In which BracketCat counts down the 18th day until the 2024 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State safety Wesley Fair.

#18 Wesley Fair

Redshirt Freshman | 6-0 | 200 lbs. | Wichita, Kansas

Position: Safety
Previous College: None
Projection: Third-String
Status: On Scholarship

Wesley Fair (b. Oct. 8, 2004) is a young safety with speed, toughness and stamina from Collegiate High School in Wichita who is majoring in business administration.

Fair arrived in time for spring practices and several coaches praised his efforts in both spring and fall camps, but I projected him to redshirt due to his need to add some weight.

While he did end up redshirting, he still played in three contests as he retained that redshirt.

Fair saw time as a reserve safety in the season opener against SEMO — recording a tackle — and in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against NC State. He also had a tackle on kickoff coverage against the Wolfpack, while he was seen on kickoff coverage against Baylor.

Fair prepped under head coach Troy Black at Wichita Collegiate, where he was regarded as the 69th-best athlete in the Class of 2023 by 247Sports, while the organization also ranked him as the seventh-best prospect in the state of Kansas.

Fair was rated as safety by On3, which placed him at No. 72.

He picked up first-team all-state honors as a senior from Kansas Football Coaches Association, Sports in Kansas and KSHSAA Covered.

Fair also earned first-team all-state honors as a safety and honorable mention accolades as a quarterback from The Wichita Eagle during his junior and senior campaigns.

An honorable mention all-state pick as a junior from Sports in Kansas, he also participated in track and basketball for the Spartans.

Moreover, Fair seems to be a genuinely good person who, with roommate Avery Johnson, helps to teach kids at youth football and flag football camps in their home city of Wichita.

He chose K-State over offers from Colorado State, Harvard, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisiana Tech and South Dakota, as well as interest from Minnesota and Nebraska.

Fair’s primary recruiter was Taylor Braet, director of football recruiting, assisted by his new position coach and defensive coordinator, Joe Klanderman. Said Klanderman of Fair’s skill:

Our two young kids, Kam Sallis and Wesley Fair, as true freshmen, early enrollee seniors, they’re going to probably help us next year (in 2024).

He was mentioned again this offseason by both head coach Chris Klieman and assistant Van Malone, cementing my prediction that he will be a much bigger part of things here in 2024.