In this day and age of college sports, people love to talk about who landed what recruits, who got the top classes and other things of that nature. The truth is, how can you really rank a recruiting class until you have its productivity on the collegiate field?
While on paper it looks like the K-State Wildcats landed one of their top football classes in years during National Signing Day Wednesday, head coach Bill Snyder was quick to remind everyone that only time will tell on the quality of his newest recruits.
“As we all know by now, it will be two or three years before we can accurately assess the quality of this or any recruiting class,” Snyder said. “Hopefully we have assessed the skills and intrinsic values of this year’s class accurately, but time will tell.”
However, that doesn’t mean there can’t be at least some excitement about what this class shows on paper. Snyder has always been a fan of recruiting junior college players, and this year was no different; the junior college class stole the show. K-State signed nine junior college commits, three of whom have already arrived on campus for the spring semester.
The biggest name for the Wildcats 2014 class, though, is Dodge City Community College defensive tackle Terrell Clinkscales. Originally committed to Nebraska, the highly-touted junior college lineman flipped his commitment to K-State only a few weeks ago. According to both ESPN and rivals.com, Clinkscales is one of the top interior defensive linemen in the country, holding four stars to his name.
Other big names in junior college commits for the Wildcats include Garden City Community College linebacker D’Vonta Derricott, Dodge City CC cornerback Danzel McDaniel and Santa Rosa Junior College wide receiver Andre Davis.
“I think (in) every community college guy that we have, we have a firm and honest belief that they have a chance to come in and compete immediately,” Snyder said.
At the high school ranks, the Wildcats signed what appears to be a very well rounded class as well. For the first time since 1999, K-State signed a trio of players from the same high school. Running back Dalvin Warmack, linebacker Elijah Lee and safety Kaleb Prewett all won back-to-back state titles at Blue Springs High School, and all three decided to bring their talents to Manhattan. Warmack was the Wildcats’ first verbal commitment of the 2014 class and is also the only player to win the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association’s coveted Thomas A. Simone Award twice. The award is given to the top high school football player in the Kansas City metro area.
Of the Wildcats 28 commitments, 13 rank within the top 44 of their position in the country. K-State will begin their spring season in mid-April with their annual spring game on April 26.
