No coach does more with less than Bill Snyder. He knows exactly what he needs and can find guys that will develop into the kind of players he looks for and needs in order to have success.
So, the Wildcats have the 61st ranked class (according to Rivals), which is about par for the course under Snyder. Over the past 5 seasons they’ve averaged the 69th ranked class.
But, in what is fairly unusual for K-State is a flurry of excitement coming on National Signing Day, which even Snyder will tell you, was desperately needed for this class.
The star of the Kansas State 2017 recruiting class: LB Daniel Green (Portland, OR)
Green was one of those exciting players the Wildcats landed on National Signing Day. He’s a 4-star linebacker who was originally committed to USC, but re-opened his recruiting in December. The 6’3”, 228-pound linebacker picked Kansas State over Utah, Oregon State, Ole Miss and several others. Snyder raved about Green during his press conference on Wednesday, saying, “I like the fact that he is a very aggressive player. He has good speed and quickness, he has good size to go along with it and he flies around and just hits you.”
Green is considered a Top 250 player by Rivals and will have plenty of chances to get on the field right away.
The best position group of the Kansas State 2017 recruiting class: linebackers
Not only did Snyder’s staff bring in Green, but they also added JUCO transfer Da’Quon Patton (Athens, TX) and Danny Walker (Wheaton, IL). In regards to Patton, Snyder clearly expects an immediate impact, saying, “He can play both inside and outside, and we can utilize him right now.”
The Wildcats lost all three starting linebackers, most notably Elijah Lee, who declared early for the NFL Draft. So, the Wildcats have openings at the position and have some big shoes to fill. ESPN ranked Patton the 5th-best JUCO linebacker in the country and 247 Sports names him the 13th best JUCO player in the state of Texas. The Wildcats were able to land Patton after he decommited from Cal following the firing of head coach Sonny Dykes. Patton is already on campus to get a head start on the action.
As for Walker, Scout.com named him the 47th-best outside linebacker in the country. Walker will need some more time to develop, but he will have a chance to learn with one of the best defensive coaching staffs in America.
The Kansas State 2017 recruiting class could use more depth at: wide receiver
I know Kansas State isn’t Texas Tech or Oklahoma State. They don’t run a high-octane, pass-happy offense. But, still… only 1 wide receiver?
Now the good news is that the lone wide receiver is Chabastin Taylor (Giddings, TX), a 3-star player who committed in October and chose K-State over Baylor, North Texas, and others. Taylor is a good player who appears to have been under recruited in high school where he played quarterback and wide receiver. He’s 6’4”, 210 lbs, and ran a-4.7 40 yard dash.
The good news for the Wildcats is that they return 3 of their top 4 receivers from 2016 in Byron Pringle, Dominique Heath, and Isaiah Zuber. The only loss is Deante Burton (29 catches, 404 yards). But, as the old saying goes in the Big 12 (which I am currently about to make up): you can never have too many wide receivers!
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