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Kansas State football squad 2024 benefited from transfer portal

story June 14, 2024
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MANHATTAN – Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman and his staff have largely focused on assembling their 2025 recruiting class.

Before that, they focused much of their energy on strengthening the 2024 roster via the transfer portal, and they accomplished that goal largely at the positions where the need was greatest.

After the portal claimed 15 players between the end of last regular season and the end of spring practice, there were immediate gaps that needed to be filled. Since then, the Wildcats have added 11 new players from Division I programs and entered summer practice in much better shape.

“We continue to evaluate the kids that are in the portal that might be able to help us,” Klieman said at a Catbacker Tour stop in Salina last month. “We already have a really solid roster. It's not a position we need to fill right now, but we have a few spots open because there were some departures in December. If we find the right guy, we'll take him.”

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Since then, the Wildcats have signed former Connecticut quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson as a graduate transfer, Rice cornerback Jordan Dunbar as a redshirt junior and, on Sunday, Chattanooga graduate offensive lineman Colin Truett.

Assistant head coach Van Malone, who is also in charge of the Wildcats' cornerbacks, is pleased with the work the staff has done so far in the portal, but they don't see it as a panacea at the expense of developing younger players within the program.

“I think that's the cool thing about the portal: You can respond to needs immediately,” Malone said. “And yes, we were able to do that.”

“But I'm glad that we're not a team that relies on the portal, that we have a good core of regular players and then we have a good core of substitutes, players who have been on our team and who we know we can trust in crucial moments.”

Related: Kansas State Football strengthens its quarterback department with the transfer of UConn Ta'Quan Roberson

Truett was the Wildcats' second addition to the offensive line, where only one full-time starter returns from last year's 9-4 team that beat North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Easton Kilty, a senior transfer from North Dakota, has been with the team during spring practice and is the favorite for the starting left tackle position.

Others who stood out as potential starters in the spring include Jordan Riley, who transferred from Ball State, as a jack safety and former Penn State and Kent State wide receiver Dante Cephas.

“We're just trying to build some more depth,” Klieman said. “We lost (middle linebacker) Jake Clifton, who decided not to come back — he decided to go on a mission — so we had to find somebody there. And then on the offensive line, we just lost all those older guys and we didn't replace them all in the recruiting process.”

“We're only filling a few spots. It's difficult to bring someone in now and say they're going to contribute from day one. That may take a little while because the season is pretty long and we want to make sure we have enough guys. Last year we were decimated at the linebacker position and we can't do that this year, so we have to make sure we have enough depth there.”

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To fill the gap at middle linebacker, the Wildcats signed veteran linebacker Alec Marenco, who made New Mexico's top tackles last season.

Roberson was a key addition at quarterback, where he will likely spend his final year as a backup to sophomore Avery Johnson. Johnson was the only player on the roster with Division I experience, and Roberson started 11 games at UConn last year, throwing for 2,075 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Arguably the biggest name to come through the portal was Dylan Edward, a sophomore transfer from Colorado and former standout at Derby High School who originally played for K-State before landing with the Buffaloes and coach Deion Sanders.

New additions to the defense include cornerbacks Dunbar and Quenton Rice (BYU) and defensive end Travis Bates from Austin Peay. The Wildcats also signed a long snapper, Keane Bessert, who came from Wisconsin.

Additions to the Kansas State Football Team’s Transfer Portal for 2024

2024 TRANSFER PORTAL ADDITIONS

DE Travis Bates, Austin Peay

LS Keane Bessert, Wisconsin

WR Dante Cephas, Penn State

CB Jordan Dunbar, Rice

RB Dylan Edwards, Colorado

OT Easton Kilty, North Dakota

LB Alec Marenco, New Mexico

CB Quenton Rice, BYU

S Jordan Riley, Ball State

QB Ta’Quan Roberson, UConn

OL Colin Truett, Chattanooga

Arne Green lives in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

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