#3 Dante Cephas — Another day, another Dante: Super senior wide receiver Dante Cephas (3) didn’t have the biggest impact in his one season at Penn State, but he hopes to return to the higher level of production he had in his days at Kent State with Matthew Middleton, with whom he reunites here at K-State. | Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In which BracketCat counts down the 14th day until the 2024 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State wide receiver Dante Cephas.

Goal No. 14: CONSISTENCY. Your very, very best every time.

#14 Dante Cephas

Redshirt Super Senior | 6-0 | 193 lbs. | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Position: Wide Receiver
Previous Colleges: Kent State University; Pennsylvania State University
Projection: Starter
Status: On Scholarship

Dante Lamar Cephas (b. Jan. 15, 2001) is an athletic, veteran wide receiver who transferred from Penn State (after transferring there from Kent State) to use his final year of eligibility.

He has played in 42 career games, with 31 starts, over parts of his five seasons at Kent State and Penn State.

Cephas left Kent State following the 2022 season, ranking third in school history in career receiving yards (2,139), fourth in receptions (145) and tied for seventh in receiving touchdowns (12). He has recorded 10 games with 100 or more receiving yards in his career.

As a true freshman, Cephas played in three games in 2019 at Kent State (yes, he’s been playing as long as Chris Klieman has been coaching at K-State) as he retained his redshirt.

He had four catches for 19 yards during the year, all coming at Toledo, and also recovered a blocked punt against Buffalo.

Cephas saw action in all four games, with three starts, in a COVID-shortened 2020 season.

He recorded 11 catches for 136 yards on the year, had a season-high six receptions against Eastern Michigan and logged a season-best 55 yards on just two catches at Bowling Green.

Cephas started all 14 games in 2021, leading the team in receptions (82), receiving yards (1,240) and receiving touchdowns (nine) en route to All-MAC first-team honors.

His 82 receptions and 1,240 receiving yards ranked second in school history (and are better than any K-State receiver since Tyler Lockett), while his nine receiving scores ranked fourth.

Cephas also ranked 16th nationally in receiving yards, 31st in receiving touchdowns and 37th in receptions per game (5.9) in 2021 as he was third in the MAC in all three categories.

He totaled seven 100-yard receiving games on the year, highlighted by a 186-yard effort against Buffalo, and he also had a career-high three touchdown catches against Buffalo to tie for third in school history for a single game, while he posted 13 overall receptions against the Bulls to tie for sixth in school history.

Cephas also posted a double-digit-catch game at Maryland, totaling 10 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown, and had nine catches for 103 yards and a score at Ohio, while he posted another nine-catch effort in an overtime victory over Miami (Ohio).

He tallied a career-long reception of 80 yards — which went for a touchdown — in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Wyoming as he totaled 116 yards against the Cowboys.

During Cephas’ final season at Kent State in 2022, he played in nine games with eight starts, ranking second on the team with 48 receptions for 744 yards and three touchdowns as he once again earned All-MAC first-team accolades.

He led the MAC and ranked 29th nationally in receiving yards per game (82.7), setting career highs with 13 receptions for 246 yards with a touchdown on one very sick catch in an overtime victory against Ohio.

Cephas’ 246 yards against the Bobcats broke the school record and ranked third nationally during the 2022 season, while his 13 receptions tied for sixth in school history for a single game and tied for seventh in the country in 2022.

He also posted a nine-catch, 118-yard effort at Miami (Ohio) and had another 100-yard game in the season opener at Washington, going for 105 yards on six catches.

Last season in his one year at Penn State, Cephas played in 12 games with six starts, hauling in 22 receptions for 246 yards and two touchdowns.

He helped the Nittany Lions to earn a 51-15 win at Maryland with season highs in catches (six), receiving yards (53) and touchdowns (2), and he also had three catches for 36 yards at Michigan State, while he also had 36 receiving yards against Delaware.

Cephas totaled 948 yards and 13 touchdowns over his prep career at Penn Hills High School (located just east of Pittsburgh), which included a 26-catch, 585-yard campaign as a senior as he helped the Indians to earn a perfect 16-0 record and a state championship.

He caught three passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the state championship game to earn Player of the Game honors and earned PIAA All-State honors as a senior, while he was selected to play in the Big 33 Football Classic.

Cephas also was named to the WPIAL Class 5A Northern Offense Team and Big 56 Class 5A Northern Conference All-Conference Team, as well as being selected to the WPIAL Class 6A Northern Seven Offense Team as a junior.

He was named to the 2021 Biletnikoff Award midseason watch list and the 2023 Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list, as well as the 2023 Senior Bowl watch list, but didn’t quite live up to those expectations in the latter season. What gives?

Well, the current thinking is that reuniting with his wide receivers coach from Kent State, K-State assistant Matthew Middleton, will spur Cephas back to Kent-like production levels, while all I will say about Penn State is they changed coordinators to Andy Kotelnicki. Hmm…

It’s ironic that today’s watchword is “consistency,” because that’s all KSU fans want to see.

Cephas committed to K-State very quietly and is not known to have had any other suitors.

That’s different than at this time last year: Cephas chose to enroll at Penn State in 2023 over offers from Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, and the then-ninth-rated Division I transfer wide receiver was timed at 22 mph during a game.

He originally picked Kent State as a three-star prep prospect over offers from Ball State, Bowling Green, Eastern Kentucky, Howard and Toledo, as well as interest from Wisconsin.

Early indications are that the K-State coaches see him coming back to his earlier prowess.

For instance, assistant head coach Van Malone had this to say earlier this week:

Dante Cephas, a new guy on our team, I’ve been impressed with what he’s done.

And here’s head coach Chris Klieman chiming in on Cephas back at the start of fall camp:

Bringing in Dante Cephas was a really good get for us and he fits in really well.

Don’t believe the coaches? Well, just ask Cephas’ peers, then, such as Keagan Johnson:

Then we have Dante Cephas, who’s brought some good experience to the receiving room. I’m excited for him.

Here’s hoping for big things from Cephas in his final swan song season!