The K-State Wildcats are the defending Big 12 Champions if you haven’t heard. They also played in their first BCS/New Year’s Six bowl game since 2013 with an appearance in the Sugar Bowl.

They will begin their title defense on Saturday, September 2nd against Southeast Missouri State. To get you ready for the college football season, we take a deep dive into the personnel of the K-State offense. A preview of the defense will be coming soon as well.

One of the largest storylines surrounding the K-State football program was whether offensive coordinator Collin Klein would leave the team for the same position at the “prestigious” University of Notre Dame. In the end, he felt like he had much more work to do in Manhattan and politely declined the job from the team that is 0-8 in its last BCS/NY6 bowl games dating back to 1995.

Starting with the most important position in the game of football we know who the head honcho will be running K-State’s offense, senior quarterback Will Howard.

In 2022, Howard threw for 1,633 yards in seven games (233.2 per game), 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. His accuracy was his biggest weakness with a completion percentage of 59.8%.

Howard took over for Adrian Martinez after an injury against TCU and then again later in the season against Baylor.

What he brought to the table last season is going under a lot of people’s radars on the regional/national level. Howard didn’t even get a nod for All-Big 12 Honorable Mention despite him leading his team to a conference championship. This season, he missed out on the All-Big 12 Preseason Team.

However, he was included in the Davey O’Brien Award, Maxwell Award, Wuerffel Trophy and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award watch lists. Many will soon remember just how good the fourth-year gunslinger from Pennsylvania is.

A battle for the backup QB role was waged during the offseason and it appears as if redshirt sophomore Jake Rubley was the victor.

I found it very surprising that the Colorado native decided to stay with K-State considering how highly regarded he was as a high school prospect. The former four-star recruit was a top 50 quarterback, who turned the likes of LSU and Iowa to pursue his collegiate football career in The Little Apple.

He appears content and understands what his role is on this team, much like what Will Howard had to deal with the past few seasons behind Skylar Thompson and Adrian Martinez.

Will he ever be a full-time starter at K-State with another more sought-after prospect in true freshman Avery Johnson right behind him? I’m not sure, but it is very cool to see how loyal Rubley is to this team.

Now, about this Avery kid that everyone is talking about so much. Johnson is from Maize, KS, and was ranked the ninth-best quarterback in the country, according to 247 Sports. Johnson turned down the likes of Oregon and Washington among many others to come to K-State. The 6-foot-2 dual-threat threw for 2,768 yards and 29 touchdowns his senior year while running for 817 yards with 15 more rushing touchdowns.

He led the Maize Eagles to a 5A State Championship this past fall and created some dazzling highlights while doing it. It’s not crazy to say he is the most talented and intriguing high school prospect in K-State football history.

We are probably at least a year away from seeing him getting meaningful quarterback reps, however. Howard still has his extra year of COVID eligibility left after this season, should he choose not to enter the NFL Draft.

One of Johnson’s few flaws is his size as coming out of high school he was just 173 pounds, but he has gained 15 pounds of muscle during the offseason, thanks to strength and conditioning coach Trumain Carroll. He also at times tries to do too much by extending plays and makes bad decisions.

The fourth string looks like it belongs to redshirt freshman Adryan Lara, who sat out last season. Lara is talented in his own right and was a standout at Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, AZ.

K-State’s fifth-string QB and practice squad leader is redshirt freshman Jacob Knuth, who walked on after transferring from the University of Minnesota. In high school, he was the 27th-best pocket passer in the Class of 2022, according to ESPN.

This isn’t hyperbole when I say this is far and away the deepest QB room K-State has had in school history, with their second-best probably being last year’s QB room. There are many teams in the mid-2000s and mid-2010s where Adryan Lara or even Jacob Knuth would easily be the best starter on those teams.

Remember Carson Coffman? Allan Evridge? Joe Hubener? Dylan Webb? Lara and Knuth could definitely beat those guys out.

At running back, the Wildcats will obviously miss their two-time Consensus All-American Deuce Vaughn, however, they do return Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Honorable Mention redshirt sophomore DJ Giddens. The Junction City native played in all 14 games in 2022 and ran for 518 yards and six touchdowns as the team’s backup.

One of the biggest question marks for K-State’s offense is what they can get out of Florida State super senior transfer Treshaun Ward. He’s already garnered a ton of respect from the conference. He received the title of Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, and last year he was an All-ACC Honorable Mention.

Ward ran for 649 yards and seven touchdowns in 2022. He had three multi-touchdown games last season including in the Seminoles’ Cheez-It Bowl win over Oklahoma where he had 81 yards and two touchdowns on ten carries.

While those two will get significant workloads this season, it’s also likely that we will see true freshman Joe Jackson get some touches.

Jackson is the 26th-rated running back in the Class of 2023, according to 247 Sports. Head coach Chris Klieman said in his most recent press conference that we could see as many as ten true freshmen this season, expect Jackson to be one of them.

As far as how the backfield will be split, I imagine that it will look like what we saw in 2019 in Klieman’s first season with James Gilbert and Jordon Brown with some Harry Trotter mixed in.

Similarly, this year’s backs have different ways of gaining yards. Giddens is more of the run straight up the tackles as hard as possible and explodes through gaps. Whereas Ward is more of a shifty back that maneuvers around and bounces off tacklers.

They also have Modesto Junior College transfer Anthony Frias II who will be a redshirt sophomore this season. He had one carry last year against Missouri, which resulted in a two-yard run and a lost fumble.

The wide receiver room will be quite a bit different from last year. They lose a combined 1,181 yards with Malik Knowles and Kade Warner both having graduated.

Their second leading receiver Phillip Brooks decided to return for his fifth year after getting 587 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 2022. This past year he was on the All-Big 12 Second Team, and earlier this summer he made the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Brooks was an All-American in 2020 for his efforts on special teams with All-Big 12 First Team honors to boot. He will resume his punt-returning role and is expected to be returning kickoffs as well with the other kickoff return job up for grabs.

Iowa redshirt sophomore transfer Keagan Johnson’s stats weren’t staggering in his short-lived career with the Hawkeyes, but he’s proved this offseason that his abilities are going to make him a valuable asset to this offense.

Johnson suffered a soft tissue that kept him out for all but two games in 2022 allowing him to use his medical redshirt and have three years of eligibility remaining.

As for the third wideout spot, Coach Klieman indirectly said that redshirt sophomore RJ Garcia II is going to be starting.

Last season, he only had seven catches for 70 yards, but he showed his potential of what he can be with a spectacular leaping 25-yard touchdown in the Big 12 Championship game at a crucial point in the ballgame.

The wide receiver room is deep with there likely being three or possibly even more guys that will see valuable playing time off the bench.

One of those fringe guys that was competing for that last starting job is walk-on redshirt sophomore Xavier Loyd. The 6-foot-2 wideout received all-district honors in his senior year at Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, MO. Loyd got some reps in the second unit last year against Missouri and Texas but didn’t have any receptions.

Jadon Jackson returns after he used his redshirt season in 2022. The redshirt senior transferred from Ole Miss before last season began but hasn’t done much in his college career yet. He played in four games last year including the Sugar Bowl where he caught two passes for 16 yards.

True freshman Tre Spivey has received rave reviews from the K-State coaching staff this offseason and is expected to make an impact right away. He was ranked the 70th-best wide receiver in the Class of 2023, according to 247 Sports. He has tremendous length at 6-foot-4 and has a knack for high-pointing the ball. Spivey’s height makes him tied for the tallest receiver on the roster.

Redshirt freshman Sterling Lockett, son of K-State great Kevin Lockett, enters his second year in the program. Another true freshman that could see a little playing time this season is Andre Davis. The Blue Valley alum stands at 6-foot-4.

You also can’t count out super senior Seth Porter who was recently named one of the team captains. He played in all 14 games in 2022 and had a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown in Week 1 against South Dakota.

Junior Ben Sinnott returns to lead this unusually deep tight end room after being named to the First Team All-Big 12 after getting 447 yards and four touchdowns. The former walk-on landed on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team (listed as fullback) and the John Mackey Award watch list.

Junior Will Swanson is also back after minimal playing time and is in contention to replace Sammy Wheeler as the team’s number two tight end. The 6-foot-5 Papillion, NE native hauled in just two catches a season ago but played in every game either at end or on special teams. He also played four games in 2021.

Another guy trying to secure the number two spot is redshirt freshman Garrett Oakley. He stands at 6-foot-5 and is from Columbus, NE. Oakley set school career records at his hometown high school in receptions (107) and receiving yards (1,640).

Some guys you could see sprinkled in that have the potential to be big-time playmakers later in their careers in Manhattan include true freshmen Will Anciaux from Wichita and Andrew Metzger from Aurora, CO, and redshirt freshman Brayden Loftin from Omaha.

K-State returns all five starting offensive linemen. Coach Klieman has talked about how they could play as many as ten or more different players on the line this year.

You could make a strong argument that super senior left guard Cooper Beebe is Kansas State’s best overall player. In 2022, he was selected as a First-Team All-American by multiple media outlets. He was also the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year. Perhaps his most staggering statistic is he has not surrendered a sack in his last 803 blocking plays. Expectations are high for Beebe this year with the super senior landing on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.

Redshirt super senior left tackle KT Leveston returns for his sixth year in the program after being an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention last season. At center, they have either redshirt super senior Hayden Gillum, who was also an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention, or junior Hadley Panzer, who also plays right guard. Redshirt senior Taylor Poitier will also get some playing time at right guard.

Right tackle is up in the air to start the season with redshirt senior Christian Duffie sidelined with an injury. He will likely miss the first game against SEMO, if not multiple games to begin the 2023 season.

Others who will see time on the line this season include redshirt freshman John Pastore, redshirt sophomore Andrew Leingang, redshirt junior Carver Willis, redshirt sophomore Sam Hecht, redshirt junior Sam Shields and redshirt freshman Drake Bequeaith. Camden Beebe, little brother of Cooper Beebe, also will be on the roster this season as a true freshman. He’s likely to redshirt this season.

Despite multiple positions having question marks in terms of who will get starting time, all positions are deep except maybe the running back position. If something happened to Ward or Giddens, or heaven forbid both go down, K-State would be in trouble. If every other position had their top two on the depth chart were to get hurt, the team would hardly skip a beat.

I expect this offense to break tons of records, score lots of points and break lots of hearts of Big 12 fans this season.