knew I was really good at football.
"I always knew I had a chance."
And now he gets his chance, a new chance, at a place he already knows pretty well, while playing under a head coach, a wide receivers coach that he knows, and playing alongside the quarterback, the close friend, who he remained in contact with over the years.
It's Johnson and Manning, finally together, in purple.
It's new terrain, the start of a new chapter, the beginning of a new journey.
"I'm ready," Manning says. "Let's go make some plays. And let's go win."
Players Mentioned
QB
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