Kansas State Wildcats 2026 Season Preview

Avery Johnson is the reason the ceiling stays high. The senior already owns the single-season school record for touchdown passes and sits among the career leaders, and he is a genuine dual-threat with rare straight-line speed. In 2025 he completed 204 of 341 throws for 2,385 yards with 18 touchdowns against six interceptions, adding 477 yards and eight scores on the ground. It was still an underwhelming follow-up, the product of a third offensive coordinator in three years and a receiver group thinned by injuries. His best season came in Klein's system in 2023, and the reunion should push him back toward that form, especially once his running is featured, which measurably lifted the offense a year ago. Sophomore Blake Barnett, a bigger-armed passer, is the primary backup, and Klein has enough speed at the position to stress defenses in the run game.

Jaron Tibbs graduates from a productive second option to the clear No. 1. The senior, a Purdue transfer, led the team in receiving in 2025 with 45 catches for 595 yards. Klein reinforced the room through the portal: Missouri's Josh Manning brings 19 career starts and back-to-back 500-yard seasons, and Texas A&M's Izaiah Williams adds another proven body. The X-factor is Linkon Cure, a former five-star who can line up at tight end or split out wide to create a matchup problem. Garrett Oakley, a fifth-year tight end who gained 389 receiving yards a year ago, anchors the two-tight-end looks that fit Klein's play-action leanings, and junior-college addition Derrick Salley Jr. fills out the depth outside.

Joe Jackson emerged as a workhorse down the stretch. After a slow start, the junior exploded for a school-record 293 rushing yards against Utah and finished as the team's leading rusher with 911 yards at 5.4 a carry, earning third-team all-conference notice. Oklahoma State transfer Rodney Fields Jr., who ran for 614 yards last season, gives the backfield a dependable second option, and Oregon's Jay Harris adds further depth. The one departure stings: explosive playmaker Dylan Edwards transferred to rival Kansas.

This is the unit that will decide the season. The Wildcats lost the bulk of their starting line and rebuilt through the portal, so continuity is the concern. Left tackle John Pastore is the lone returning starter, a second-team all-conference anchor. Around him Klein assembled transfers Tanner Morley (Colorado State) at guard, Delvin Morris (Akron) at center and George Fitzpatrick (Ohio State) in the mix, with 6-7, 314-pound Gus Hawkins pushing at right tackle after an injury cut short his 2025. Klein likes the group's size and talent, but a line that has not played a snap together carries real risk.

K-State essentially lost its entire front seven and had to reconstruct it in the portal, and the marquee arrival is Wendell Gregory. The reigning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year at Oklahoma State, Gregory posted 27 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks as a rookie, ranked among the top edge rushers available in the portal, and arrives with three years of eligibility to headline the rebuild. He is the player most likely to reset the line's identity and the unit's best pro prospect. Opposite him, Kennesaw State transfer Elijah Hill brings nine sacks and first-team all-conference production as a pressure specialist, and Coastal Carolina's Jordan Allen offers another rush option. Inside, Cincinnati's Kamari Burns and senior Travis Bates lead a made-over interior. The talent up front is intriguing, but stopping the run looms as the biggest question for a group with almost no shared experience.

The second level turned over as well, though Klein restocked it. Louisiana Tech's Mekhi Mason headlines the group after a 68-tackle, 14.5-tackle-for-loss campaign, and Ohio State transfer Gabe Powers plus junior-college product Rex Van Wyhe add starts and size alongside returning Asa Newsom. A true bell cow has not emerged, yet Klein likes what the position has shown.

The secondary is almost entirely new, and corner is one of the two spots the staff must get right. Zashon Rich is the lone holdover, a returning starter who logged 57 tackles and broke up 12 passes last fall. He pairs with transfer Donovan McIntosh, who defended six passes in 11 games, while Illinois' Kaleb Patterson competes outside. The safety and nickel spots drew heavy portal attention: Virginia's Ja'Son Prevard arrives as a third-team all-conference nickel, Georgia's Adrian Maddox and Miami (Ohio)'s Koy Beasley add experience, and Wesley Fair returns after starting six games. There is talent here, but cohesion will take time.

The kicking game is the settled part. Luis Rodriguez was reliable in 2025, connecting on 13 of 15 field goals with a long of 51 and all 42 extra points. The return game has a spark in Bryce Noernberg, who broke a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Army, though ball security was an issue. The bigger worry is field position: K-State's special teams efficiency ranked near the bottom nationally in 2025, its worst mark in nearly two decades, and net punting has lagged for three straight seasons. New coordinator Stanton Weber arrives from Toledo, whose Rockets led the country in blocked kicks, to steady a phase that has slipped. The punting job is unsettled, with veteran Simon McClannan and Dylan Davidson in the picture.