MANHATTAN — Until now, we could only speculate on how Kansas State football’s depth chart would look heading into the 2024 season.

But coach Chris Klieman provided some clarity on Monday, as the Wildcats released their first official two-deep with the opener scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

Here are a few observations.

Kansas State football QB Avery Johnson cool and calm ahead of season opener

Kansas State football WR Sterling Lockett is ready to add to the family legacy

Kansas State football creative with extra positions

K-State frequently has listed 12 players on its offensive depth chart to allow for either a fullback or third wide receivers. Now, suddenly, there are 13 positions on offense, and 12 on defense.

Adding names to the list no doubt keeps more players happy, but also illustrates the Wildcats’ depth at several positions.

On offense, there now are two tight ends and two running backs to go with three wide receivers, while the defense lists three defensive ends. There is no shortage of players in the mix.

The tight end expansion allows for both sophomore Garrett Oakley and senior Will Swanson to claim starter status, while at running back junior DJ Giddens and sophomore Colorado transfer Dylan Edwards can say the same.

The three starters now listed at defensive end — the Wildcats’ base defensive is two ends and a nose tackle up front — are super-senior Brendan Mott, senior Cody Stufflebean and either Austin Peay transfer Travis Bates or redshirt freshman Chiddi Obiazor.

Veterans dominate the Wildcats’ top roster spots

The Wildcats boast experience at just about every position, as evidenced by a depth chart that names no freshmen and only six sophomores as potential starters.

And of the sophomores — Oakley at tight end, Avery Johnson at quarterback, Edwards at running back, Jayce Brown at receiver, Bates at defensive end and Austin Romaine at middle linebacker — all had significant roles last year with the Wildcats. All except for Bates, a transfer who started as a redshirt freshman at Austin Peay.

But the Wildcats have high hopes for last year’s freshmen, most of whom redshirted. The depth chart includes eight redshirt freshmen.

Damian Ilalio nailes down nose tackle job

One surprise, and it wasn’t entirely unexpected, was the emergence of junior Damian Ilalio as the starting nose tackle ahead of super-senior Uso Seumalo.

Ilalio, a Manhattan High School product, drew praise from his coaches throughout the spring and fall, while returning starter Seumalo missed most of the spring with an injury.

While both will see significant playing time, Ilalio has separated himself with his leadership ability.

We have some answers on special teams

There was not much news coming out of preseason camp with regards to specialists, but now we have an idea at last.

To nobody’s surprise, senior Chris Tennant is back to handle kickoffs, field goals and extra points, but redshirt freshman Simon McClannan has won the punting job.

The Wildcats also list a number of playmakers in the return game, with Edwards, Brown and receiver Keagan Johnson still battling for kickoff return duties, while Edwards or sophomore receiver Sterling Lockett will field punts.

Kansas State football’s first official 2024 depth chart

OFFENSE

WR — Keagan Johnson; Jadon Jackson or Ty Bowman

TE —Garrett Oakley, Brayden Loftin

LT — Easton Kilty, John Pastore

LG — Hadley Panzer, Andrew Leingang

C — Sam Hecht, Michael Capria

RG — Taylor Poitier or Andrew Leingang; Alex Key

RT — Carver Willis, Drake Bequeaith

TE — Will Swanson; Will Anciaux or Andrew Metzger

QB — Avery Johnson; Ta’Quan Roberson or Jacob Knuth

RB — DJ Giddens, Joe Jackson

RB — Dylan Edwards, La’James White

WR — Jayce Brown, Sterling Lockett

WR — Dante Cephas, Tre Spivey

DEFENSE

DE — Brendan Mott; Tobi Osunsanmior Ryan Davis

NG — Damian Ilalio, Uso Seumalo, Asher Tomaczewski

DE — Travis Bates or Chiddi Obiazor

DE — Cody Stufflebean, Jordan Allen

SLB — Desmond Purnell, Asa Newsom

MLB — Austin Romaine, Beau Palmer, Terry Kirksey

WLB — Austin Moore, Rex Van Wyhe, Zach Wittenberg

CB — Jacob Parrish, Justice James

SS — VJ Payne; Colby McCalister or Wesley Fair

JS — Jordan Riley, Jack Fabris

FS — Marques Sigle; Nickendre Stiger or Daniel Cobbs

CB — Keenan Garber; Jordan Dunbar or Donovan McIntosh

SPECIAL TEAMS

PK — Chris Tennant, Leyton Simmering

P — Simon McClannan, Teagan Cobb

LS — Mason Olguin, Keane Bessert

KR — Dylan Edwards or Jayce Brown or Keagan Johnson

PR — Dylan Edwards or Sterling Lockett

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.

If Kansas State wins the coin toss in Saturday’s opener against UT-Martin, fans won’t have to wait too long to see anticipated newcomer Dylan Edwards.

On Monday, the Wildcats released their first depth chart of the season. Edwards, a running back who transferred from Colorado, is listed as No. 1 for the kick and punt returner. The depth chart was released ahead of coach Chris Kileman’s Week 1 press conference.

Here’s a look at the full depth chart:

OFFENSE

WR
Kegan Johnson
Jaden Jackson
Ty Bowman

TE
Garrett Oakley
Brayden Loftin

LT
Easton Kilty
Jason Pastore

LG
Hadley Panzer
Andrew Leingang

C
Sam Hecht
Michael Capria

RG
Taylor Poitier
Andrew Leingang or Alex Key

RT
Carver Willis
Drake Bequealth

TE
Will Swanson
Will Anciaux
Andrew Metzger

QB
Avery Johnson
Ta’Quan Roberson or Jacob Knuth

RB
DJ Giddens
Dylan Edwards or La’James White

WR
Jayce Brown
Sterling Lockett

WR
Dante Cephas
Tre Spivey

DEFENSE

DE
Brendan Mott
Tobi Osunsanmi or Ryan Davis

DL
Damian Llalio
Usa Seumalo or Ryan Davis

DE
Travis Bates
Chiddi Obiazor

DE
Cody Stufflebean
Jordan Allen

SLB
Desmond Purnell
Asa Newsom

MLB
Austin Romaine
Beau Palmer
Terry Kirkskey Jr

WLB
Austin Moore
Rex Van Wyhe
Zach Wittenberg

CB

Jacob Parrish
Justice James

SS
VJ Payne
Colby McCalister or Wesley Fair

JS
Jordan Riley
Jack Fabris

FS
Marques Sigle
Nickendre Stiger or Daniel Cobbs

CB
Keenan Garber
JOrdan Dunbar or Donovan McIntosh

SPECIALISTS

FG
Chris Tennant
Leyton Simmering

HLD
Simon McClannan
Teagan Cobb

SNP
Mason Olguin
Keane Bessert

P
Simon McClannan
Teagan Cobb

KO
Chris Tennant
Simon McClannan

KR
Dylan Edwards
Jayce Brown or Keagan Johnson

PR
Dylan Edwards or Sterling Lockett

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Another preseason is in the books for the Kansas City Chiefs. While KC went 0-3 in the preseason, the game results matter far less than what we learned about the players who are fighting to make the 53-man roster or even fighting for a starting spot with the team. This preseason the Chiefs learned a lot about their rookie class. While time will tell on just how many rookies from this season will make an impact long-term, four of them stood out and made names for themselves this preseason.

Some of these rookies made big splash plays, while others displayed the skills or traits that the Chiefs drafted them for, but might have been wondering if they would transfer to the NFL. So let’s take a look at the four rookies who stood out in the preseason and what they proved going forward. We’ll start with the biggest surprise of the group.

Carson Steele is the one undrafted player on this list. While many college/draft experts had Steele on their radar and thought he was a nice UDFA signing for the Chiefs after the draft, I don’t think anyone expected Steele to take Chiefs Kingdom by storm the way he did. While the hype seemed too good to be true, Steele proved the hype was justified by the time the preseason came to a close.

Steele was K.C.’s leading rusher in the preseason, scored two short-yardage touchdowns, made a couple of amazing runs that went viral on social media, proved he could play on passing downs both with his hands and pass protection, proved he could play on special teams returning kicks and covering them, and was the talk of the internet when he revealed he had a pet alligator named Crocky J.

In other words, nobody had a better preseason and proved they deserved a spot on the roster more than Carson Steele.

The 2024 draft class didn’t have a clear-cut “best” safety. There were multiple different safeties that some draft experts thought were the best in the class, one of those being Jaden Hicks. So when Hicks fell to the Chiefs at the end of the fourth round it was universally labeled a “steal”.

Sometimes when that happens, NFL fans quickly find out there was a reason that particular player fell and that “steal” actually just meant that the player was overrated by the draft experts. Thankfully, that doesn’t seem to be the case with Hicks

With starting safety Justin Reid rehabbing an injury all through the preseason, Hicks got a lot of valuable experience and playing time with the first-string defense and he made the most of it. Sometimes you can see a rookie take the field and can tell they have “it”. That was the case with Hicks. From day one he was flying around making tackles and looking like he belonged in the NFL. Whether it was on defense or on special teams, Hicks looks like someone that will be a reliable part of the defense for years to come.

One of the biggest questions at the start of Chiefs training camp was if they even had their starting left tackle on the roster yet. Second-year man Wanya Morris and rookie second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia were given the opportunity to prove one of them could be trusted with the job or KC would have to go out and sign someone and Suamataia did just that. Morris was hampered by injuries most of training camp, but Suamataia didn’t just win by default. He showed he has it takes to be the long-term solution at left tackle for KC.

Suamataia stood out right away with his combination of size and athleticism. He doesn’t move like a man that is listed at 6-foot-4 and 326 pounds. That’s not to say that Kingsley won’t have some rookie mistakes. That’s bound to happen, but in his limited preseason playing time he showed both the power and movement skills to hold up against starting NFL defensive linemen. In fact, he showed that he’s far and away the most athletic tackle the Chiefs have had since Eric Fisher. As he gets more experience and improves his technique he should only continue to improve and that’s very encouraging for the Chiefs going forward.

There was never any doubt that Xavier Worthy could run fast. His NFL Combine record 4.21 second 40-yard dash time was proof of that. However, the history of the NFL is littered with players who could run a fast forty, but it didn’t translate to the field when the pads came on. Whether it was the numerous training camp highlights or a couple of splash plays in his limited preseason snaps, it was instantly clear that Worthy’s special speed is still going to be special in the NFL.

When a player comes along that can just blow by other NFL players that are usually considered elite athletes in their own right, it changes how teams have to defend them. Given KC’s wide receiver struggles last season, it allowed opposing defenses to clamp down on KC’s wideouts, but now they are going to have to go back to constantly protecting against the deep ball like they did when Tyreek Hill was a Chief. That’s not to say that Worthy has proven to be the all-around playmaker that Hill is, but the special speed is there and that alone will help the Chiefs offense this season.

So there you have it, Chiefs fans. Those are my four Kansas City Chiefs rookies who proved they belong in the preseason. There may be other rookies (possibly Jared Wiley) that could still contribute this season or in the future, but these four have already proven they have a clear place or role on this team. Do you agree with these picks? Did I leave anyone else out? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments below.