Kansas State football has huge needs at WR after Jayce Brown departure
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MANHATTAN — With Jayce Brown set to enter the transfer portal, it’s more clear than ever that Kansas State football’s most significant need heading into another wave of offseason recruiting will be at the wide receiver position.
That is, of course, if Avery Johnson stays.
The cupboard is pretty bare for Collin Klein as he takes over Kansas State’s wide receiver room, a group that was never too big a strength for the Wildcats during the Chris Klieman era.
Jaron Tibbs should remain a serviceable weapon for the Wildcats, and Derrick Salley Jr. will have some pressure on him to produce immediately as the No. 1 juco receiver in the country.
But upgrades are needed, no matter who is throwing passes for the Wildcats, when the transfer portal opens on Jan. 2.
Brown will be a big hole to fill, as someone who caught 115 passes over the last three years from either Johnson or Will Howard. A big-play threat, Brown averaged 17.1 yards per reception and hauled in 14 touchdowns while wearing purple.
As it stands now, Tibbs is the only returning wide receiver who finished last season with more than 56 receiving yards. Injuries impacted the wide receiver position, limiting the now-graduated Jerand Bradley for most of the year, but the Wildcats proved not to be deep enough.
Outside of Brown, a lack of production out of the wide receiver position has been a theme over the last few seasons. Not since K-State’s 2022 Big 12 Championship season have the Wildcats had two 500-plus-yard wide receivers.
Lucky for the Wildcats, Klein has proven the ability to get a lot out of receivers, which should open the eyes of potential targets in the portal.
Texas A&M’s Kevin Concepcion has proven to be one of the most versatile players in college football, catching 57 passes for 886 yards and nine touchdowns in Klein’s Aggies offense. Mario Craver has added 52 catches for 825 yards and four touchdowns, too. Even A&M’s third wide receiver, Ashton Bethel-Roman, has hauled in five scores.
There’s a path to big numbers for wide receivers in Klein’s offense, especially if Johnson sticks around. With the expected transfer portal movement so far, the Big 12 is going to have a lot of new signal callers in 2026, and Johnson will have a chance to emerge as one of the, if not the, best.
Wide receiver options will be aplenty once the portal opens. It’s a safe bet that Klein will adjust to his personnel and have a major role for tight end Linkon Cure in the passing game, but he’ll look even better if there are good receivers to open things up.
When Klein starts to get things rolling in a full capacity as Kansas State’s head coach at some point in the near future, there will be plenty of attention paid to who he brings in at wide receiver.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State coach Collin Klein has to address WR in transfer portal
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