It looked like Kansas State was going to lose another piece from its secondary, but cornerback Donovan McIntosh has decided to stay put. After entering the transfer portal a few days ago, McIntosh popped up on social media Sunday to make it clear he’s not going anywhere. Right after K-State announced Jordan Peterson as its new defensive coordinator, McIntosh quote-tweeted the post with “Let’s work!!” and tagged Peterson directly. That was followed by him deleting his original portal announcement, which pretty much settles it. He’s back.
This is a quiet but important win for a defense that’s already seen some movement this offseason. McIntosh was a key depth guy at corner last year and logged snaps in every game. He didn’t rack up crazy stats, but he was consistent, and he held his own in Big 12 play. With K-State losing guys to the portal and trying to keep the secondary from thinning out any further, getting McIntosh back in the fold helps stabilize things a bit.
It also says something about Peterson, who Klein was able to bring with him from Texas A&M, back to the Sunflower State, on the opposite side of the rivalry with Kansas. McIntosh clearly feels comfortable with Peterson calling the defense despite relatively little experience, and his decision to stay probably won’t be the last ripple effect from that hire.
There was never a formal goodbye from McIntosh, and now we know why. He took some time, weighed his options, and decided that returning to Kansas State made the most sense. That’s not always how it plays out, but when a player is excited to learn the system and still has eligibility left, keeping him around is a win.
McIntosh isn’t going to be the face of the defense, but he’s the kind of player you want in your rotation. He knows what to expect, he’s already put in the work, and now he’s coming back for more. There’s no guessing involved. You know exactly what you’re getting.
Kansas State didn’t have to go out and land a new transfer to fill the spot. They just got one of their own guys to run it back. That’s a win.
