Chris Klieman shares sad injury update on veteran K-State linebacker Daniel Green

Daniel Green surprised many when he decided to return to Kansas State for an extra year of college football last winter.

He was an NFL Draft prospect with 219 career tackles. He had already spent five seasons with the Wildcats. And he helped them win a Big 12 championship last season.

But he felt like he had unfinished business at K-State, especially after dealing with various injuries a year ago.

“After a senior season plagued by injury and not being 100% for most of the year,” Green said in January, “I want to finish my college career playing my best ball.”

It comes as disappointing news, then, that his final season of college football will be cut short with yet another injury. K-State football coach Chris Klieman said on Tuesday that Green will miss the rest of the year with a pectoral injury that he sustained during a 30-27 loss against Missouri.

The injury likely came while he made a clothesline-style tackle for a sack against Brady Cook. Green was seen favoring his right arm for the remainder of the game and was clearly playing through pain.

His season comes to an end with with 13 tackles. He led the team with nine tackles and one sack against the Tigers. His college career is likely over, though it’s possible he could seek a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA.

“It’s been a tough couple of days around here for myself and for a lot of the six-year guys and a lot of the linebackers because he’s been the heart and soul for those guys and for our football team,” Klieman said. “Daniel and I have been through an awful lot since the first day I got here and I I’ve never seen a young man grow into such a man.”

It will be difficult for the Wildcats to replace Green moving forward, starting with a 7 p.m. kickoff against UCF on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Green is a 6-foot-3 and 245-pound senior who is one of the best linebackers in the Big 12 and a locker room leader for the Wildcats.

Fellow linebacker Austin Moore said “we’re going to be playing for him the rest of the year.”

“I’m just completely sick for him,” Moore said. “I’m not going to lie, I was pretty emotional about it yesterday, because I look up to him so much. I know the sacrifice and the hard work that he’s putting in for this team and he’s made me better. He’s made so many guys around us better and K-State is a better place because he came here.”

Without Green, the Wildcats are expected to turn to freshman Austin Romaine at middle linebacker against UCF. Romaine is a 6-foot-2 and 238-pound freshman out of Hillsboro, Missouri. Beau Palmer, a junior out of Overland Park, is listed as his backup.

Romaine has made three tackles this season. He didn’t record any stats against Missouri but did see some action while Green was dealing with his injury.

Jake Clifton would normally step up and start in place of Green in this situation, but he is also currently sidelined with an injury. K-State will put its linebacker depth to the test in its Big 12 opener.

But Green will remain on the team’s mind.

“It’s just kind of hard to have a leader like that go down,” K-State safety Kobe Savage said. “He is a captain that you always can go to and ask about because he’s been in here for so long. It’s pretty tough losing him.”