Five things: Impact of Kansas State losing Daniel Green

1.) It was announced on Tuesday and confirmed by Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman that linebacker Daniel Green would miss the remainder of the season. That is a gut punch to the team just because of what he means to them off the field more than anything. Green chose to return to Manhattan for a sixth season in order to have a more injury-free year. Unfortunately, nothing is promised and he instead has suffered more injuries. More than anything the Wildcats will have to recover from an emotional standpoint because of their feelings for him. I have little concerns about that happening, but there a number of guys that will carry a lot of empathy for him. In particular, Austin Moore even mentioned how he looks up to Green and noted that K-State is a better place because Green attended the university.

2.) Speaking of Moore, he will have even more value to Kansas State during the rest of the 2023 season. Without Green on the field, they lose their communicator and trigger man . They will not put that burden on a true freshman. Expect the Wildcats to send their calls and signals through Moore for commuication purposes moving forward.

3.) As alluded to earlier, the primary replacement will be Austin Romaine. The true freshman from the St. Louis area has handled snaps in every game this season and already wasn’t going to redshirt. However, his responsibilities and duties will see a big jump with Green out of commission. To be fair, he’s played well for a younger player in his limited snaps. But the competition ramps up now and it will be a lot different than what he’s seen thus far. For instance, Romaine only played three snaps versus Missouri. K-State walk-on Beau Palmer will also likely see the field.

4.) Worries are legitimate. What ailed the Kansas State defense a week ago? Some breakdowns on the defense that were attributed to lack of eye discipline and errors in communication. Anyone will tell you that those two traits are symptoms of inexperience. Where did the Wildcats have inexperience? In the secondary where many of those occurred. Remember, they’re breaking in four new starters in the secondary this year. They did not return a start at cornerback, VJ Payne started just four games last season and is still young and Marques Sigle was elsewhere. That inexperience now extends to the linebacker unit. K-State has to grow up fast or accept the fact that they will have growing pains with younger players that result in explosive plays for the other side.

5.) Fortunately, many of the Kansas State injuries could be non-existent by the time of the Oklahoma State game in two weeks. After the Wildcats host UCF, their bye week arrives. It comes at a convenient time, though early, because it allows many to return for the matchup in Stillwater. Should Will Howard miss a game, he could return. So too could Treshaun Ward if he doesn’t play versus the Knights. Christian Duffie will be even further along in his recovery, as will Keagan Johnson. Even linebacker Jake Clifton may be available at that point and help Romaine.

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