#18 Will Howard — I’m going to let this — “This is my f***ing house!” — be my enduring memory of WIll Howard (18), not that disappointing Senior Night that followed. That said, Howard is now at Ohio State and No. 18 will be worn by a different quarterback, Hudson Hutcheson, this fall. Changes comes to us all… | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

In which BracketCat counts down the 18th day until the 2024 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State quarterback Hudson Hutcheson.

#18 Hudson Hutcheson

True Freshman | 5-11 | 180 lbs. | Lubbock, Texas

Position: Quarterback
Previous College: None
Projection: Redshirt
Status: Preferred Walk-On

Hudson Hutcheson (b. April 19, 2005) is a skinny, mulleted walk-on quarterback plucked right out of enemy territory in Lubbock, Texas, who plans on majoring in kinesiology.

He likely will redshirt and not play in 2024 as he works to learn plays and put on weight.

A two-year letter-winner under head coach Jay Northcutt at Frenship High School in Wolfforth, Texas, Hutcheson earned honorable mention all-state honors as both a junior and senior from the Texas Sports Writers Association as he combined for 8,216 passing yards and 84 touchdowns on 567-of-780 (72.7%) aim during those two seasons.

He set the school’s career records for completions, attempts, completion percentage, passing yards, total yards, passing touchdowns (including nine in a single game!) and total touchdowns, and he also rushed for 971 yards and 18 touchdowns over that span.

A two-time first-team all-district performer who was the district offensive Most Valuable Player as a junior, Hutcheson led the University Interscholastic League in passing yards per game as a senior (373 YPG) and led the Tigers to a district championship as a junior.

He also lettered three years in baseball, leading Frenship to three straight district championships, and earned all-state honors and district Newcomer of the Year accolades as a catcher in 2022, while he was an all-district catcher each of the next two seasons.

Hutcheson chose to walk on at K-State over medium recruiting interest from Texas Tech. He cited, as many other recruits have done, the institution’s legendary family atmosphere:

What led me to Kansas State was the people within the program. They treated me like family and run their program the right way. I think my biggest strength is that I can use my legs in creative ways to extend plays.

GoPowercat.com offered this assessment of Hutcheson’s game and skill set recently:

A late addition for this year’s PWO class, this undersized Texan has some real moxie about him. … Hutcheson shows good pocket presence and works through his progressions quickly. Reading the field well without getting locked on his first route, this athlete stands tall in the pocket despite size. Though he lacks big arm talent, it doesn’t appear as though Hutcheson is the type to try and make throws he can’t. A passer first, Hutcheson does show good enough mobility to keep a defense honest and improvise when plays break down. Someone for Matt Wells to groom from day one as a true freshman, it’ll be interesting to see how this walk-on matures over time.

Frankly, I’m not sure why more schools weren’t interested in this kid, as he put up absolutely absurd numbers in multiple games during his senior season. I guess it’s our gain, though!

(P.S. Hutcheson’s most important honor, though, might be making the final ballot for the 2023 Whataburger Super Team! You can watch some more of his highlights here.)