#60 Nick Leckey — At K-State, jersey number #53 was popularized best by legendary center Nick Leckey (60). (Can you believe there isn’t a picture of him in purple anywhere in our database?!) Now his number belongs to redshirt sophomore Drake Bequeaith. | Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

In which BracketCat counts down the 53rd day until the 2024 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State offensive lineman Drake Bequeaith.

#53 Drake Bequeaith

Redshirt Sophomore | 6-6 | 290 lbs. | Colleyville, Texas

Position: Offensive Line
Previous College: None
Projection: Second-String
Status: On Scholarship

Drake Bequeaith (b. July 11, 2003) is an athletic, agile backup offensive tackle from Grapevine High School in Texas who is majoring in mechanical engineering.

Last season, he saw playing time as a reserve offensive lineman against SEMO, Troy, Houston and Baylor, and finished the season as a first-team Academic All-Big 12 performer.

Bequeaith, who redshirted in 2022, prepped under head coach Mike Alexander at Grapevine, where he earned honorable mention all-state honors as a junior from the Texas Sports Writers Association as he helped to lead the Mustangs to an area championship.

The Mustangs also won an area championship during his senior season, while he was an all-district honoree as both a junior and senior, plus a first-team academic all-state performer.

Bequeaith, a consensus three-star player who actually was born in Leawood, chose K-State over offers from Dartmouth, Kansas, Lamar, North Texas, Sam Houston State and Tulsa, as well as Power Four interest from Boston College and Ole Miss. His primary recruiter was his position coach and offensive coordinator, Conor Riley. Here’s what Chris Klieman said:

(Bequeaith) came to camp and did a great job for Coach Riley at camp. He’s a big offensive lineman and was very physical, really athletic. He’s got some ties to the Kansas City area, so he’s been over here a few times and came back for a game. We’re really excited about getting Drake here. We have really done a nice job with our offensive line and getting some more guys in our class.

Klieman also compared Bequeaith to fellow classmate John Pastore and another local stud:

“We think they have the ability to play tackle first, and if not tackle then guard, as opposed to the flipside of them being guards and potentially becoming a tackle. Cooper Beebe is a great example. Cooper (was) playing tackle. We brought him in thinking he was going to be a guard and then we were able to move him outside. The guys we’re bringing in, we hope have the potential to play tackle and if not, we’ll slide them into guard. Having the length with all three of those guys is important.”

Bequeaith’s brother, Dylan, previously was a preferred walk-on freshman fullback for the Wildcats in 2022, but he left the team prior to the 2023 season.