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#59 George Fitzpatrick

Redshirt Senior | 6-6 | 301 lbs. (+7) | Englewood, Colorado

• Position: Offensive Line
• Previous College: The Ohio State University
• Projection: Co-Starter
• Remaining Eligibility: 1-2* years (*if he is able to obtain a medical hardship waiver)
• Status: On Scholarship

George Fitzpatrick (b. Jan. 13, 2004) is a highly touted offensive line transfer from Ohio State who was projected to replace Easton Kilty at left tackle last year, but missed the entire season due to an undisclosed medical crisis that seems to have been heat-related. We all, of course, hope that he has made a full recovery!

Fitzpatrick, who is majoring in communication studies, hopes to return at 100% this season, but while he was out, John Pastore locked down the left tackle position tighter than Fort Knox. So I have projected Fitz rotating with Gus Hawkins at right tackle instead. Here’s what head coach Collin Klein had to say about his progress:

I’m really excited. He’s been able to hit every benchmark that the physicians and the trainers have wanted him to hit. He’s made really, really good progress. We’ll obviously monitor him very, very carefully as we get back into it, but I’m very, very excited at the prospect of what he’s going to be able to do.

In 2022, Fitzpatrick played on nine offensive snaps against Indiana as he preserved his redshirt. He then played in three games in 2023 as a redshirt freshman, seeing time as a reserve offensive lineman against Western Kentucky, Michigan State and Minnesota.

Fitzpatrick finally broke through for the national champions in 2024, playing in all 16 games (including four games in the College Football Playoff) as both a reserve offensive lineman and on field goal/extra point protection, helping Will Howard and the Buckeyes to hoist the CFP trophy with a win over Notre Dame.

He saw action on 84 offensive snaps during that season, including a career-high 22 plays against Western Michigan, as he played alongside current K-State linebacker Gabe Powers.

Fitzpatrick allowed one pressure and no sacks in his Ohio State career, according to Pro Football Focus.

He prepped under head coach Dave Logan at Cherry Creek High School (you may recognize that name from all the players committing to us from there recently — it’s turning into a feeder school!) in Greenwood Village, Colorado, where he was regarded as the 167th-best overall prospect nationally in the Class of 2022 by 247Sports, while the organization rated him the 15th-best offensive tackle and second-best prospect in the state of Colorado.

Fitzpatrick also was rated as the 282nd-overall best player in the nation, the 22nd-best offensive tackle and the top player in the state by On3.

He helped the Bruins to advance to four consecutive Colorado state championship games, including championship wins in his sophomore through senior seasons.

Fitzpatrick earned first-team all-state honors as a senior from the coaches throughout the state of Colorado, while he was a second-team selection as a junior and also was selected to play in the 2022 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. He prepped with current K-State wide receiver Max Lovett and offensive lineman Oliver Miller.

He originally chose Ohio State over an impressive list of Power 5 offers from Arizona State, Auburn, California, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State (later rectified), LSU, Miami, hated archrival Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Utah and Washington State.

Former offensive coordinator Matt Wells had nice things to say about Fitzpatrick after spring 2025:

George Fitzpatrick and Amos Talalele up front, I’m excited about both of those guys. They’ve had good springs and fit in well here in their roles.

Even more effusive was the praise of his then-offensive line coach, Brian Lepak, in March 2025:

Then George, you talk about a guy who it says a lot in the transfer portal that he decided to stay all the way through at Ohio State and play for a national championship as opposed to saying, “To hell with it, I’m getting in the portal right now.” That speaks a lot about his competitive nature and commitment to play out the season. He was all in. I’m excited to see how that translates here in what kind of leadership he might have and how that translates to a competitive edge for us.

Learn more about our promising new addition and his search for a (delayed) fresh start in this article.

The key quote as it pertains to this season’s version of the Wildcats? I’ll leave you with this:

Playing football up to January 20, there’s a lot that goes into it. It was kind of a new experience for me, but I feel like having that experience I know what it takes. I’ve seen what it looks like to get to that spot. I feel like I can bring that (to K-State) as well.

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