Mailbag: Spotlighting the Kansas State offensive line

1. Do you expect Taj Manning to have a big impact for Kansas State?

DG: For the 2023-2024 season, it is still a little early to say for Kansas State forward Taj Manning. Remember, there was a reason he redshirted a year ago. He is not a finished product, especially from an offensive standpoint.

I expect him to be in the K-State rotation, but I’ll pump the brakes on him making a considerable impact at the moment. It would not be surprising if he made a larger splash at Kansas State, but I’ll lean on that occurring later in his career.

2. Is there a Big 12 newcomer that will finish last in the football standings for many years?

DG: That is a tough question because there isn’t really a clear-cut answer. UCF should be fine on the football side due to their in-state recruiting resources and having one of the top enrollments in the United States. Many Big 12 programs, like K-State, don’t even possess that.

I don’t love the trajectory of BYU’s program, but like the Golden Knights, they have the resources to bounce back quickly and attract talent.

That leaves Houston and Cincinnati.

The Bearcats made the College Football Playoff in 2021, but Luke Fickell was just hired by Wisconsin. Scott Satterfield is returning to his alma-mater in place of Fickell after what was an underwhelming tenure at Louisville.

The Cougars have been struggling to regain their footing after Tom Herman took the job at Texas in 2016. Since Herman left, Houston is only 42-31 with a 28-18 record in the American Athletic Conference in that stretch.

I would lean toward the Cougars being the choice of a newcomer who will struggle for multiple seasons. I’m not sure if Dana Holgorsen is the answer at Houston and he has already had prior struggles in the Big 12.

3. Is there a Big 12 newcomer that will finish last in the basketball standings for many years?

DG: There is a much clearer answer for this one, in my opinion. UCF has only made the NCAA Tournament five times since moving to the Division I level. Their most recent tournament appearance came in 2019, but they hadn’t reach it since 2005 before that.

Johnny Dawkins is only 65-61 in AAC games in his career, and that will only get worse after joining the Big 12.

4. If K-State assistant Conor Riley came to you and asked you who you thought was the best five on the offensive line, who would you pick?

DG: My Kansas State offensive line, from left to right, would be KT Leveston, Andrew Leingang, Cooper Beebe, Taylor Poitier and Christian Duffie. It shakes things up a bit moving Beebe to center, but I think it gives K-State its best interior offensive line.

Leveston has been talked about as a future NFL Draft pick in 2024, and Duffie is extremely steady at right tackle.

5. When can we expect to see some more commitments? It feels like forever since the Wildcats signed Tylor Perry.

DG: I know it probably seems like it’s been forever, but Tylor Perry committed to Kansas State just 11 days ago. Before Perry, it had actually been longer between commitments than it has now. David Castillo and John Price both committed to K-State on April 18 and Perry did not commit until May 2.

Patience will be key.

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