Kansas

Kansas State’s Defensive Coordinator Offers Praise for Arizona Star

Published

1 year ago

September 12, 2024

Kansas State’s Defensive Coordinator Offers Praise for Arizona Star

Two of the top-20 teams in the country will battle it out on Friday night as the Kansas State Wildcats host the Arizona Wildcats.

Both teams enter this contest at 2-0, and while this isn’t a conference game due to the programs agreeing to this matchup before Arizona joined the Big 12, it should have major College Football Playoff implications.

If Arizona were to win this game, their resume would drastically improve.

Winning the Big 12 championship is the focus because the victor gets an automatic bid to the CFP, but due to how tough that is, they need to build their resume in regular-season games as well.

Similar to Arizona, Kansas State hasn’t exactly been dominant.

They beat UT Martin 41-6 and snuck out a win against a good Tulane team on the road.

However, their game against the Green Wave saw them trailing for much of it, and a few questionable calls helped Kansas State escape with the much needed win.

Looking at that game, there’s reason for optimism as Arizona heads into the contest.

Tulane’s quarterback Darian Mensah threw for 342 yards on just 19 completions. He also added two touchdowns to his state line.

With Noah Fifita under center and an explosive wide receiver in Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona should be able to get going offensively if last week is any indication on the state Kansas State’s defense.

They gave up multiple big plays, and K-State’s defensive coordinator, Joe Klanderman, addressed that potential issue.

“I think the big thing for us is you can’t give up explosive plays,” he said according to Heather Dinich of ESPN. “We gave up a ridiculous amount of yards, and 80% of those yards – I think more than that, actually – came off of 10 explosive plays.”

When asked about McMillan, he has some high praise.

“He’s different, he’s special,” Klanderman said. “His catch radius is as good as I’ve ever seen.”

Klanderman told reporters that he wants to make Arizona’s offense “one-dimensional,” highlighting the need to keep them from having big plays.

Their focus will be on Arizona beating them on the ground.

If they execute that game plan, Arizona could be in for a long night. This team is at its best when they make explosive plays in the passing game.

However, with the McMillan and Fifita duo, it’s almost impossible to slow them down that much. Perhaps McMillan won’t have a 300-yard game, but he could still put up 150-plus yards and multiple touchdowns, no matter the defense he faces.

It’s a big week for the future first-round pick, as impressing against a top-20 opponent would not only raise his draft stock, but it would also help his current program in their goal of winning a national championship.

Source link

Kansas

IU football lands Kansas State transfer edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi

Published

11 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

IU football lands Kansas State transfer edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi

Indiana’s portal haul continued to grow Sunday as multiple outlets reported the addition of Kansas State edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi.

Osunsanmi has played in 36 games over the last four years and has 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Most of that production came over the last two seasons. He has a total of 47 QB pressures during his college career.

In 2025 he played in six games and had 20 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. He suffered a season-ending injury in October.

He saw action in all 13 games in 2024 as a reserve defensive end and on special teams, recording 19 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble over 303 defensive snaps and 31 special teams plays.

In 2023 he saw time in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker, a rush end on passing downs and on special teams. He was tied for team-high honors with five tackles on kickoff coverage.

He played in four games in 2022 and preserved his redshirt.

The 6-foot-3 and 250-pound Osunsanmi has one year of eligibility remaining.

The Wichita, Kan. product (Wichita East H.S.) was regarded as the 232nd-best overall player in the nation for the Class of 2022 by 247Sports.

Osunsanmi will help fill the void left by outgoing edge rushers Mikail Kamara, Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley.

More transfer portal information:

For complete coverage of IU football recruiting, GO HERE.

The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

Source link

Kansas

Kansas football transfer portal tracker: Jan. 4 developments for KU

Published

23 hours ago

January 4, 2026

Press Room

Kansas football transfer portal tracker: Jan. 4 developments for KU

LAWRENCE — The Division I transfer portal window for college football is open from Jan. 2 through Jan. 16, and that means Sunday is another chance for the Kansas football program to shape its roster.

The Jayhawks already gained one public addition earlier this offseason in Grand Valley State transfer Jibriel Conde — whose signing was announced Dec. 4. Conde, who is making the jump up from Division II, is a 247Sports-rated three-star defensive lineman in the portal and is listed by KU as a defensive tackle. On Saturday, a number of current Kansas players — including redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Marshall, redshirt sophomore wide receiver Keaton Kubecka and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Blake Herold — also outlined in social media posts on X that they are locked in with the program for the 2026 season.

Marshall is set to compete for the starting quarterback job next season. Kubecka has the chance to step up into a more significant role at wide receiver. Herold is in line to be a key part of Kansas’ defensive line.

Those positives, though, don’t outweigh the fact that there has been a sizable group of players who have revealed their intentions to transfer away. Looking overall, when it comes to those whose decisions became public before and after the portal opened, the significant names to know include redshirt senior safety Lyrik Rawls, redshirt junior linebacker Trey Lathan and freshman quarterback David McComb. Lathan led KU in tackles in 2025.

Check in here for more updates during this transfer portal window about a KU team that finished 5-7 during the 2025 season, with transfer ratings as outlined by 247Sports.

Kansas football transfer portal additions

Jibriel Conde (3-star defensive lineman from Grand Valley State) — KU lists him as a defensive tackle

Kansas football transfer portal departures

Joseph Sipp Jr. (linebacker)

Jacoby Davis (cornerback)

Dylan Brooks (defensive end)

Jaidyn Doss (wide receiver)

Carter Lavrusky (offensive lineman)

Trey Lathan (linebacker)

Tyler Mercer (offensive lineman)

Harry Stewart III (running back)

Caleb Redd (3-star edge) — KU lists him as a defensive end

Aundre Gibson (3-star cornerback)

David McComb (3-star quarterback)

Kene Anene (3-star interior offensive lineman) — KU lists him as an offensive lineman

Laquan Robinson (3-star safety)

Jameel Croft Jr. (3-star cornerback)

Logan Brantley (3-star linebacker)

Greydon Grimes (3-star offensive tackle) — KU lists him as an offensive lineman

Jon Jon Kamara (3-star linebacker)

Lyrik Rawls (3-star safety)

Damani Maxson (3-star safety)

Jaden Hamm (tight end)

Bryce Cohoon (wide receiver)

JaCorey Stewart (linebacker)

Johnny Thompson Jr. (running back)

Efren Jasso (punter)

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He was the 2022 National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

Source link