Chris Klieman expects this K-State offensive lineman to miss early games with injury

All five of Kansas State’s starting offensive linemen decided to return for another year of college football in 2023, but that doesn’t mean all of them will be ready to play for the Wildcats when they open the season against Southeast Missouri State next month.

Christian Duffie, a 6-foot-5 and 300-pound senior right tackle who has started 35 straight games in a purple uniform, may miss a few games this season as he recovers from an injury to his ankle/foot.

Duffie has not been practicing with the Wildcats during training camp, and coach Chris Klieman expects him to remain sidelined for longer than most fans would prefer.

“I think Duffie will be (ready) early into the season,” Klieman said during a news conference on Tuesday. “We’re holding him out for something that happened to him in the summer. But I don’t think it’s long term. We will find out a little bit more probably in the next couple weeks about his availability. We don’t believe it to be a long-term deal, but we’re going to be really cautious. He’s played a lot of football, so we need to be cautious with him.”

The good news is that Duffie was seen riding a stationary bike and exercising on weight machines at a recent football practice. But he still may face a long recovery.

If Duffie is unable to play against SEMO on Sept. 2, that will end an impressive streak of starts that began all the way back in 2020

It would also be a blow for the K-State offensive line, which was hoping to “run it back” as a unit after it helped pave the way for the Wildcats to win 10 games and claim a Big 12 championship last season.

But Klieman is confident that the Wildcats can make due without Duffie until he is completely healthy.

Up-and-coming offensive linemen Carver Willis, John Pastore and Andrew Leingang have been splitting time at right tackle in preseason practices. Both appear ready to take on a larger role within K-State’s offense. But if they both fail to work out on the right side of the offensive line, Klieman said the Wildcats are also prepared to use Sam Hecht or even Cooper Beebe there.

The hope is for K-State to play as many as nine different offensive linemen this season. The front five are a talented and versatile group.

“That’s the thing we have been fortunate on,” Klieman said. “We have a lot of versatility there to play seven, eight or nine guys there. And we have a handful of guys who are able to play multiple spots.”

Klieman wants the K-State offensive line to be ready for every possible scenario until Duffie is ready to step back in at right tackle.