#33 John Hubert — Tyson Struber switched both his position and jersey number during Pop-Tarts Bowl prep last season, taking the No. 33 jersey that is more commonly associated with past skill players such as Morgan Burns and the criminally underrated John Hubert (33) than linebackers like he is now. | Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

In which BracketCat counts down the 33rd day until the 2024 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State linebacker Tyson Struber.

#33 Tyson Struber

Redshirt Sophomore | 6-2 | 224 lbs. | Galva, Kansas

Position: Linebacker
Previous College: None
Projection: Scout Team
Status: On Scholarship

Tyson Struber (b. Dec. 15, 2003) is a dominant athlete from Canton-Galva High School who joined the 2022 class during the late period and is majoring in business administration.

He redshirted in 2022 and did not see any game action as a wide receiver in 2022 or 2023.

Given the increasing deadlock at that position and the 2023 injury decimation in the linebacking corps, Struber transitioned from wide receiver to linebacker during Pop-Tarts Bowl practices and stayed there through the spring as they continued to manage injuries.

A four-year letter-winner under head coach Shelby Hoppes at Canton-Galva, Struber was rated the eighth-best player in the state of Kansas for the Class of 2022 by 247Sports.

He holds the career Kansas 8-man records for career receiving yards (4,040) and career touchdowns (70), while he finished two catches shy of tying that career mark.

Struber also led all players in the state — regardless of class — with 1,472 receiving yards as a senior as he was named the Sports in Kansas 8-Man Division I Player of the Year.

A four-year all-state honoree by The Topeka Capital-Journal, including during his final three seasons as a first-team selection, he helped the Eagles earn a state championship in 2019.

Struber also competed in track and field, winning a state title in the 200-meter dash.

He picked K-State over an offer from Kansas, plus interest from Harvard and South Dakota.

Struber’s primary recruiters were current director of football recruiting Taylor Braet and former wide receivers coach Jason Ray. His father, James, also attended K-State.

Here’s what head coach Chris Klieman had to say about Struber’s potential on signing day:

Tyson Struber is an athlete, could play him at wide receiver, can play defensive back, probably start him out at wide receiver but can do a lot of different things. We’re going to see what he can do when he gets here. He’s out of Galva, Kansas, another Kansas kid that came to camp and did a really good job at camp and just love his athleticism. So, we’ll kind of play it out and see where he ends up playing for us, but he’s got tremendous ability and will be another really good special teams guy, too.

He dominated his level of football and could do it on both sides of the ball. That’s what I think is so unique about him. He’s got really good ball skills. He came to camp, showed that he can cover as a defensive back. He’s not afraid to strike. He’s got good length to him. He’s going to continue to get bigger and bigger. He’s 6-foot-2, 185 (pounds) already. He’ll be a 205, 210-pound guy. His versatility is probably what impresses us the most about him in the fact that he could play wide receiver. He could play a defensive back. He could grow into a linebacker, potentially. But just the fact he’s an athlete that is really versatile is going to give us an awful lot of opportunities to put him in different spots.

I think it’s really just about finding the right spot for this guy. Perhaps linebacker will be the sport where he can finally flourish and have the best chance of seeing the field in 2024…?