Kansas State football transfer tracker: Here’s who is leaving the team

MANHATTAN — The NCAA transfer portal officially opened for undergraduates on Dec. 4, and more than a dozen Kansas State football players have announced their intentions to leave before the Wildcats head to Orlando, Florida, to face North Carolina State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl on Dec. 28.

The Wildcats finished the regular season at 8-4 and tied for fourth in the Big 12 with a 6-3 record.

K-State finally picked up its first portal addition on Monday in North Dakota offensive lineman Easton Kilty.

This is by far the greatest exodus from the program in the portal’s brief history, which means the Wildcats also may become more active in bringing in veteran players through the portal. K-State coach Chris Klieman has used the portal sparingly, but to good advantage in recent years, bringing in key players to fill positions of need while preferring to develop the roster from within when possible.

Depending on how many seniors on this year’s team choose to exercise the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA during the pandemic, that could change. The most recent Wildcat to enter the portal was senior Jack safety Kobe Savage, a two-year starter.

Two of the transfers revealed their new destinations over the past couple of days, with cornerback Will Lee landing at Texas A&M and quarterback Jake Rubley committing to Illinois State.

Here is a list of players from this season who have entered the portal. Check back for more comings and goings.

Kansas State portal additions

Offensive tackle Easton Kilty (North Dakota)

K-State’s first portal commitment was a good one. Kilty, a three-year starter at North Dakota, was one of the top-rated transfers available and will add a veteran presence to a Wildcat offensive line that loses at least four starters.

Savage started the first 10 games at strong safety last year before suffering a season-ending injury, and came back this season to receive second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league coaches.

Wide receiver RJ Garcia

Garcia began his sophomore season as a starter after showing promise last year in a backup role, but eventually lost the job to true freshman Jayce Brown. He appeared in all 12 games and caught 14 passes for 184 yards with one touchdown.

He scored his first career touchdown last year against TCU in the Big 12 championship game and leaves K-State with 22 career receptions for 260 yards and two scores.

Wide receiver Xavier Loyd

Loyd, a sophomore former walk-on from Blue Springs, Missouri, saw action in eight games and recorded his only career reception, for 16 yards, in the season opener against Southeast Missouri State.

Defensive end Nate Matlack

Matlack was a key member of the Wildcats’ four-man defensive end as a junior behind starters Brendan Mott and Khalid Duke. He finished the regular season with 15 tackles, including 7.5 for loss, plus four sacks and a blocked kick.

Matlack redshirted during the 2020 COVID year and will have two seasons of eligibility left at his new school.

Running back Anthony Frias

Frias joined the Wildcats as a sophomore last year from Modesto Junior College in California and appeared in one game, thus preserving his redshirt. This year he was the third-string back behind 1,000-yard rusher DJ Giddens and Florida State transfer Treshaun Ward, who also has entered the portal.

Frias appeared in 10 games, rushing for 42 yards and catching two passes for 5 yards.

Quarterback Will Howard

Howard is the most coveted K-State player to enter the portal so far, receiving personal visits from Southern California’s Lincoln Riley and Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin, among others.

Howard, who helped lead the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship and a Sugar Bowl bid last year, started all 12 games this season and completed 61.3% of his passes for 2,643 yards and 24 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He also ran for 351 yards and nine scores.

Howard’s 24 TD passes equaled the school single-season record and he leaves as the career leader with 44.

With freshman Avery Johnson considered the Wildcats’ quarterback of the future, Howard now has an opportunity to go somewhere where he will be the unquestioned QB1.

Running back Treshaun Ward

Ward arrived in Manhattan last spring with plenty of hype and was even tagged Big 12 preseason offensive newcomer of the year in a media poll.

He proved his worth, rushing for 643 yards and five touchdowns and catching 17 passes for 129 yards and two more scores. Ward served as an effective complement to Giddens, who ran for 1,075 yards and nine touchdowns and had 28 receptions for 286 yards.

Ward was unlikely to unseat Giddens, but given his resume, he easily could become the featured back somewhere else.

Cornerback Will Lee (Texas A&M)

As a freshman All-American at Iowa Western in 2022, Lee helped lead the Reivers to a national junior college championship. After arriving at K-State late in the spring, he still claimed a starting cornerback job opposite Parrish and had a solid sophomore year.

Lee was sixth on the team with 42 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and six pass breakups. But he saw his playing time diminish with the emergence of Keenan Garber, who had only switched to cornerback toward the end of last season.

Quarterback Jake Rubley

Rubley enrolled at K-State with lofty expectations as a four-star recruit out of Colorado, but things never really worked out. After redshirting in 2021, he was relegated to third-string status behind Martinez and Howard last year, and then saw Johnson leapfrog him as the primary backup this year.

With Johnson the clear choice to succeed Howard next season, it only made sense for Rubley to try his luck elsewhere.

Quarterback Adryan Lara

Lara arrived last year with less fanfare than Rubley had, and while he was praised by Wildcat coaches for his arm strength, there never seemed to be a clear path forward for him.

Like Rubley, he stuck it out through last year, but the writing was on the wall.

Defensive back Jordan Wright

Wright arrived last year from Fullerton College in California and redshirted. He moved from cornerback to safety during the offseason but was pressed into duty as a backup cornerback when Parrish and Lee were sidelined for a time midway through the year.

Wright did appear in 11 games, recording seven tackles with two pass breakups, but was never a regular part of the rotation in the secondary.

Fullback Christian Moore

Moore appeared in all 12 games this season as a junior for the Wildcats and caught two passes, including a 2-yarder for his first career touchdown against Baylor. But he was an old-school fullback in an offense that prefers to use longer, leaner tight end types in that role.

Wide receiver Shane Porter

Porter, a sophomore special teams standout and younger brother of special teams captain Shane Porter, presumably will look for a new home that will afford him playing time at wide receiver as well.

Wide receiver Wesley Watson

Watson, a true freshman from College Station, never saw the field this year. With most of the receiving corps returning, he would be a longshot to crack the rotation next year as well.

Linebacker Collin Dunn

Dunn, another true freshman, would face a steep climb to break into the lineup, especially if starter Austin Moore returns as a super-senior. The Wildcats’ linebacker depth was tested this year, but with true freshman Asa Newsom and versatile Jake Clifton returning from season-ending injuries, it should be a position of strength in 2024.

Safety Jordan Perry

Perry, a redshirt freshman, did not see action in the secondary this year and was not on the radar as a future contributor.