In today’s era of football, the flash of offensive players often casts a shadow on the guys on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage.
But they say defense wins championships, right?
Championships, even beyond a conference title, are within reach for Kansas State football this fall, and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman believes his unit is beyond set up for that success.
The reason is, Klanderman said this is the deepest unit he’s seen since arriving in Manhattan in 2019.
“[It’s] hard to say because I haven’t seen some of those guys that we’re counting on in-game yet, but ability-wise, there’s no question about it,” Klanderman said.
K-State’s plan to preclude opponents starts with the secondary — a unit that returns experience and starters at every position.
Starting with the cornerbacks, graduate Keenan Garber enters a highly anticipated second year as a starting cornerback following the switch from wide receiver midway through his career.
Jacob Parrish, the junior from Olathe North, also embarks on his second starting season.
The main difference for the duo in 2024 is each has eclipsed the 200-pound mark and still gotten faster, impressing head coach Chris Klieman.
Parrish is pleased with the guys behind him on the depth chart as well, namely senior Justice James, sophomore Kanijal Thomas, junior Jordan Dunbar and redshirt freshman Donovan McIntosh.
“I feel like we got a pretty deep group,” Parrish said. “They’re young, but I feel like if they were put out there, they would be able to make plays for the team.”
Switching gears to the safeties, there are a lot of parallels to the corners. Running the show is junior strong safety VJ Payne and senior Marques Sigle at free safety.
The difference is the replacement for former Wildcat Kobe Savage who transferred to Oregon. Klanderman, who strikes gold on transfers seemingly every year, looks to strike again with Ball State’s Jordan Riley at jack safety.
Klanderman said the secret behind his portal success is finding guys who simply love football.
“I don’t vibe that well with guys that are just all about the flash of being in the portal,” Klanderman said. “We’ve found kids that maybe aren’t the highest profile names out there … Maybe there’s not 70 schools that are recruiting them, but we’re finding kids that really love the game, and we’re finding guys that want to get better.”
Moving into the middle ground, a pair of captain-caliber linebackers, junior Desmond Purnell and senior Austin Moore, lead the way, setting K-State up for success on the outside.
Then-sophomore Jake Clifton paused his career for his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, creating an opening at middle linebacker.
True sophomore Austin Romaine, who started five games for injured starters last year, emerged as the guy this year.
“He’s an athletic kid … [we] knew he’s physical, he’s got mental toughness,” Klanderman said. “Last year, I think he just got caught up in how long a season is when you’re a true freshman. … [College] is a lot different intensity than high school football. And I think it caught up to him a little bit. But then he retooled himself, and this spring [camp] he was awesome, and we were kind of waiting to see if there would be an encore performance of that this fall. And there has been — he’s been sensational.”
The depth doesn’t stop at Romaine either, namely redshirt junior Terry Kirksey Jr., senior Beau Palmer and senior transfer Alec Marenco complete the group of middle backers where Romaine believes the most depth lies.
On the defensive line, K-State has a surplus of options to win the trenches — a recipe for success in subbing frequently to keep guys fresh.
At nose tackle, K-State presents a two-headed monster with junior Damian Ilalio and senior Uso Seumalo.
“Uso probably has some physical things that Damian doesn’t have,” Klanderman said. “But Damian’s just such a natural leader, great voice, always does things right, just rock solid. He’s been great. He’s been unbelievable. Those two are going to be splitting a lot of the reps.”
Wrapping up the three-man front to K-State’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme is your pick of game-wreckers young and old.
Defensive line coach Buddy Wyatt said the verdict is still out on their depth chart, but graduate returners Cody Stufflebean and Brendan Mott lead the way with experience. Still, expect to see the redshirt freshman trio of Chiddi Obiazor, Jordan Allen and Ryan Davis on the field this fall.
The pieces are in place for K-State’s defense to be among the best in the Big 12 Conference this fall. It’ll all be about execution when the whistle blows Aug. 31 against UT Martin.
Stay tuned next week for the third edition of our Countdown to Kickoff series, taking a look at a pair of historic No. 7 play callers — and more — a fitting seven days before kickoff.
