Nov 12, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Understand that it wasn't supposed to go down like this. The Colorado defender, who seemingly climbed a ladder at the 20-yard line, and swiped with both hands, straining while arching his back, came up empty as the towering football seemingly hung in the air, and the Colorado defender fell upon his back. His back on the turf, he could only turn his head in time to witness the football's final descent. Standing five yards away, near the sideline, Kansas State tight end Linkon Cure corralled the football as it reached a smooth landing between his arms and the No. 0 upon his white jersey. The football found its home.
"I didn't think it'd get to me," Cure says, a grin breaking across his face. "So, I was surprised."
But there he was, Cure, the 6-foot-5, 242-pound native of Goodland, Kansas, the highest-rated high school prospect ever to sign at K-State, and an all-state track performer at Goodland High School with a blend of speed and athleticism that makes him one of the most agile athletes to wear a Wildcat uniform, standing alone, his feet planted upon the turf of Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, the mountains so high, but at the moment, Cure's adrenaline much higher, as he snatched the football seemingly delivered by quarterback Blake Barnett with ease, and the football now tucked tight against Cure's body like the last loaf of bread at Dillons on South Range Avenue in Goodland.
As Cure turned and looked up field, he saw Colorado linebacker Liona Lefau dart across the field toward him, and so Cure turned on the juice, and he bullied his way down the sideline, lowering his helmet and upper body into cornerbacks Cree Thomas and Randon Fontenette, and knocking them backward. Lefau dived into the action from behind, and while he was unable to wrap his arms around Cure, Lefau's momentum unknowingly helped Cure's final push, and Cure bulldozed Lefau, Thomas and Fontenette over the final three yards and into the end zone near the front corner pylon.
Cure, who played in nine games with two starts while splitting time at wide receiver as a K-State true freshman last season, and who has played in nine games with one start at tight end this season, and who has recorded 24 catches for 222 yards over his first two seasons at K-State, rose to his feet and stood in that black end zone at Folsom Field, as teammates swarmed him in celebration, and crisp 50-degree mountain air cooled his sweat at the hottest moment to this point in his college career.
Cure's 25-yard reception on the previous play at Colorado marked the longest reception of his K-State career, but that feat didn't last long. Cure's heroics on the very next play — the 33-yard reception that found him standing in the end zone — topped it all. His 33-yard catch was now his longest at K-State, and for all his athleticism and soft hands, his touchdown at Colorado — 18 games into his promising career — was Cure's very first touchdown as a Wildcat.
"He just keeps getting better and better," says first-year K-State head coach Collin Klein, who led the recruitment of Cure to Manhattan. "We're getting him the ball more in space and his comfortability with the ability to do something with it after the catch has been big and that spatial awareness has continued to grow. He just has to keep plugging along."
Cure had 28 scholarship offers, beginning with a scholarship offer from K-State on June 14, 2023. It was Klein, then K-State's offensive coordinator, who recruited Cure the hardest of anybody in the country. Cure and Klein spoke "almost every day," Cure says, "and they were the long phone calls, and they weren't always about football." Between January and March, Cure received scholarship offers from Duke, USC, Michigan State, Colorado, UCLA, Miami, Texas and Alabama. He visited Penn State, Miami, Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas A&M, Oregon and K-State.
In the end, it came down to K-State and Oregon, and Cure spent the night of December 3, 2024, sleepless while contemplating his college destination one final time before finally signing his National Letter of Intent at 8:20 a.m. to play football for the Wildcats. Hours later, the Goodland High School auditorium was decorated in purple and white for a ceremony to honor Cure, who is listed on one website as one of the 15 most famous people ever to call Goodland home, and who was the No. 1 high school tight end in America, and a three-time state champion in track. K-State loved Cure's versatility, his speed, size, strength, vertical leap, and, when it came down to it, man, it just came down to the fact that Cure was largely unstoppable on the football field, or in any arena, carrying that special blend of talent and competitive fire as an 18-year-old that some college athletes never fully achieve. He looked older, performed older and carried himself older — a young man possessing that aura and cool vibe that could fill any room.
"I even went to a basketball game in Goodland and watched him compete in person on the basketball court," Klein says. "That was one of the first times I saw him. He's a tremendous athlete."
Last season, the aura and Cure's cool vibes dissipated somewhat, as Cure, with his dark brown hair and sweet moustache, didn't smile as much as a true freshman while attempting to play through a knee injury, and he just never felt quite right, because "something was always hurting," and he says that he lived in a personal world of "could've beens," which he contends was the hardest part. He had six catches for 37 yards while appearing in nine games with two starts last season. In the land of the Little Apple was Big Frustration for the highest-rated player ever to walk into the Vanier Family Football Complex.
A polite analogy shared by K-State tight ends coach Brian Lepak a few months ago snapped Cure back into… being Cure again.
"In fall camp, Coach Lepak knew I watched Rocky movies, and he talked about the 'Eye of the Tiger,' and how I was in that phase in my life where I need to get my 'Eye of the Tiger' back like Rocky did," Cure says. "I took that piece of advice from him and went about my business better. I walked through the football facility with more of an attitude, a drive, and a motivation.
"That's the best piece of advice I received going into the season. I began going about things a lot differently."
As a freshman, Cure reported to K-State at 225 pounds and with 11% body fat. As a sophomore, Cure reported to K-State at 245 pounds — while maintaining just 11% body fat. The secret? Water and cherry juice along with a nutrient-dense diet and fierce workout regimen. Previously not big into working on his legs, Cure over the course of six weeks in winter conditioning improved his squat by 30 pounds more than originally predicted — a cool 435 pounds on the squat rack.
And now? He's barreling over three defenders into the end zone at Colorado.
"I was a little tired from the play before," Cure says, referring to his 25-yard catch. "On the touchdown play, I saw the play come in from the sideline, and knew the route, and that the route had worked all week in practice. I knew Blake was going to look at me. I got open, the ball went through the hands of the Colorado defender, and I didn't think the ball would get to me, so I was a little surprised that it ended up in my hands. I was a little bit tired, but I had to get the legs going a little bit, and I saw the Colorado players in front of me, and I knew I had to go through them."
The journey continues. Sophomore slump? Naw. Cure is cruising as a pass catcher and blocker and as an integral piece in the K-State offense, wracked by injuries this fall, that has featured four different starting quarterbacks for the first time in school history. Either sophomore Dillon Duff or junior Blake Barnett will start at quarterback when K-State, 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, visits TCU, 4-5 and 2-4, in Saturday's 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
"I have all the confidence and belief in every one of those guys," Cure says. "I know how hard they work. I was super happy and proud of Blake and obviously Duff got his chance, and I was super excited and proud of him. Just watching those guys get their chances and make the most of it, it's super special to see."
After Cure had three catches for a career-high 65 yards and his first touchdown at Colorado, Cure had a career-high five catches for 33 yards against Oklahoma State last Saturday in Manhattan.
He yearns for more special moments this season as a Wildcat.
"Man, in these last couple games, I just want to search for those opportunities, blocking and with the ball, and just continue to grow as a player, and get back to that feeling of me, and the type of player I am, and the type of talent and athleticism I hold," Cure says. "I want to get my X factor back. I want to continue to get these opportunities these last couple games and continue to prove myself."
As for what others think of Cure, his impact, and his potential? That's on display in major grocery stores in Manhattan. Cure has his own signature drink as part of K-State athlete partnerships. The drink is called, "Cure Half & Half," and is a custom iced tea and lemonade drink (similar to an Arnold Palmer) concocted by Flint Hills Beverage. The drink magically also ended up in Goodland, with the image of Cure in his K-State uniform wrapped around the can — the latest tangible testament of Cure's hard work, and an example of what young players can potentially achieve through dedication and by listening to their coaches.
"The drink tastes pretty good," Cure says. "Everybody says they taste pretty good. I hope they're not lying to me. They've made it into stores in Goodland. That's what so special to me. Man, if I were a kid and somebody would've told me I'd have a drink being sold, I wouldn't have believed it. That's special. Whenever I see the can, I can't believe it."
Cure, who only continues to grow during the sophomore season of his K-State journey, is even taken aback at times when he returns to Goodland and hears about his impact within the community despite his stay in Manhattan — 300 miles away.
"It feels awesome, and I'm just going to continue giving back to my community and to those kids," Cure says. "I know they look up to me. I know coaches, when they're coaching their kids, they tell me, 'Man, if I can't get my kids to do something, I just tell them that Linkon did it, and it works out.' So, they do it. Stuff like that, that's the impact you want to have, and the impact I came here to have, was to impact kids' lives and that I could impact lives in a very positive way.
"Going back there, it's super special."
Klein spotted that specialness a long time ago on the football field. He's seeing Cure unbottle his potential as the days wear on this fall.
"I'm proud of just how he continues to grow into the tight end position," Klein says. "His technique is getting better, his blocking is getting better, his route running is becoming more consistent. For him to get some results from that process, and to be able to channel the God-given ability he has, I've been really happy to see that from him."
The happiness from Cure's exploit on the 33-yard touchdown at Colorado remains with an ever-present smile slapped across Cure's face at mere mention of that particular play and the final three yards chugging into the end zone.
And for good reason.
"It was one of the best feelings, for sure, just the amount of relief and weight lifted off my shoulder," Cure says. "Yeah, it was a special moment for me."
There are plenty more special moments to come for Cure, the hometown hero and the top-rated player ever to sign at K-State, who continues to grow, has his own beverage, and is armed with tools to become a top tight end in the Big 12.
At the moment, Cure is talking about Colorado, as the play runs through his head again after practice earlier this week.
"Yeah," he says, "I was going to do anything I could to get that touchdown."
Understand that it wasn't supposed to go down like this. The Colorado defender, who seemingly climbed a ladder at the 20-yard line, and swiped with both hands, straining while arching his back, came up empty as the towering football seemingly hung in the air, and the Colorado defender fell upon his back. His back on the turf, he could only turn his head in time to witness the football's final descent. Standing five yards away, near the sideline, Kansas State tight end Linkon Cure corralled the football as it reached a smooth landing between his arms and the No. 0 upon his white jersey. The football found its home.
"I didn't think it'd get to me," Cure says, a grin breaking across his face. "So, I was surprised."
But there he was, Cure, the 6-foot-5, 242-pound native of Goodland, Kansas, the highest-rated high school prospect ever to sign at K-State, and an all-state track performer at Goodland High School with a blend of speed and athleticism that makes him one of the most agile athletes to wear a Wildcat uniform, standing alone, his feet planted upon the turf of Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado, the mountains so high, but at the moment, Cure's adrenaline much higher, as he snatched the football seemingly delivered by quarterback Blake Barnett with ease, and the football now tucked tight against Cure's body like the last loaf of bread at Dillons on South Range Avenue in Goodland.
As Cure turned and looked up field, he saw Colorado linebacker Liona Lefau dart across the field toward him, and so Cure turned on the juice, and he bullied his way down the sideline, lowering his helmet and upper body into cornerbacks Cree Thomas and Randon Fontenette, and knocking them backward. Lefau dived into the action from behind, and while he was unable to wrap his arms around Cure, Lefau's momentum unknowingly helped Cure's final push, and Cure bulldozed Lefau, Thomas and Fontenette over the final three yards and into the end zone near the front corner pylon.
Cure, who played in nine games with two starts while splitting time at wide receiver as a K-State true freshman last season, and who has played in nine games with one start at tight end this season, and who has recorded 24 catches for 222 yards over his first two seasons at K-State, rose to his feet and stood in that black end zone at Folsom Field, as teammates swarmed him in celebration, and crisp 50-degree mountain air cooled his sweat at the hottest moment to this point in his college career.
Cure's 25-yard reception on the previous play at Colorado marked the longest reception of his K-State career, but that feat didn't last long. Cure's heroics on the very next play — the 33-yard reception that found him standing in the end zone — topped it all. His 33-yard catch was now his longest at K-State, and for all his athleticism and soft hands, his touchdown at Colorado — 18 games into his promising career — was Cure's very first touchdown as a Wildcat.
"He just keeps getting better and better," says first-year K-State head coach Collin Klein, who led the recruitment of Cure to Manhattan. "We're getting him the ball more in space and his comfortability with the ability to do something with it after the catch has been big and that spatial awareness has continued to grow. He just has to keep plugging along."
Cure had 28 scholarship offers, beginning with a scholarship offer from K-State on June 14, 2023. It was Klein, then K-State's offensive coordinator, who recruited Cure the hardest of anybody in the country. Cure and Klein spoke "almost every day," Cure says, "and they were the long phone calls, and they weren't always about football." Between January and March, Cure received scholarship offers from Duke, USC, Michigan State, Colorado, UCLA, Miami, Texas and Alabama. He visited Penn State, Miami, Texas A&M, Kansas, Texas A&M, Oregon and K-State.
In the end, it came down to K-State and Oregon, and Cure spent the night of December 3, 2024, sleepless while contemplating his college destination one final time before finally signing his National Letter of Intent at 8:20 a.m. to play football for the Wildcats. Hours later, the Goodland High School auditorium was decorated in purple and white for a ceremony to honor Cure, who is listed on one website as one of the 15 most famous people ever to call Goodland home, and who was the No. 1 high school tight end in America, and a three-time state champion in track. K-State loved Cure's versatility, his speed, size, strength, vertical leap, and, when it came down to it, man, it just came down to the fact that Cure was largely unstoppable on the football field, or in any arena, carrying that special blend of talent and competitive fire as an 18-year-old that some college athletes never fully achieve. He looked older, performed older and carried himself older — a young man possessing that aura and cool vibe that could fill any room.
"I even went to a basketball game in Goodland and watched him compete in person on the basketball court," Klein says. "That was one of the first times I saw him. He's a tremendous athlete."
Last season, the aura and Cure's cool vibes dissipated somewhat, as Cure, with his dark brown hair and sweet moustache, didn't smile as much as a true freshman while attempting to play through a knee injury, and he just never felt quite right, because "something was always hurting," and he says that he lived in a personal world of "could've beens," which he contends was the hardest part. He had six catches for 37 yards while appearing in nine games with two starts last season. In the land of the Little Apple was Big Frustration for the highest-rated player ever to walk into the Vanier Family Football Complex.
A polite analogy shared by K-State tight ends coach Brian Lepak a few months ago snapped Cure back into… being Cure again.
"In fall camp, Coach Lepak knew I watched Rocky movies, and he talked about the 'Eye of the Tiger,' and how I was in that phase in my life where I need to get my 'Eye of the Tiger' back like Rocky did," Cure says. "I took that piece of advice from him and went about my business better. I walked through the football facility with more of an attitude, a drive, and a motivation.
"That's the best piece of advice I received going into the season. I began going about things a lot differently."
As a freshman, Cure reported to K-State at 225 pounds and with 11% body fat. As a sophomore, Cure reported to K-State at 245 pounds — while maintaining just 11% body fat. The secret? Water and cherry juice along with a nutrient-dense diet and fierce workout regimen. Previously not big into working on his legs, Cure over the course of six weeks in winter conditioning improved his squat by 30 pounds more than originally predicted — a cool 435 pounds on the squat rack.
And now? He's barreling over three defenders into the end zone at Colorado.
"I was a little tired from the play before," Cure says, referring to his 25-yard catch. "On the touchdown play, I saw the play come in from the sideline, and knew the route, and that the route had worked all week in practice. I knew Blake was going to look at me. I got open, the ball went through the hands of the Colorado defender, and I didn't think the ball would get to me, so I was a little surprised that it ended up in my hands. I was a little bit tired, but I had to get the legs going a little bit, and I saw the Colorado players in front of me, and I knew I had to go through them."
The journey continues. Sophomore slump? Naw. Cure is cruising as a pass catcher and blocker and as an integral piece in the K-State offense, wracked by injuries this fall, that has featured four different starting quarterbacks for the first time in school history. Either sophomore Dillon Duff or junior Blake Barnett will start at quarterback when K-State, 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, visits TCU, 4-5 and 2-4, in Saturday's 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.
"I have all the confidence and belief in every one of those guys," Cure says. "I know how hard they work. I was super happy and proud of Blake and obviously Duff got his chance, and I was super excited and proud of him. Just watching those guys get their chances and make the most of it, it's super special to see."
After Cure had three catches for a career-high 65 yards and his first touchdown at Colorado, Cure had a career-high five catches for 33 yards against Oklahoma State last Saturday in Manhattan.
He yearns for more special moments this season as a Wildcat.
"Man, in these last couple games, I just want to search for those opportunities, blocking and with the ball, and just continue to grow as a player, and get back to that feeling of me, and the type of player I am, and the type of talent and athleticism I hold," Cure says. "I want to get my X factor back. I want to continue to get these opportunities these last couple games and continue to prove myself."
As for what others think of Cure, his impact, and his potential? That's on display in major grocery stores in Manhattan. Cure has his own signature drink as part of K-State athlete partnerships. The drink is called, "Cure Half & Half," and is a custom iced tea and lemonade drink (similar to an Arnold Palmer) concocted by Flint Hills Beverage. The drink magically also ended up in Goodland, with the image of Cure in his K-State uniform wrapped around the can — the latest tangible testament of Cure's hard work, and an example of what young players can potentially achieve through dedication and by listening to their coaches.
"The drink tastes pretty good," Cure says. "Everybody says they taste pretty good. I hope they're not lying to me. They've made it into stores in Goodland. That's what so special to me. Man, if I were a kid and somebody would've told me I'd have a drink being sold, I wouldn't have believed it. That's special. Whenever I see the can, I can't believe it."
Cure, who only continues to grow during the sophomore season of his K-State journey, is even taken aback at times when he returns to Goodland and hears about his impact within the community despite his stay in Manhattan — 300 miles away.
"It feels awesome, and I'm just going to continue giving back to my community and to those kids," Cure says. "I know they look up to me. I know coaches, when they're coaching their kids, they tell me, 'Man, if I can't get my kids to do something, I just tell them that Linkon did it, and it works out.' So, they do it. Stuff like that, that's the impact you want to have, and the impact I came here to have, was to impact kids' lives and that I could impact lives in a very positive way.
"Going back there, it's super special."
Klein spotted that specialness a long time ago on the football field. He's seeing Cure unbottle his potential as the days wear on this fall.
"I'm proud of just how he continues to grow into the tight end position," Klein says. "His technique is getting better, his blocking is getting better, his route running is becoming more consistent. For him to get some results from that process, and to be able to channel the God-given ability he has, I've been really happy to see that from him."
The happiness from Cure's exploit on the 33-yard touchdown at Colorado remains with an ever-present smile slapped across Cure's face at mere mention of that particular play and the final three yards chugging into the end zone.
And for good reason.
"It was one of the best feelings, for sure, just the amount of relief and weight lifted off my shoulder," Cure says. "Yeah, it was a special moment for me."
There are plenty more special moments to come for Cure, the hometown hero and the top-rated player ever to sign at K-State, who continues to grow, has his own beverage, and is armed with tools to become a top tight end in the Big 12.
At the moment, Cure is talking about Colorado, as the play runs through his head again after practice earlier this week.
"Yeah," he says, "I was going to do anything I could to get that touchdown."
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, November 11
Wednesday, November 11
Wednesday, November 11
Wednesday, November 11
