Kansas State football undaunted by middle-of-the pack Big 12 prediction
ARLINGTON, Texas — In his six years at Kansas State, Eli Huggins has learned to take preseason polls with a grain of salt.
Not that he's averse to using them as motivation.
So when the Wildcats were talked up as a possible sleeper pick in this year's Big 12 football race, only to be picked fifth leading up to the Wednesday's media days, he saw it as just another opportunity.
"It's definitely a chip on your shoulder, but I can't say it's anything out of the ordinary," said Huggins, a super-senior defensive tackle to opted to take advantage of the extra season granted by the NCAA in wake of the coronavirus pandemic. "Every year it seems like we go through this cycle of good talk about us and then predicted (lower) in the conference.
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"So it's fuel, for sure. People (on the team) talk about that."
K-State did tie for fifth in the conference last year at 4-5, but finished with an 8-5 overall record punctuated by an impressive 42-20 Texas Bowl victory over LSU. And they return a star-studded lineup that features a league-high six preseason all-Big 12 picks.
One of those first-team selections, All-America running back Deuce Vaughn takes no issue with the middle-of-the-pack expectations, simply because he is more interested in the final result.
"I feel as a team we've embraced the underdog role," he said. "The preseason polls, the accolades (are meaningless). We've got to go do it."
Senior linebacker Daniel Green, another preseason all-conference pick, goes so far as to welcome the snub by media voters.
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"We love that," he said. "We love being the underdog.
"We take pride in going out every Saturday with a chip on our shoulder and proving everybody wrong. It makes us play harder because we know everybody doubts us."
Adrian Martinez, Deuce Vaugh a formidable one-two punch
The offseason addition of graduate transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez has created quite a buzz in Manhattan. Pairing Martinez, a four-year starter at Nebraska, with All-America running back Vaughn should give the Wildcats a dynamic backfield duo.
Martinez started 37 games for the Cornhuskers, amassing 8,491 career passing yards with 45 touchdowns while rushing for 2,301 and 35 more scores. Vaughn, who had a breakout sophomore campaign in 2021, rushing for 1,404 yards and 18 touchdowns while catching a team-high 49 passes for 468 yards and four scores.
Green, the Wildcats' all-conference middle linebacker, is glad he doesn't have to face them on Saturdays.
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"When Adrian Martinez came back (from shoulder surgery) at the end of spring, with him and Deuce back there together it's like, sheesh. Good luck to these defenses when the fall comes.
"(Offensive coordinator) Collin Klein has been doing a great job with what he has playing for them and I'm excited to see them play."
Deuce Vaughn likes Wildcats' backfield depth
With the departure of 2021 backups Joe Ervin and Jacardia Wright through the transfer portal, building running back depth behind Vaughn became a major offseason concern for coach Chris Klieman.
According to Vaughn, some candidates are emerging.
"Two guys that have stood out are (redshirt freshman) DJ Giddens and (junior college transfer) Anthony Frias," Vaughn said. "Anthony just got in, but he's an absolute sponge. He asked me to go and watch film on days I worked out with him off the field on Saturday mornings and things like that.
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"DJ, the athletic prowess he has is unbelievable. Now that he has the playbook under his belt, he's got a year, and I'm excited to see him."
Frias, a 5-10, 205-pounder from Turlock, California, rushed for 851 yards and 17 touchdowns last fall as a freshman Modesto Junior College in California and has three years of eligibility remaining.
Adrian Martinez gives shoutout to Walmart
When it came time to pick the outfit that he wore to media days, Martinez admitted to receiving some outside help with the suit and accessories, though the purple and white-striped socks were all him.
"Obviously I asked my dad and girlfriend, and a bunch of other people made sure it's OK," he said. "They said my socks weren't good enough. They didn't match with what I was wearing — the (purple) tie, whatever.
"So I went to Walmart, got some sneaky finds there for some dress socks. They've got MTV on it, just randomly, which takes it down a little bit, but I just saw the purple and the stripes. Walmart was a good find."
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football not concerned about being picked fifth in Big 12
