#3 John Holcombe II — If the jersey number sticks (he’s still battling over it with Dylan Edwards), freshman quarterback Blake Barnett will be the first at that position to wear No. 3 since John Holcombe II (3). (Yes, the name that more immediately comes to mind is Ell Roberson, but I wasn’t ready to go there quite yet…) | Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images

In which BracketCat counts down the third day until the 2024 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State quarterback Blake Barnett.

Goal No. 3: UNITY. Come together as never before.

#3 Blake Barnett

True Freshman | 6-1 | 228 lbs. | Erie, Colorado

Position: Quarterback
Previous College: None
Projection: Redshirt
Status: On Scholarship

Blake Barnett (b. Dec. 9, 2005) is a talented young 4-star quarterback from Erie High School in Colorado who plans on majoring in business. I expect him to redshirt in 2024.

A four-year letter-winner and two-year team captain under head coach Jeff Giger, Barnett was rated the top overall player in the state of Colorado for the Class of 2024 by Rivals, while the organization viewed him as the seventh-best dual-threat quarterback in the class.

He also was rated the top overall prospect in the state by On3, in addition to being ranked as the 17th-best dual-threat quarterback in the country by ESPN.

A three-year first-team all-state player by the Colorado High School Activities Association, Barnett also was named Class 4A Player of the Year as a senior after he started all 43 career games and led the Tigers to a 36-7 record, including a state championship as a senior.

He broke the Colorado state record for overall touchdowns with 159, a record that previously was held by current San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (141).

Barnett threw for 7,518 yards and 88 touchdowns in addition to running for 3,420 yards and another 68 scores during his prep career, when he was a high school teammate of K-State offensive lineman John Pastore, who could be the starting left tackle at some point this year.

He also was a three-year letter-winner in track — winning state championships in the 100-meter dash and 4×200-meter dash — while he was a two-year letter-winner in basketball.

Barnett chose K-State over offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Kansas, Oregon State and Washington, as well as interest from Georgia and Illinois. His primary recruiter was former offensive coordinator Collin Klein. He enrolled in time for 2024 spring practices at K-State.

(P.S. Best wishes for a continued recovery from cancer to Barnett’s father, Steve.)