Kansas State football adds needed transfer portal DE from Coastal Carolina

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MANHATTAN — Kansas State football is rebuilding its pass-rush heading into the 2026 season, and it landed someone who can help in a Coastal Carolina transfer.

Jayden Bryant will sign with Kansas State football, he confirmed via Instagram. Bryant’s commitment was first reported by On3’s Derek Young. He’s coming off a redshirt freshman season in which he made 16 tackles, with 4.5 for a loss and a pair of sacks across 13 games.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, Bryant will have three seasons of eligibility. He’s a South Carolina native who redshirted in 2024 when he made six tackles and half a sack in three games.

Bryant played 248 snaps on the Chanticleers’ defensive front in 2025 after playing 60 in 2024. Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 67.9 out of 100 when rushing the passer, giving him 11 total pressures, six quarterback hits and three hurries last season.

It’s unclear who else might have pursued Bryant in recent days, but he reunites with Kansas State defensive backs coach Jeremiah Johnson, who served as Coastal Carolina’s defensive coordinator last season and as its interim head coach late in the season.

Kansas State lost its top two pass rushers from last year, with both Tobi Osunanmi and Chiddi Obiazor committing to Indiana out of the transfer portal. The Wildcats also notably lost defensive tackle Malcolm Alcorn-Butler, who signed to play at SMU.

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: Jayden Bryant commits to Kansas State football in transfer portal

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