Austin Romaine injury update — Kansas State football standout LB done for season
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MANHATTAN — Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman revealed during his weekly media availability that star linebacker Austin Romaine will miss the rest of the season.
Romaine, who had been playing with a heavily wrapped club over his left hand, saw his season end after his best performance of the year in the Wildcats’ Nov. 1 loss to Texas Tech, in which he made 11 total tackles and intercepted a pass on the Red Raiders‘ first drive.
“We needed to get something done for him, and the club was just a stop-gap for us for a little bit,” Klieman said on Monday, Nov. 10. “He and I talked after that game, so we decided to shelf him for the rest of the year.”
The junior has one year of eligibility remaining entering 2026. A leader on the defense, he leads the team in tackles with 66 total and tackles for a loss with seven.
Austin Romaine injury update
Romaine’s season-ending injury is the latest blow to a Kansas State football season that has had a lot of them. While some of Romaine’s games were better than others, he was the unquestioned leader of a defense and its strong linebacking corps.
Klieman said Romaine’s absence will move Des Purnell over to the middle linebacker position, while playing Rex Van Wyhe on the weakside. Klieman also anticipates that the Wildcats will get a look at Asa Newsom and Gabe Powers, two players he said have earned an opportunity to play.
What Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said about Austin Romaine’s injury update
Klieman said Purnell will step into a leading role amid his breakout senior season. Purnell is second on the team in tackles with 50, with 6.5 being a loss, to go along with two interceptions.
Purnell will have the green dot on the back of his helmet, indicating that he’ll receive the play calls from the sideline and be in charge of lining up the defense.
“Des understands our defense as well as anybody out there,” Klieman said. “Now he’s gonna be thrust into a bigger role. He’s a senior; he’ll be fine and ready to do that.”
How Kansas State football players reacted to Austin Romaine’s injury
Senior defensive tackle Damian Ilalio said it will be critical in the days ahead for the defense to improve its communication to the level Romaine had before he was sidelined.
“(Romaine)’s just a playmaker,” Ilalio said. “We’re going to miss that a little bit, but we’ll need to play better in all areas of the ball to make up for that. I believe in our linebacker room; I’m not too worried about them. They’ll figure it out.”
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@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Austin Romaine injury – Kansas State football LB ruled out for season
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