Five things to watch for as Kansas State football begins spring practice
Kansas State is coming off its first Big 12 football championship in a decade, but the Wildcats officially begin to turn the page Tuesday morning when they begin spring practice with an eye toward the 2023 season.
The Wildcats have a number of key players back from a 2022 team that went 10-4 overall, 7-2 in the Big 12 and beat TCU, 31-28 — in overtime — in the Big 12 championship game before falling to Alabama, 45-20, in the Sugar Bowl.
Quarterback Will Howard, a breakout star last year after taking over for injured starter Adrian Martinez, will try to duplicate his success, and he has a pair of experienced receivers in Phillip Brooks and tight end Ben Sinnott, plus an offensive line that returns intact.
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Linebackers Daniel Green and Austin Moore anchor a defense that lost nose guard Eli Huggins and end Felix Anudike-Uzomah up front and cornerbacks Julius Brents and Ekow Boye-Doe in the secondary.
As has been the case each of the past two years, there will be no spring game when spring drills end in mid-April.
Here are five things to watch for this spring as the Wildcats prepare to build on last year's success in their fifth year under coach Chris Klieman:
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1. Is Will Howard ready for an encore?
After backing up starter Skylar Thompson for two years with limited success, something clicked for Howard after Martinez went down last year. He now goes into the spring for the first time as QB1.
The 6-foot-5 Howard, who has bulked up to 242 pounds, passed for 1,633 yards and 15 touchdowns with only four interceptions last year in seven games.
With Howard established as the presumptive starter, a bigger question might be who will be his primary understudy. Sophomore Jake Rubley served as the backup when Martinez was healthy and the Wildcats hoped to redshirt Howard, but he could face some stiff competition.
Rubley threw only five passes last year, completing four, with an interception. But he could be pushed by strong-armed redshirt freshman Adryan Lara, who got glowing reviews for his scout team work.
And then there is heralded true freshman Avery Johnson, of Maize, who is seen as the quarterback of the future, but most likely will redshirt as long as Howard remains healthy.
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2. Who will carry the load at running back?
After three years of handing the ball to All-American Deuce Vaughn, the Wildcats no longer have that luxury.
Vaughn decided to leave after his junior year and enter the NFL draft, leaving 6-1, 210-pound sophomore DJ Giddens as the frontrunner after rushing for 518 yards and six touchdowns last season on 5.8 yards per carry.
However, the Wildcats brought in some competition in senior Florida State transfer Treshaun Ward. They also are high on incoming freshman Joe Jackson, who will arrive this summer.
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3. What will a rebuilt defensive line look like?
The Wildcats lost two-thirds of its defensive front in Huggins and Anudike-Uzomah, along with backup nose guard Robert Hentz. But they do have some experience back in senior Brendan Mott and junior Nate Matlack, who split time at the other end.
There is a possibility that pass-rushing expert Khalid Duke moves back to end as well after starting as the strong-side linebacker a year ago.
The bigger question mark is nose guard. The frontrunner appears to be 345-pound senior Uso Seumalo, a former Garden City Community College transfer who recorded five tackles in a backup role last year.
K-State also returns sophomore Damian Ilalio, and brought in junior transfer Jevon Banks from Mississippi State to challenge for the job.
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4. Will there be a youth movement in the secondary?
Brents and Boye-Doe were fixtures at cornerback for the past two year, so the biggest question in the secondary is who will fill that void?
The cupboard is certainly not bare, with Jacob Parrish back after seeing significant action as a true freshman and junior college transfer Jordan Wright coming off a redshirt year. Oma Daniels also appeared in 10 games as a redshirt freshman, and the Wildcats brought in another junior college standout in sophomore Will Lee, who helped Iowa Western to the 2022 NJCAA national championship.
At safety, the Wildcats must replace a trio of super-seniors Josh Hayes, Cincere Mason and Drake Cheatum. Cheatum was second in the team in tackles with 74 and Hayes third with 72.
The good news is that Kobe Savage should be back after suffering a season-ending injury. So is sophomore VJ Payne, who started four games as a true freshman, including the Big 12 championship and Sugar Bowl.
Nickendre Stiger, a transfer from Butler Community College, played in three games last year and preserved his redshirt. K-State also added North Dakota State transfer Marques Sigle, a junior.
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5. With do-it-all kicker Ty Zentner gone, who steps in?
Super-senior Ty Zentner took over place-kicking duties midway through last season and did not miss on either a field goal or extra point. He also handled kickoff and was the Wildcats' punter.
K-State most likely will split those duties up this year. Junior Chris Tennant, who won the starting job on placements late in his freshman year and continued for the first seven games last season, will try to reclaim his spot after an inconsistent sophomore campaign. He will be pushed by redshirt freshman Leyton Simmering.
The frontrunner at punter is super-senior Jack Blumer, who returns after serving as Zentner's backup. He also is the holder on field goals and extra points.
The Wildcats also return long snapper Randen Plattner.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Five things to watch for during Kansas State football spring practice
