Five things: What to watch for on the Kansas State offensive line

1.) Kansas State offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Conor Riley was not bashful about naming the current starting group when at the microphone earlier in training camp. He said it was, from left to right, Easton Kilty, Hadley Panzer, Sam Hecht, Taylor Poitier and Carver Willis. That said, he also shared that K-State linemen Andrew Leingang and John Pastore were also in the mix for starting jobs. So, will there any changes before the season?

2.) Will there be any changes during season? Position battles can last into the season as well. Heck, they did last year at Kansas State when Willis overtook Christian Duffie at right tackle. Do not rule out that scenario at some point this season, especially with how Leingang has been performing.

3.) New year, new me? Well, at least new year, new role for Riley. He isn’t just the offensive line coach, he’s also the primary play-caller. That shifts the responsibilities a bit. That shifts the attention a bit. That shifts the focus a bit. That shifts the instruction a bit. What kind of impact does that have for K-State? The arrival of former staffer and player Drew Liddle should help immensely.

4.) Will the group be good enough? That’s not supposed to be a slam, but Kansas State is replacing four multi-year starters in Hayden Gillum, Cooper Beebe, KT Leveston and Duffie. Two of those were NFL Draft picks. And even with that group, sometimes there were early struggles. So, can we expect some growing pains from their replacements? Maybe, but remember that Poitier and Willis have still already played a chunk of college football and Kilty was a multi-year starter at the FCS level.

5.) The Wildcats lost four multi-year starters off last year’s team. And they could lose four more starters after this year, ironically. Panzer, Kilty and Poitier will all have their eligibility expire after this season. Willis can play an extra season if he chooses. That should incentivize the K-State staff to play the youth just a bit more to see what they have.

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