The Oregon Ducks will be hosting five-star tight end Lincoln Cure for their rivalry game against the Washington Huskies on Saturday night. Cure is a Kansas State Wildcats commit, but is still making visits to other schools before national signing day.

The elite recruit from the Class of 2025 is predicted to stick with Kansas State, but the Ducks trying to flip his commitment.

Linkon Cure Player Profile

Linkon Cure is a 6-6, 220-pound tight end out of Goodland, Kansas. He is a rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 1 tight end in the class of 2025 per 247sports. Cure committed to Kansas State in July of 2024. 

What makes him so special? 247Sports’ scouting analyst Gabe Brooks had this to say about Cure.

“Big, athletic, playmaking tight end prospect who can line up as a true receiver and provide mismatches in the passing game,” Brooks said. “Uses speed-changing nuance as a route runner and gravitates toward space when available. Combines strength with speed as a run-after catch threat. Athletic enough to hurt defenses in the vertical game, while also providing a big-play threat in the screen/quick game.”

In addition to having all of the athletic tools, Cure has knack for finding the ball. Cure is viewed as an elite prospect that will eventually be picked in the top half of the NFL draft.

“Enters senior season as an elite tight end prospect with high-round NFL Draft upside,” Brooks said. “Gifted flex tight end with physical tool and strength capacity to fit all tight end modes at the high-major level, and potentially beyond.”

Can Oregon Ducks Flip Another Tight End?

The Oregon Ducks flipped four-star class of 2025 tight end Vander Ploog from Washington to Oregon in early November. Now, Oregon is looking to flip another tight end to join the class of 2025 recruiting class.  

While Linkon Cure will be visiting Oregon this weekend, he is still expected to end up singing with the school he is committed to, Kansas State. 

247Sports experts Tom Loy, Ryan Wallace, and Miek Roach have all kept the predictions for Cure to inevitably sign with Kansas State. 

“Everything stands out about Oregon for me,” Cure told Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Nemec. “We’ll just have to see how the weekend goes.”

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Dave Aranda has Baylor playing good football as the Bears are on a five-game winning streak. They are trying to end the season with eight wins but have a challenge with Kansas visiting on Saturday.

The Jayhawks have been playing good football winning four of their last five including three straight over ranked opponents. Aranda believes KU could be their toughest test of the season.

“I have a lot of respect for our opponent,” Aranda said. “You pop on their tape and its apparent. Probably the best team we’ve played. You look at all three sides of it and you look at the level of what they’re playing right now, this is the best team we’ve played. Our guys feel that way when they watch it. And so, it demands attention and so excited to get into it.”

Aranda has been helping coach the defense and has a reputation as a good defensive mind. If they are going to slow down the Jayhawks offense it will take a better tackling performance than they have shown in recent games.

“It’s going to take better tackling than what we’ve done,” he said. “For some of the positive things from Saturday, the negative, and it’s been too long a negative, it’s just the lack of tackling guys leaving their feet and chasing ankles and all this other thing. It lessens us and I think it makes us look small and weak and vulnerable.”

Tackling has been an issue and if they are going to beat Kansas that is one area that must improve.

“You have to be able to step on people’s feet and put your face on their face and run through them,” he said. “And we have not done that to the degree that we should. And we’re going to have to in this game. If we tackle like how we’ve tackled, we’re not going to win the game.”

The defense will go against KU’s offense coordinated by Jeff Grimes, who was the offensive coordinator at Baylor from 2021-2023.

“It’ll be good to see him,” Aranda said. “I know that he’s going to look at all of it, but he’s going to look at Iowa State, and that was probably our worst game. And he’s going to want to replicate a lot of the things that are in that game. We’re going to have to play much better than we did back then.”

Aranda was asked about Jalon Daniels and how he has been playing better as the season goes. He believes a lot of that is dependent around a strong running game for Kansas.

“The run game is clicking for him, and they can run wide zone and get seven, eight yards anytime they want,” Aranda said. “I think he plays with the confidence that’s the case. I think a lot of people are playing them off and giving them field outs and things. I think the run game has opened up. There’s a lot of bluff back into the boundary and crack and loads where there’s alleys down the sideline and makes you have to defend with 11.

“I think the more receivers make plays when the ball’s in the air, which they’ve shown to do that, you’re running out of people to cover all their people. I think they’ve got things clicking on offense over there. It’s going to be tough matchup.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One woman died and a second was injured in a shooting Monday night in Kansas City, Missouri’s, Westside neighborhood, police said.

About 8:25 p.m., officers were called to the 1300 block of West Bluff Drive on reports of a shooting.

On arrival, officers located two women suffering from gunshot wounds inside of a vehicle east of Avenida Cesar E. Chavez.

Both victims were transported to an area hospital; one of the women died at the hospital while the second was listed in stable condition, police said.

A preliminary investigation found there was a large disturbance outside of an apartment on West Bluff Drive.

Police said the disturbance escalated when more people arrived at the scene and gunshots were fired, hitting the victims.

No suspect information was immediately available.

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