Kansas State football lands first 2027 commitment from Florida athlete

MANHATTAN — Kansas State football began its 2027 recruiting class by landing the commitment of a two-way standout out of Florida.

Nazir Pitchford, a 6-foot-1 athlete from Palmetto, Florida, announced his commitment to the Wildcats on Friday, Feb. 6. He also held offers from UCF, Kansas and several Group of 5 programs.

Pitchford has yet to receive any rankings by the major recruiting websites. He's listed as a wide receiver by 247Sports and as an athlete, according to On3, while also playing defensive back. In the graphic announcing his commitment to the Wildcats, it said he was a cornerback.

Committed to The Cats! Family Business! 💜🤍#EMAW27@KStateFB@Coach_MWoodson@Coach_J_Johnson@wardth09@spedbraet@CK_KleinCollin@_CoachDonald@Dylan_Foster30@247recruiting@RivalsHS@PalmettoFBall@ShaqHarris_86@Coach_KThoma@CoachSandersPHS@CoachBraselton@Brett_Thomapic.twitter.com/k25Ksy9V1Y

— Nazir Pitchford (@nazirpitchford1) February 6, 2026

Pitchford was named an honorable mention selection by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune after this past season.

His MaxPreps page had him down for seven games played with 22 receptions for 344 yards and seven touchdowns in 2025. As a sophomore in 2024, he played in 10 games, made 43 catches and had 752 yards and nine touchdowns.

Pitchford has a long wait before putting pen to paper, with early signing day commencing in December. But he will go down as the first 2027 high school player to commit to Collin Klein and his new staff as they begin building a new class.

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: K-State football: Florida athlete Nazir Pitchford commits to 2027 class