Part two: ranking the most important players who will dictate Kansas State's 2026 football season

In part two of this three-part series, I rank the No. 5-8 most important players on Kansas State's roster who I believe will have the biggest impact in dictating the team's success under first-year head coach Collin Klein. In case you missed it, here is part one of this series where I ranked the No. 9-12 most impactful players on the roster.

Now, onto part two:

No. 8: Adrian Maddox, 6-foot-1, 194-pound fifth-year safety

Maddox is one of my favorite additions Kansas State made through the transfer portal this offseason. The 6-foot-1, 194-pound senior brings an aggressive, hard-hitting mentality to the K-State defense along with a wealth of experience having started 28 games during his college football career.

The Georgia native began his career at the FCS level at Alabama State, where he was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award given to the most outstanding freshman in the FCS. He spent two seasons at Alabama State and registered 90 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions.

Maddox transferred to the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) following the 2023 season. He started 10 games and played nearly 400 defensive snaps in 2024, posting an 83.9 coverage grade that season, which ranked top 30 among all FBS corners nationally, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). His NFL passer rating when targeted was 68.6, the best in UAB’s secondary, while his 77.6 overall defensive grade was the fourth-highest among all defensive backs in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and best on UAB’s defense. Maddox recorded eight pass breakups in 2024, with three occurring in a game at Arkansas, the most by any player in the AAC in 2024.

His play drew the attention of some of the country’s most prestigious programs, leading to offers from Florida, Georgia and others upon entering the portal following the 2024 season. Maddox committed to the Gators before shortly flipping his commitment to Georgia, where he played 67 snaps in four games while recording four tackles, including one tackle for loss. Maddox elected to only play four games for the Bulldogs in order to preserve his unused redshirt and provide him one final season, which will occur at K-State.

Maddox, who has been credited with 15 passes defended in his career along with four forced fumbles, 114 tackles, three interceptions and three sacks, is expected to start at safety for the Wildcats. Similar to Ja’Son Prevard (No. 9 on my top 12 rankings of most important players on the roster), Maddox possesses positional versatility having played 201 snaps at nickel, 134 snaps inside the box and 34 at free safety last season.

I expect Maddox to be a favorite of Wildcat fans throughout the upcoming season.

No. 7: Tanner Morley, 6-foot-6, 320-pound fourth-year offensive guard

If you looked at the final stats of last season without diving into the details or having watched each game, you’d think K-State’s offensive line play was among the best in the Big 12 Conference. After all, K-State ranked No. 15 in the country with a sack rate just under 3.9% while rushing for 5.1 yards per carry, ranking No. 23 nationally.

But the reality is it was a struggle for much of the offensive line in 2025, and was a significant regression from prior seasons. The Wildcats’ rushing numbers were inflated by the final two games of the season, when they ran for 678 yards combined on 85 carries, an average of 8 yards per rush, highlighted by the school-record 472 yards on the ground at Utah and over 11 yards per carry. It should noted those strong performances occurred against two of country's worst run defenses (Utah was No. 114 at 5 yards per rush allowed, while Colorado ranked 127th out of 136 FBS teams at 5.2 yards per carry given up).

K-State ran for 4.2 yards per carry or less in six of the 12 games, including three games under 4 yards per carry. They showed far more consistency and a much higher success rate in 2024, rushing for 5-plus yards per carry in nine of 13 games, and had only one game under 4.3 yards per rush. K-State shattered the school record for yards per carry in a season in 2024 at 6.1 yards per rush, which ranked No. 2 in the country. But in 2025, K-State’s offensive line went from top five nationally in run push to No. 93 in the country, according to Brett Ciancia of Pick Six previews.

I outline all of this to say offensive line play will be critical for a Collin Klein offense whose foundation will be running the football. The Wildcats lose four starters upfront, highlighted by center Sam Hecht, who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2026 NFL draft. Returning left tackle John Pastore, a preseason All-Big 12 First-Team selection, is a great place to start upfront, but several newcomers must step up.

Enter Tanner Morley, a 6-foot-6, 320-pound transfer from Colorado State who committed to the Wildcats over Houston. Morley possesses the capability to be an all-conference lineman and is penciled in as the starter at left guard. The junior started 10 games for the Rams in 2024 while playing 736 snaps. He allowed just one sack on 376 pass blocking snaps.

Morley, who was named a Colorado State captain heading into the 2025 season, started the first four games of 2025 before missing the rest of the year with a knee injury. It’s crucial Morley not only stays health but is a standout performer for the Wildcats upfront.

No. 6: Jaron Tibbs, 6-foot-3 fourth-year wide receiver

Avery Johnson’s most trusted target the past two seasons—Jayce Brown—transferred to LSU this offseason. Brown had nearly 2,000 yards receiving over the past three seasons, including 823 yards in 2024, which were the most by a K-State receiver since 2014. When the Wildcats needed a big play through the air, they targeted Brown, who averaged over 17 yards per catch in his career and ranked No. 10 nationally with 10 receptions of 30-plus yards last season.

K-State is in search of a new No. 1 wide receiver, and Jaron Tibbs appears to be the guy in line to fill that void. Tibbs arrived at K-State prior to last season after transferring from Purdue and finished second on the team with 595 yards receiving, while his 47 receptions led the Wildcats. At 6-foot-3, Tibbs possesses a large catch radius. He also has built a rapport with his quarterback heading into their second year together.

Can Tibbs become a true No. 1 receiver? He may not have to be given what appears to be improved depth at the position heading into this season. However, he ranks No. 6 on this list because he’s K-State’s most proven guy at the position, has the ability to take another step in his game, and also represents a high floor at wide receiver.

No. 5: Mekhi Mason, 6-foot-2, 233-pound fifth-year senior linebacker

Mason has big shoes to fill as Austin Romaine, a three-time All-Big 12 selection, transferred to conference foe Texas Tech following last season, while multi-year starter Desmond Purnell graduated.

The Louisiana Tech transfer, who began his career at Syracuse, started 11 games for the Bulldogs last season and earned Second-Team All Conference USA. He recorded 68 tackles, including 14.5 tackles for loss which ranked top 30 nationally and No. 3 in the nation among all linebackers. Mason also had 3.5 sacks on the season and registered 11 tackles and a sack in a road game at LSU in 2025.

Mason was ranked as the No. 40 linebacker and No. 514 player overall in the portal according to On3’s transfer portal rankings, and was listed as one of Bill Connelly’s 10 favorite transfer additions in the Big 12 on ESPN.

Mason’s strength is stopping the run and using his athleticism to get after the quarterback in pressure situations. He recorded a strong 74.9 tackling grade last season, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), though he will need to improve when dropping into coverage in passing situations. Though don't be surprised if K-State has him blitz often in obvious passing downs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google