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Kansas State football suddenly has depth, experience on defensive line for 2024

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Kansas State football suddenly has depth, experience on defensive line for 2024


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Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman has good reason for touting his defensive line as an asset heading into the 2024 season.

It starts with experience, as in three super-seniors, two of whom have been with the program for six years. And then there is a talented group of young defensive ends that may have coordinator Joe Klanderman re-examining the switch two years ago to a three-man front.

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Even the nose tackle position, a concern after returning starter Uso Seumalo missed most of spring practice and junior college transfer Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder did not enroll at semester as expected, seems to have sorted itself out.

“We had two six-year guys decide to come back at defensive end, which was big for us,” Klieman said of returning starter Brendan Mott and Cody Stufflebean, who was a key member of last year’s rotation. “So, we’re going to rotate seven or eight guys in the defensive line, and we have a lot of depth there.”

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Kansas State football defense has addressed depth issues at nose tackle, middle linebacker

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Mott, a 6-foot-5, 244-pound former walk-on, ranked sixth in the Big 12 last year with six sacks, and he could well end up as the Wildcats’ third-leading pass rusher. Sophomore Tobi Osunsanmi, a converted linebacker, and 6-6, 282-pound redshirt freshman Chiddi Obiazor, both can get to the quarterback as well.

Here is how K-State’s defensive line might break down in 2024.

Is it time to go back to a four-man front?

The lack of depth at nose tackle in the spring led Klanderman to experiment with additional ends. But that doesn’t mean he is scrapping the 3-3-5 base defense just yet.

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“We are a little light there,” Klanderman said of the tackle position back in April. “So, I guess in my mind it’s not so much are we going to play four-down stuff as much as it is, how can we utilize maybe another defensive end type body into what we’re already doing?

“And how can we, in that way, get our best 11 people on the field consistently.”

The facts that Obiazor is big enough to play inside if need be and the 6-5, 318-pound Alcorn-Crowder is agile enough to occasionally line up at end give the Wildcats plenty of options.

Is there enough playing time to go around at d-end?

Perhaps defensive ends coach Buddy Wyatt’s greatest challenge is finding playing time for everybody.

In addition to Mott, Stufflebean, Obiazor and Osunsanmi, the Wildcats brought in sophomore transfer Travis Bates, a 2023 freshman All-American, from Austin Peay. And redshirt freshmen Jordan Allen and Ryan Davis were impressive in the spring as well.

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“I like to play a lot of people,” Wyatt said. “It’s going to be a juggling act, and it’s going to be based on those guys. If they’re ready to play and they put in the work and we know we can count on them and they know how to do it, they’ll play.”

Uso Seumalo’s return solidified nose tackle position

After transferring from Garden City Community College in 2022, the 6-3, 337-pound Seumalo spent his first season backing up Eli Huggins in the middle. He moved into the starting lineup last year, appearing in 11 games before missing the last two with an injury.

Even as a super-senior, he is relatively new to the position, having only played one year of high school football in his native Hawaii. But he showed enough last year to receive All-Big 12 honorable mention from the league coaches.

With Seumalo sidelined, it meant more opportunities during the spring for junior Damian Ilalio, who started three games as a sophomore. Redshirt freshman Asher Tomaszewski also got plenty of work.

The wildcard is Alcorn-Crowder, a redshirt sophomore, who recorded 28 tackles, 10 of them for loss with seven sacks and two forced fumbles in nine games last year at Butler Community College. He was rated the No. 4 overall junior college prospect in the Class of 2024 by On3 and No. 5 by ESPN.

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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.



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Kansas City police and state troopers to assist with security at Republican National Convention

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Kansas City police and state troopers to assist with security at Republican National Convention


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) officers and Missouri State Highway Patrol (MHP) officers are heading to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Monday morning for increased security at this year’s Republican National Convention.

KCPD confirmed they are sending 30 members to aid the overnight perimeter security alongside local, state, or federal law enforcement partners from July 15 to July 18.

No one was available from KCPD to speak on camera Monday morning, but they did provide some insight about their involvement.

“KCPD’s role in assisting agencies outside the immediate metro is not new. Some events to note, KCPD helped during the Joplin tornado, the pope’s visit to St. Louis, and the 2021 presidential inauguration,” said KCPD Sgt. Phil DiMartino. “KCPD will again be helping in the 2025 presidential inauguration.”

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ALSO READ: Kansas Citians weigh in: How to unite following assassination attempt

No one was available from the Missouri Highway Patrol to speak on camera Monday, but along with KCPD, it is confirmed they are assisting with security in Wisconsin.

MHP Captain Scott White writes, “Our primary purpose will be to protect life and property, maintain order by being highly visible, and protect the constitutional rights of everyone at the event.”

As previously reported, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Police Department has confirmed that Kansas City metro area law enforcement agencies are among the more than 100 law enforcement agencies set to enforce security at the Republican National Convention.

Also Read: Passengers at KCI react to Trump assassination attempt: ‘It’s a sad situation in this country’



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Kansas Amber Alert: Ryan Ramones abducted in Wichita

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Kansas Amber Alert: Ryan Ramones abducted in Wichita


UPDATE: The amber alert has been canceled. Ryan was found safe just before 4:30 a.m. and the father is in custody.

A Kansas Amber Alert has been issued for 2-year-old Ryan Ramones after he was taken by his father in the course of an alleged assault in Wichita, local officials say. Anyone with information is urged to call 911 immediately.

The incident happened at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday when the suspect, 25-year-old Richard Ramones, physically assaulted the mother of his child at an apartment on West Shade in Wichita, according to the amber alert.

The mother was holding Ryan at the time of the alleged assault, after which Richard and Ryan fell into furniture, possibly causing injuries to the child. Richard then took the toddler and left the residence on foot in an unknown direction.

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“The child is believed to be injured and in imminent danger,” the amber alert said.

The suspect, Richard A Ramones, is described as a 25-year-old Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes, standing 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black shirt.

The child, Ryan Ramones, is described as a 2-year-old Hispanic male with black hair and brown eyes, standing 3 feet tall and weighing 22 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt and shorts with Mickey Mouse pictures.

Anyone who sees Ryan or Richard is urged to call 911 immediately, or call the Wichita Police Department at 316-383-4661 if you have any other information that could help investigators in their search.

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This is an amber alert. Please check back or follow @BNONews on Twitter as details become available. If you want to receive breaking news alerts by email, click here to sign up. You can also like us on Facebook by clicking here.





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Kansas politicians and political experts react to attempted Trump assassination

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Kansas politicians and political experts react to attempted Trump assassination


WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Many Americans were shocked as they learned of an attempt on Former President Donald Trump’s life.

“We should be reflecting and thinking about our actions and why something like this would happen,” said Kansas Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins, “why it gets to that point.”

One question on many minds is how the 2024 presidential campaign carries on after such an event.

“Is this going to change the campaign? Is this going to change who wins and who loses? It’s way too early to tell,” said Dr. Neal Allen, Wichita State University Associate Professor of Political Science.

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Allen says the full impact hasn’t been felt yet on the campaign trail, but he does not anticipate a major change.

“Even the assassination attempt fits pretty well into the kind of image Donald Trump is presenting,” said Allen, “you know he presents strength, certainty of purpose, Trump usually does that with lots of words and yesterday he did it with one.”

How voters will respond at the polls is just as uncertain. Kansas Republicans think the assassination attempt could energize their supporters.

“It wasn’t about somebody shooting Trump because we knew what happened, but rather this is going to cause people to put their heels in the sand,” said Kansas District 94 Representative Leo Delperdang, “I think it’s going to bring a lot more voters out on the Republican side.”

But not everyone is as convinced.

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“There are unfortunately a whole lot of shootings in America and it’s entirely possible that you’re going to have hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions of people who will hear this news and they’ll say he got winged in the ear,” said Friends University Professor of Political Science Dr. Russell Arben Fox, “I don’t think it’s likely, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility.”



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