K-State center Hayden Gillum, KU fullback Jared Casey team up for Applebee’s NIL deal

Jared Casey and Hayden Gillum will have much to catch up on the next time they meet for dinner.

Back in the day, they were football teammates at Plainville High School in Western Kansas. They both played linebacker and helped out at various positions on offense. Today they are each living out their childhood dreams as impact players at the college level, only now they are rivals. Casey is a scholarship fullback at KU. Gillum is the starting center at K-State.

Not bad for a couple of kids who grew up in a rural area with a population under 2,000.

Put them around a plate of chicken wings and it’s not hard to imagine them channeling Paul Rudd. One of them looks at the other with a big smile and says, “Hey, look at us.” The other responds, “Who would have thought?”

Maybe it would make a good restaurant commercial. We’re about to find out. Casey and Gillum are teaming up to film a new Applebee’s ad at the end of the month. The restaurant chain reached out to both of them with a NIL opportunity that highlighted their journeys to college football stardom, and they agreed immediately.

“It’s going to be a fun thing,” Gillum said. “We’re going to have a whole back and forth. They want me to flash my Big 12 championship ring. I will be wearing all my bowl rings, too. They invited our families to come up and eat lunch while we film. We’re doing it back in Hays. This is the biggest business that has ever asked me to do a NIL deal and I get to do it with a childhood friend. The whole thing is just super cool.”

This may be a first for Gillum, but Casey is no stranger to Applebee’s commercials. He filmed one with the restaurant in 2021 after he helped the Jayhawks beat Texas by catching a pass for an unforgettable two-point conversion in overtime. The ad went viral and made Casey even more popular in Lawrence. Then Applebee’s brought him back for an encore along with KU quarterback Jalon Daniels.

There is no shortage of Bourbon Street steaks or Oreo shakes in his life. He’s always eating good in the neighborhood.

“They have given me a bunch of gift card money, too much to spend on myself, so I have given a decent amount away,” Casey said. “We get hooked up very well with that stuff, plus they give us money for filming the commercials. This one is going to be pretty good for us, too. I am excited about it.”

What makes this NIL deal potentially more meaningful than the others is the hometown connection that will be involved.

Gillum is two years older than Casey, but they have been friends for as long as they can remember. They have played sports together and they grew up with the similar dreams. Gillum was a die-hard Wildcats fan and turned down scholarship opportunities at the Division II level to walk on in Manhattan. Casey has always loved the Jayhawks and followed the exact same path to Lawrence.

Little was expected of them at the next level, but they are both now on scholarship and they are both key contributors for up-and-coming teams.

KU just played in its first bowl game since the Mark Mangino era. K-State recently won its first conference championship in a decade.

“We’re really close,” Casey said. “We keep in touch every single day. I think it’s pretty cool that we’re living out our dreams together. We talked about this growing up and in high school. We both bet on ourselves and took walk-on spots at Division I colleges. Now we get to capitalize off our success with this commercial.”

Even though they are on different teams, they think they helped each other reach this point.

“It’s been really neat to have somebody else from your town who understands what goes into all this,” Gillum said. “We support each other and our families follow each other. Him and I have received an incredible amount of support from our community. It’s awesome. I always cheer for Jared. Even when we play each other I tell him I want him to make plays, as long as he doesn’t make more than us.”

Still, they are rivals for at least one day every year.

When Casey was asked if he had any words to pass along to Gillum, he focused on their next game in the Sunflower Showdown, which will be played on November 18 in Lawrence.

“Just tell him we’ll meet him in Week 11,” Casey said.

Gillum was quick to fire back: “Typical KU guy. We’re always their Super Bowl.”

They shared a special moment last season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium when Casey and Gillum both took the field as key contributors in a game between KU and K-State. The Wildcats won 47-27, but they both walked away feeling like winners after they shook hands at midfield. So many friends and family asked for tickets to the game that they couldn’t accommodate them all. It felt like the entire town of Plainville was there just to watch them.

Casey and Gillum hope the same thing happens when they play their next game. Maybe they can take all their guests out to eat afterward. After all, they know a good restaurant.