What Does an 8-4 Season Mean for Kansas State's future?
Fans should celebrate the massive success that has been the 2019 Kansas State Football team. An 8-4 finish for a team picked to finish 9th in the Big 12 is certainly cause for celebration, and no one should forget that this team still has one more game left where 27 seniors will play their final snaps for the Wildcats.
But, it is difficult not to look in to the future and see just how bright the next few seasons could be for Kansas State and head coach Chris Klieman.
It all starts with 2020 and starting quarterback Skylar Thompson, returning for his senior season, but more importantly returning for his second consecutive season as the full time, locked in Day One starter. Thompson came out of the gates in 2019 firing on all cylinders and made some believe he may end up in the Heisman conversation.
Obviously he fell a bit off the pace as the season went along - but fans should not forget about the start to the season, and should see it as a window in to what may be next year. Its not out of the question to think Thompson could be in the conversation for Big 12 Player of the Year, and the Heisman, one year from now.
Beyond Thompson, the Cats have several quality, young players that fans should be excited about. On the offensive side of the football - it won't be easy to replace nearly the entire starting offensive line, along with two running backs, but the likes of Malik Knowles, Joshua Youngblood, and Jarcardia Wright should all give the Cats plenty to be optimistic about 2020.
On the defensive side of the football, Jonathan Alexander and Lance Robinson will hold down much of the secondary, likely. Standout Wyatt Hubert will return for his Junior campaign and undoubtedly lead the charge on the front line. And the Wildcats have several young, exciting linebackers who fans don't know yet, but are likely to meet very quickly in the 2020 campaign.
While 8-4 is nice and Kansas State fans should look forward to traveling by the masses to the team's bowl game later this month; fans should also look forward to the 2020 campaign where Kansas State will compete for the Big 12 Championship!