Despite the loss of two key components, things still look good behind the defensive line.
The first thing you notice when examining Kansas State’s linebacker corps heading into 2024 is how much is missing.
Daniel Green entered the draft, and Jake Clifton is taking the year off for his LDS mission. Tobi Osunsanmi is still around, but he’s moved up to defensive end. Among the guys who didn’t play all that much, Shadryon Blanka transferred to Fort Hays State and Collin Dunn moved on to Itawamba Community College.
Green is, of course, a huge loss but then he was gone for over 3/4 of the season anyway after suffering a season-ending injury against Missouri. Clifton is, then, the biggest missing piece from 2023; presumably he’ll be back next year but we’re stuck in the present.
So who’s still on board? Thankfully, two of the best defensive players on the team will remain in place.
Junior Desmond Purnell anchors the strong side after a season in which he rarely made a mistake and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Purnell forced three fumbles last season (tied for second in the Big 12), recovered two, and had 52 tackles.
Rex Van Wyhe, a redshirt sophomore who came to K-State last year as the #2 JUCO linebacker prospect in the nation, will back up Purnell, and redshirt freshman Kam Sallis moves forward from safety to take the third spot on the depth chart.
On the weak side, Austin Moore is back for his sixth season. Moore has started every game the last two seasons, during which time he’s led the team twice in tackles, racking up 22.5 tackles for loss. Moore made the Big 12’s second team last year, and even received votes for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He’ll be the heart and soul of the Wildcat defense in 2024.
Asa Newsom, a redshirt freshman who got plenty of snaps before being injured against UCF and taking the rest of the year off, will likely be Moore’s primary backup. Terry Kirksey Jr., a redshirt junior from Hutchinson CC, is also in line there.
Alec Marenco comes to Manhattan as a grad transfer from New Mexico, where he led the Lobos in tackles last year on the way to All-Mountain West honorable mention status. He appears to have the inside track in the middle, but he’ll have a supremely confident backup if that’s the case.
That’s because sophomore Austin Romaine is still around. Romaine had an absolutely fantastic true freshman season, starting five games — the most by a true freshman linebacker at K-State since before Bill Snyder came to town, and the first to start a game at all since Tre Walker in 2010.
Senior Beau Palmer will back those guys up. Palmer’s had a lot of experience, including starts last year against Iowa State and North Carolina State. In short, not only will middle linebacker be solid, depth is not an issue there whatsoever.
Holdovers filling out the unit are junior Zach Wittenberg, sophomores Tyson Struber (who coverted from wideout during bowl prep last year), Kaden McMahan (a transfer from Tyler JC), and Gavin Meyers, and redshirt freshman Gabe Roland. True freshmen Jake Stonebraker, Boone Morris, and Will Granger enter the chat as well.
It’s rare to look at a unit losing talent like Green and Clifton and say “eh, it’ll be fine,” but that’s exactly what we have here. Three (arguably five) returning members of the unit can be checked off as solid and dependable, two solid transfers join them, and there are a host of promising candidates for depth.
But the linebacking corps is going to live or die with Moore and Purnell. Those who’ve watched the Cats recently know what those two bring to the game, and how crucial losing either of them to injury would be. That’s less a matter of sheer talent — not that either are lacking — but more about energy and experience. These two guys are going to drive the defense, and if they can both get through the campaign, things will be looking up in Manhattan.