Football Recruiting Overview

Though we are moving into the middle of the football season, it's time to take a peek into the future of the Wildcats. As explained in the recruiting FAQ, a team may have a maximum of 85 scholarship athletes at any one time. It's not known how many players are on scholarship; however, my best guess is that 81 are on scholarship right now. It's also my best guess that 18 scholarship athletes will be leaving the program, which is based on seniors that will graduate. Of course, others could move on, but as of now, my best guess is that Kansas State will have 22 scholarships to offer this year. That number could be reduced by two, as greyshirt Jayson Cuba is expected to join the team in January, and Danny Hogan, who left the team in August for personal reasons, may rejoin the team.

Here is a breakdown, position group by position group (with class as of 2008 in parentheses, along with what I consider to be ideal):

Quarterbacks (3 on scholarship, 4-5 is ideal)

Josh Freeman (Jr.)
Carson Coffman (So.)
Tysyn Hartman (RFr.)

Running Backs (5 on scholarship, 5-6 ideal)

Leon Patton (Jr.)
John McCardle (Sr.)
Jeremy Reed (So.)
Dee Bell (RFr.)
Justin Woods (RFr.)

Tight Ends (3 on scholarship, 5 ideal)

Brett Alstatt (Sr.)
Jeron Mastrud (Jr.)
Jeremy Mack (RFr.)

Wide Receivers (5 on scholarship, 6-8 ideal)

Deon Murphy (Sr.)
Ernie Pierce (Sr.)
Cedric Wilson (Sr.)
Tony Purvis (RSo.)
LaMark Brown (So.)

Danny Hogan, who left the program for personal reasons, may be back as a true freshman.

Offensive Linemen (15 on scholarship, 16-18 ideal)

Jordan Bedore (Sr.)
Gerard Spexarth (Sr.)
Ben Liu (Sr.)
Alesana Alesana (Sr.)
Brad Rooker (Sr.)
Caleb Handy (Sr.)
Eric Benoit (RJr.) (I think he has a redshirt season available)
Nick Stringer (Jr.)
Trevor Viers (Jr.)
Brock Unruh (Jr.)
Zach Kendall (So.)
Kenneth Mayfield (So.)
Clyde Aufner (So.)
Kaleb Drinkgern (RFr.)
Colton Freeze (RFr.)

Defensive Ends (4 on scholarship, 6-7 ideal)

Vlad Faustin (Sr.)
Chidubamu Abana (Sr.)
Payton Kirk (RFr.)
Raphael Guidry (RFr.)

Nose Tackles (3 on scholarship, 4-5 ideal)

Brandon Balkcom (Sr.)
Gabe Crews (So.)
Xzavier Stewart (RFr.)

Inside Linebackers (5 on scholarship, 5-6 ideal)

Reggie Walker (Sr.)
Mac Rosel (Jr.)
John Houlik (Jr.)
Kevin Rohleder (So.)
Davyon McGhee (So.)

Jayson Cuba is a greyshirt, and will likely land here.

Outside Linebackers (6 on scholarship, 5-6 ideal)

Chris Patterson (Sr.)
Ian Campbell (Sr.)
Antwon Moore (Sr.) (perhaps a medical redshirt will be available)
Ross Diehl (Jr.)
Olu Hall (Jr.)
Eric Childs (Jr.)

Cornerbacks (4 on scholarship, 6-7 ideal)

Ray Cheatham (Sr.)
Otis Johnson (Jr.)
Joshua Moore (RSo.)
Kendrick Matthews (So.)

Safeties (6 on scholarship, 6-7 ideal)

Gary Chandler (Sr.)
Andrew Erker (Sr.)
Kevin Hollis (Jr.)
Chris Carney (Jr.)
Courtney Herndon (Jr.)
Dahrnaz Tigner (So.)

Specialists (4 on scholarship)

Brooks Rossman (Sr.)
Jared Parker (Sr.)
Josh Cherry (So.)
Corey Adams (So.)