Kansas State Recruiting Update: Nose guard
ON THE KANSAS STATE ROSTER: Asher Tomaszewski (freshman), Damian Ilalio (sophomore), Jevon Banks (junior), Uso Seumalo (senior)
NEEDS: 1
RELEVANT K-STATE TARGETS: Alex Martin
KANSAS STATE STYLE PREFERENCE
At Kansas State, the nose guard is a space-eater. They want to have bodies that have the strength to command double teams to free up the edge rushers. In the 3-3-5 defense, there is a lot of stress on that particular player to do the dirty work.
K-State also wants them to be very cerebral, though the staff in Manhattan demands that across the roster, quite frankly. Eli Huggins is a prime example of someone who was extremely steady and played with a high football IQ.
While affecting the quarterback is not a primary requirement, Kansas State assistant Mike Tuiasosopo wants his pupils to still be able to apply a bit of pressure. Uso Seumalo is a pretty apt in that department, and Robert Hentz was used almost exclusively on third down last season to do so.
ROSTER OUTLOOK
After losing Huggins and Hentz, it is a spot that is a bit of a question mark at this point. From a roster management outlook, though, it is in pretty good shape. All four K-State scholarship players could return for the 2024 season.
Seumalo played in all 14 games a season ago as a reserve and registered five tackles, two for a loss and added two pass break-ups. After only playing football for one season in high school, he is someone that has a high ceiling of potential.
He should be in the mix to be the starting nose guard in 2023.
Jevon Banks transferred to Kansas State from Mississippi State in January. He played in 10 games for the Bulldogs and tallied 17 tackles, two tackles for a loss, .5 sacks and a pass break-up. The expectation is that he will be squarely in the rotation.
Damian Ilalio is a redshirt freshman who played in five games in 2023. He registered two solo tackles on the season. The Manhattan native was also in on the fourth down stop on the goal line versus TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game. Ilalio will likely receive the third-most reps among the nose guards in the Fall.
Asher Tomaszewski is a true freshman from Illinois. He camped with the Wildcats over the summer, earned an offer and committed on the spot. Tomaszewski was All-Conference as a senior in high school a year ago as both an offensive and defensive lineman.
RECRUITING OUTLOOK
There is only one target really worth mentioning at the moment, and it is Arkansas native Alex Martin. He visited K-State in the Spring. At that time, he admitted to KSO that he was blown away by his time in Manhattan.
Martin also shared that K-State was at the top of his list. While the Wildcats in front, it will be interesting to see how they proceed with the rest of his recruitment. Do they push hard for a commitment or wait it out a bit?
Another possibility is that Kansas State finds their nose guard at a camp in June or July. This is how Tomaszewski was discovered last year. It would not be a surprise to see that happen in two consecutive cycles.
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