5 Kansas State Wildcats That Oklahoma State Fans Need to Know for 2026 Matchup
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One thing to expect from Kansas State whenever it plays — the Wildcats will give any team a fight.
The Wildcats are in transition, however. The retirement of Chris Klieman allowed the Wildcats to do something the fan base has wanted for a few years, which was to hire program legend Collin Klein as head coach. In a sense everything was heading this way.
Now, Klein must make good on getting the job he’s coveted for a decade. This season the Wildcats face the Cowboys on Nov. 7. Here are five Wildcats for Oklahoma State fans to remember before the matchup on Oct. 31
QB Avery Johnson
Johnson enters his senior season with a fan base hoping that Klein’s arrival will unlock a huge season. He’s coming off a 2025 in which he threw for 2,385 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for another 477 yards and eight touchdowns. Only nine power four quarterbacks did that last season.
K-State’s commitment to Johnson has allowed him to tie the school record for passing touchdowns with 48 and rank among the Top 10 in 10 other career categories. One big season could allow him to own a record book written by Klein and one of his predecessors, Michael Bishop.
RB Joe Jackson
Jackson had a coming out party late last year as he rushed for 293 yards against Utah, which set a new single-game rushing record at Kansas State. He finished the season with 911 rushing yards and eight touchdowns as he claimed All-Big 12 Third Team honors.
This is Jackson’s fourth year at Kansas State, and he already has the seventh-best yards per carry average with 5.7, even though he’s gotten limited use the past three seasons. With Dylan Edwards out the door to Kansas, the show is now Jackson’s.
LT John Pastore
Pastore is the only returning starter on the offensive line and he’ll be the building block that Klein and his staff will build around this season. The left tackle was a second-team all-Big 12 selection last year. He waited his turn. He spent his first three years of school playing as a reserve. Now he’s one of the league’s best offensive linemen and, like Wildcats before him, he’s trying to pave a way to the NFL.
DE Wendell Gregory
Cowboys fans know Gregory well. He transferred to Oklahoma State from South Carolina before last season and he ended up earning Big 12 freshman defensive player of the year honors after he finished with 27 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, a pass breakup and a forced fumble in 12 games.
The move to Kansas State puts him in position to boost a defense that only returning two starts and bolster a pass rush that needs a complement to the returning James Allen.
CB Zashon Rich
Rich is one of the two returning starters from last season and one of the few that opted to stay after the coaching change. He was a contributor off the bench as a freshman in 2024, but last season he emerged as a full-time starter. He finished with 57 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and 11 pass breakups as he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades. He claimed his first career interception against Oklahoma State last season.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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