Link(s) to other depth chart posts
Offensive Tackle
It’s that time of year again. Kansas State Football’s official countdown to kickoff stands at 12 days, 2 hours, 42 minutes, 53 seconds, and counting. While it seems impossible because of the sweltering heat wave I’ve been suffering through down here in Athens, Georgia, fall is supposedly right around the corner. I’ve got a little over two weeks to talk about the Kansas State roster before we all get a chance to see the team in action. I’m going to start
going back through the position reviews I published earlier in the summer and start speculating on a depth chart that will inevitably be proven wrong on September 5th.
Just a reminder that I don’t live in Manhattan anymore. I’m not at practice, and I mostly have the same information everyone else does. Don’t take any of these depth charts as “insider” information. I’m going to put them together based on the information available and make some relatively informed guesses based on press conferences, news releases, etc.
Interior Offensive Line
Depth Chart
Left Guard
- Tanner Morley – 6’6”, 320 -3rd Year
- Charlie Adams – 6’2”, 327 – 2nd Year
Center
- Dylan Villaroul – 6’3”, 328 – 2nd Year
- Michael Capria – 6’2”, 300 – 4th Year
Right Guard
- Keiton Jones – 6’3”, 322 – 2nd Year
- Chase Duarte – 6’4”, 315 – 2nd Year
Thoughts
Tanner Morley was supposed to already have the left guard spot sewn up, and long-term, that’s still probably true, but much like seemingly every other offensive lineman, Morley has been banged up in camp. That’s not great considering his 2025 season was limited to four games because of a season-ending injury. It’s tough to paste an offensive line together, but it’s made even more difficult when the pieces you brought in to help can’t practice.
When Morley is healthy, he’ll be the starting left guard, but who knows how long that will take. If Morley can’t go in the opening game, massive Cal-Poly transfer Charlie Adams looks poised to step into the starting lineup. Adams started his college career at El Camino College in 2024, moved up to Cal Poly in 2025, and is now playing P5 football for a reason. He’s a bowling ball with legs and moves well enough to pull when it’s required. I expect Morely to slide back into the left guard spot eventually, but Adams will have every opportunity to make his case if the Colorado State transfer isn’t available to start the season.
The prior Kansas State staff spoke highly of Dylan Villaroul last season, despite only appearing in 4 games to preserve his now-defunct redshirt. The current coaching staff seems to share the same enthusiasm for the 2nd-year player from Georgia. He’s significantly larger than the Wildcats recent run of centers and should be able to help open up some interior run lanes that may not have been available in recent seasons. Fifth-year former walk-on Michael Capria will probably be listed as his backup, but if Villaroul goes down, my guess is that one of the starting guards will shift to the middle.
Missouri transfer Keiton Jones sounds like a terrifying individual. All college offensive linemen are freakishly strong, and you know Jones is a monster because I’ve heard multiple freakishly strong offensive linemen marvel at Jones’ strength. These guys move ungodly amounts of weight, and they’re impressed- that’s scary strong. Jones has also been on the injured list, but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to miss any time. Jones is another bet on talent over experience; he only has 8 college snaps under his belt, but I’m intrigued by the idea of Villaroul and Jones forming a long-term partnership on the interior.
Another young buck in the mix at guard is San Diego State transfer Chase Duarte. New offensive line coach Mike Schmidt brought Duarte with him from San Diego State. No offense to Manhattan, Kansas; I tell anyone who will listen how much I enjoyed my stay in Manhattan, but Chase Duarte must love football more than I love anything, because I don’t think you could convince me to trade San Diego for Manhattan. Chase has the advantage of already having a year in Coach Schmidt’s system, but much like Jones and Villaroul, he’s untested on the field with only 52 snaps on his resume. I expect a heavy rotation at guard early in the season to get everyone some game reps before the Big 12 really kicks off.
Some of the other guys on the roster who could carve out a spot on the depth chart include Akron transfer Delvin Morris, who could end up as the backup center. He had a solid spring but has fallen off a bit since Villaroul came on in fall camp and has claimed the majority of the first-team snaps. Navarro Schunke could also find a way onto the depth chart and could end up as the third guard instead of Duarte. I expect Navarro to also be in the offensive guard rotation early in the season, while the coaching staff figures out exactly what they have with their talented but inexperienced lineup. There will be some mixing and matching of lineups early, especially if Morely has to miss any time.
Overall
The only way you can get a veteran offensive line with experience playing together is to start with a talented but inexperienced offensive line. That’s what Kansas State will have this season: a line long on talent but short on experience. The injuries in fall camp to key contributors at tackle and guard are unfortunate and could cause early-season issues. My hope is that by the time they need to form a cohesive unit, they can pull it all together.
I think there will be some struggles, especially early, with pre- and post-snap penalties as this group of relative youngsters acclimates to the college game, but I’m hopeful a little short-term pain will lead to long-term stability on the offensive line. Unless you’ve got a billionaire sugar daddy, offensive line is one position where you can both save money and put a better product on the field by growing your own offensive linemen instead of trying to harvest someone else’s.
