We introduce you to the newest Wildcats.
National Signing Day is (mostly) in the books, and the Kansas State Wildcats fought off an aggressive campaign by the Oregon Ducks to steal Goodland’s 5-star tight end Linkon Cure to cap their 2024 efforts.
Cure, at 6’6” 220, had offers from 29 Power 4 schools, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Southern Cal, as well as Oregon, obviously. But he stuck to his guns, despite a late visit to Oregon, and will be staying home to start his college career.
The remainder of the class:
Logan Bartley
S, First Baptist Academy (Naples, FL) 3* 6’2” 200
Bartley was rated the #44 safety in the nation by 247, and chose K-State over P4 offers from Boston College, Illinois, and Mississippi. As a sophomore, Bartley was all-state and part of the Florida 2A state championship team.
RJ Collins
S, Staley HS (North Kansas City, MO) 3/4* 5’11” 170
Collins was a corner in high school, but the Cats list him as a safety. ESPN — which gave him his fourth star — ranks him as the 45th-best wide receiver in the nation this year, and the fifth-best player in Missouri, but he appears to be coming in as a defensive back. He’s quick; he was the Missouri state champion in the 200m, and set the state record. He finished third in the 100m, too. Collins only had one other P5 offer, but it was from USC.
Arrion “Nunu” Concepcion
WR, Chambers HS (Charlotte, NC) 3* 5’10”, 170
Concepcion, the younger brother of North Carolina State WR Kevin, de-committed from the Wolfpack two weeks ago and decided to come to Manhattan. 247 has him as the 32nd-best player in North Carolina. He had P4 offers from NC State, Miami (FL), and Virginia Tech. Older brother Kevin has also recentlyentered the transfer portal, and will likely also be a target for the K-State coaching staff.
Jemyri Davis
WR, Trinity Valley CC (TX) 3* 6’1” 170
Davis, who played high school ball at Bean HS in the Fort Worth suburb of Everman, TX, is rated the 48th-best JUCO player in this class by 247 and 25th by ESPN; he’s the fifth-best JUCO receiver per 247 and ESPN has him second. He held no other P5 offers, but basically half the Sun Belt, C-USA, and Southland were chasing him. Davis was the NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week after an 8-catch, 244-yard, 3-TD effort against Cisco this September.
Dillon Duff
QB, DeSmet Jesuit (Creve Coeur, MO) 3* 6’2” 185
Duff was the 17th-best player in Missouri per 247, and 10th per On3. He held P4 offers from Central Florida, Duke, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and Northwestern. He’s still got a game to play, as DeSmet faces Nixa for the Missouri Class 6 title on Saturday in Columbia. Duff is a third-generation college player; his grandfather played for USC and he has two uncles who played for Mizzou.
Monterrio Elston Jr.
RB, Parkview Magnet (Little Rock, AR) 3* 5’8” 180
ESPN has Elston as the sixth-best player in Arkansas, and he was all-state last year. He’s the first Arkansas signing for the Cats in 13 years. Elston also has a game yet to play, as Parkview takes on Farmington at War Memorial on Friday for the Arkansas 5A title; Elston’s already won one of these last year. Arkansas, Georgia Tech, and Missouri also extended P4 offers (as did Memphis and UNLV).
Brock Heath
OL, Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, KS) 3/4* 6’4” 260
Heath was tabbed the ninth-best guard and the sixth-best player in Kansas by ESPN, and they have him listed as a 4-star. His older brothers Tyler (Kansas), Blake (Nebraska), and Jackson (Mizzou) all also played college ball. He was all-state last year, and held P5 offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, and Utah.
Martel Jackson
CB, Derby (KS) 3* 6’2” 175
Jackson, whose parents went to K-State, was so in the bag that he was only offered by K-State. Another reason he was almost certain to stay home: he’ll have two familiar faces to reconnect with in Avery Johnson and Dylan Edwards. ESPN has him as the eighth-best prospect in the state.
Will Kenma
OT, Helias Catholic (Jefferson City, MO) 3* 6’5” 260
Kenma, rated as a top-50 OT by Rivals and On3 and the 7th-best prospect in Missouri by On3, is yet another Wildcat playing for a state title this weekend as Helias meets Platte County on Saturday for the Missouri Class 5 championship. Kemna also had offers from Cincinnati, Duke, and Nebraska.
Noah King
CB, Hamilton HS (OH) 3/4* 6’3” 195
King — the first Ohio Wildcats since 2004 — is rated as a 4-star by 247, and the seventh-best player in Ohio, 26th-best corner in the nation. He also held P4 offers from Kentucky, Oregon State, West Virginia, and Nebraska — to which he was leaning so strongly late that 247 still had him headed to Nebraska on the Crystal Ball.
Dalton Knapp
DE, All Saints Episcopal (Fort Worth, TX) 3* 6’4” 205
Knapp is a low three-star, the 226th-best prospect in Texas per 247. His team takes on Second Baptist School (Houston) on Saturday for the TAPPS Division II title. He had P4 offers from Kansas, Houston, Oregon State, Purdue, Utah, and Washington State, as well as from Boise State and Memphis.
Dominic Mitchell
S, Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, AZ) 3* 6’2” 200
Mitchell is the #6 player in Arizona per On3, and the 52nd-best safety in the class. He held no other P4 offers, although there was contact with the Arizona and Michigan schools, Cal, Kansas, Syracuse, and Vanderbilt. However, Mitchell did have offers from UConn, Fordham, Princeton, and all three service academies, and that’s a data point worth paying attention to.
Adonis Moise
WR, IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) 3/4* 6’0” 180
Moise was given a fourth star by ESPN, who rated him as the 56th-best receiver in the class. Boston College, Central Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Pitt, Vanderbilt, and West Virginia also offered. Moise played for two years at Palmetto HS before his year at IMG.
Ashton Moore
LB, Louisburg HS (Louisburg, KS) 3* 6’0” 200
Yes, this is Austin’s little brother, and he might be even better. He’s the 15th-best player in Kansas per 247, and ESPN rates him the 48th-best inside linebacker in the class. Moore was nominated twice for the Simone Award, which goes to the best high school player in the Kansas City metro area period, and won this year’s Bobby Bell award, given to the best low-classification interior defender in the area. He’s also pretty quick; Louisburg’s 4×400 team took third at state.
Cub Patton
K/P, Cooper HS (Lubbock, TX) 0* 6’2” 165
Patton has no stars, but that’s not surprising for a kicking specialist. His only other major offer was Air Force. As a sophomore and junior, he was all-state, and was 65/65 on extra points as a junior.
Weston Polk
LB, Coppell HS (Coppell, TX) 3* 6’1” 215
Polk checked in as the #23 linebacker in the nation at ESPN, and the 65th-best player in Texas at 247. He had P4 offers from California, Houston, Iowa State, Oregon State, and TCU; Memphis was also in on him. His decision to attend K-State may be more academic than anything, as he’s intending to major in agribusiness (which is not a normal football player major at all).
Maguire Richman
LB, Blue Valley HS (Leawood, KS) 3* 6’2” 200
The eighth-best player in Kansas per Rivals, Richman’s only other major offer was from Iowa, where his brother Mason is an offensive lineman. He was also Blue Valley’s kicker, and was named all-state. In 2023, he was a finalist for the aforementioned Simone Award.
Sawyer Schilke
DE, Kearney HS (Kearney, NE) 3* 6’3” 225
Schilke’s a top-10 player in Nebraska according to every service but 247, which has him 11th. ESPN rates him #45 at edge. He had no other P4 offers, although North Dakota State was chasing him. He was first-team All-State two years in a row.
JoJo Scott
CB, Victory Christian Academy (Lakeland, FL) 3* 6’1” 175
Scott is rated #66 among this year’s corners, and the 90th-best player in Florida. He held offers from Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisville, Nebraska, North Carolina State, Oregon State, West Virginia, and Wisconsin; Memphis and South Florida were in as well.
Brad Stanyer
DE, Grapevine HS (Grapevine, TX) 3* 6’5” 235
Stanyer doesn’t have any high positional or in-state ratings, but he is an absolute unit. Like Patton, Stanyer turned down a laundry list of elite academic opportunities to come to Manhattan: Air Force, Army, Cornell, and Yale were all after him.
Serious Stinyard
DB, Gaither HS (Tampa, FL) 3* 5’11” 180
Stinyard is a “late” addition to the 2025 class, committing and signing on the first day of the early signing period, after previously being committed to West Virginia. Stinyard was apparently already looking elsewhere, but made his de-commitment official after the firing of Neal Brown in Morgantown. The sought-after defensive back also turned down offers and late pushes from NC State and Michigan State, as well as strong interest from Minnesota among others. While he may get moved back to safety, his speed (10.81 100m) would also be an asset on the edge.
Patrick Tackie
DT, Hinds CC (Bronx, NY) 3* 6’3” 296
Tackie comes to K-State after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Hinds CC in Mississippi. Originally from New York City’s Bronx borough, Tackie is a consensus 3* defensive tackle that has three seasons to play two, and may be able to take that initial redshirt if current DTs Malcolm Alcron-Crowder and Asher Tomaszewski both come out of their redshirt seasons ready to go in the rotation behind returning starter Damian Ilalio. Tackie didn’t put up big numbers at Hinds CC, but was still regarded as the 20th-best overall community college recruit and 10th-best CC defensive lineman recruit by 247, as well as the 5th-best CC DT by ESPN.
Dylan Villarouel
OL, North Forsyth HS (Cumming, GA) 3* 6’3” 290
Villarouel is another “late” addition to the 2025 class, committing and signing on the first day of the early signing period. K-State is easily the biggest school on his offer list, with a slew of G5 offers from the east coast, as well as all three major service academies and several Ivy League schools. The consensus 3-star prospect had originally committed to James Madison before flipping to K-State.
Darien Whitaker Jr.
LB, Boys Town HS [NE] (Baltimore, MD) 3* 6’4” 215
Whitaker is originally from Maryland, but prepped at Boys Town HS in Omaha where he was rated as the 60th-best linebacker nationally and 7th-best overall recruit in Nebraska by On3, as well as 6th-best recruit by 247. As a senior, Darien was a finalist for both the district player of the year as well as Nebraska’s “Mr. Football” award by the Jet Award Foundation. In addition to his defensive prowess – which saw him grab 82 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and two interceptions his senior year – Whitaker also rushed for 1,589 and 25 touchdowns in his career, and als had 361 kickoff return yards.