Kansas State’s Transfer Portal Class Gets a Low Grade

Kansas State’s transfer portal class, the first under new football coach Collin Klein, received a D+ grade among Big 12 schools by The Athletic.

In rankings released Tuesday, The Athletic writer Manny Navarro had only one Big 12 team with a worse grade: Iowa State, with a “D”. The Cyclones lost their longtime coach Matt Campbell to Penn State this offseason.

Campbell took 24 former Iowa State players to Penn State with him, including starting quarterback Rocco Becht.

Two schools — Baylor and Cincinnati — matched K-State’s D+ grade. Texas Tech had the Big 12’s best grade, an A. Oklahoma State, coming off a 1-11 season and with a new coach, Eric Morris, in place, received the second-best grade in the Big 12 — an A-. Morris came to Stillwater from North Texas.

How to judge the transfer portal

There are three times to best judge the effectiveness of the transfer portal. When spring practice begins isn’t necessarily one of them.

The best times:

* At the end of the offseason when the depth chart is constructed. How many transfers have earned starting positions? Or are backups? There is a caveat: Until the players compete against other teams — when the live bullets fly, as Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid likes to say — there still can be doubt about a transfer, no matter how well he performed against his teammates.

* Midway through the season when there is some body of work to judge a player. Are those transfers who started retaining their positions? Are they getting playing time? Are they making a difference? How good are they?

* At the end of November, when after a full season of games and practices, a complete and educated evaluation can be made. Then, coaches can judge how good players were and what the future holds.

Klein takes over a disappointing 6-6 team from Chris Klieman, who retired after the season. Preseason expectations for the Wildcats ran hot, with hopeful talk of an appearance in the Big 12 title game and a College Football Playoff berth.

Kansas State lost its opener to Iowa State in Dublin and spent the rest of the season fighting to get back to .500.

What The Athletic had to say:

According to The Athletic, Kansas State added 27 players in the portal, and lost 32 players. The top players Kansas State added, according to The Athletic, were: running back Jay Harris (Oregon), wide receiver Joshua Manning (Missouri), edge Wendell Gregory (Oklahoma State), linebacker Mekhi Mason (Louisiana Tech), and safety Ja’son Prevard (Virginia).

Navarro, whose bio says he covers “college football, the transfer portal and roster construction” wrote:

“New coach Collin Klein had to replace 14 starters from last year’s team, including six who left via the portal and signed with other Power 4 programs. Klein did manage to retain nine starters, notably quarterback Avery Johnson, leading rusher Joe Jackson and team leader in catches Jaron Tibbs.

“K-State signed 14 transfers who played 200-plus snaps last season, including five starters from other FBS programs. Two areas addressed with big numbers were the offensive and defensive lines, each with six additions. Gregory, who produced 32 pressures and four sacks at Oklahoma State, is the headliner of the group.”

K-State skill players

Quarterback Avery Johnson is the most important player the Wildcats retained. Johnson is adept at running and passing. He completed 204-of-341 passes (59.8 percent) for 2,385 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2025. Johnson also gained 296 yards on the ground and had seven touchdowns. In his three-year K-State career, he has gained 1,378 yards and scored 22 touchdowns.

Running back Joe Jackson gained 911 yards on 169 carries (5.4 yards per carry) last season. He scored eight touchdowns on the ground. He also had 22 receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown. He didn’t fumble in 2025.

Wide receiver Jaron Tibbs had 47 catches for 595 yards (12.7 yards per game) and three touchdowns.

Klein has skill players around which he can build the offense.

Other Big 12 portal grades:

* Arizona: B-
* Arizona State: B
* Baylor: D+
* BYU: B+
* Cincinnati: D+
* Colorado: B
* Houston: B+
* Iowa State: D
* Kansas: C+
* Kansas State: D+
* Oklahoma State: A-
* TCU: B-
* Texas Tech: A
* UCF: B
* Utah: C
* West Virginia: B

Five Big 12 teams made The Athletic’s top 25 portal classes nationally:

* Texas Tech: 4
* Oklahoma State: 7
* Arizona State: 17
* Colorado: 18
* Houston: 22

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