#25 Zashon Rich
True Junior | 6-1 | 206 lbs. (-3) | Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Position: Cornerback
- Projection: Starter
- Remaining Eligibility: 2-3* years (*if 5 to play 5 goes into effect or he redshirts)
- Status: On Scholarship
Zashon Rich (b. Feb. 5, 2006) is a highly experienced cornerback from North Community High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who is majoring in psychology. He will start every game in 2026, barring injury.
Rich played in every game in 2024 as a true freshman reserve defensive back, totaling 12 tackles and three pass breakups over 112 defensive snaps. He also saw time on 159 total special teams plays as a member of the kickoff coverage, punt coverage and punt return units.
Getting a head start on his
starting role in 2025, Rich recorded a season-high four tackles and two pass breakups in the Rate Bowl against Rutgers on a season-high 39 defensive snaps. His final tackle against the Scarlet Knights came on a fourth-down attempt with less than two minutes left to help to preserve the win.
Rich also had two tackles in his very first appearance on defense at Colorado, where he was thrown into the fire after literally almost every starting member of the secondary went down on the same drive, but he acquitted himself admirably and showed off his starting potential.
He also had two stops against Arizona State and broke up a pass against Cincinnati.
Last season, Rich started all 12 games, recording 57 tackles, three tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and 11 pass breakups as he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades and played on a team-high 837 defensive snaps. His 12 total passes defended tied for third in the Big 12 Conference and 30th in the country.
Rich’s 11 pass breakups tied for 20th in school history and were the most by a Wildcat since 2017 (Duke Shelley).
He recorded his first career interception at Oklahoma State; broke up two passes against North Dakota and Arizona; posted a career-high nine tackles at Utah, while he had eight against Iowa State and six apiece against Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, and Oklahoma State; had a career-best two tackles for loss — which included his first career sack — against UCF; and also made a stop behind the line against North Dakota.
Rich prepped under head coach Charles Adams at North Community, where he was ranked as the 103rd-best cornerback nationally in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, while he is viewed as the 10th-best overall prospect in the state of Minnesota by On3.
A first-team all-state honoree as a senior by the Associated Press and SBLive, he also was an all-district selection each of his final three years as a prep, including after he recorded nine tackles as a senior, while he caught 11 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.
Rich selected K-State over offers from Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Wyoming (from which he previously decommitted), as well as interest from Iowa State and Minnesota.
His primary recruiter was his previous position coach, Van Malone.
Here is what former head coach Chris Klieman had to say in May 2025 about Rich and his running mate:
Awesome that we are able to use development there. Rich and (Donovan) McIntosh are guys that have been in the program a short period of time, and trusted the process and what we were talking about, and the growth they’ve had putting on really good weight and strength and speed, those are young players that have ascended to essentially toward the top of the depth chart that are ready to play now. I think we all saw that in the Rate Bowl that those two kids really have talent.
Happy with McIntosh and Rich because they’ve really taken another step.
This spring, new head coach Collin Klein specifically singled out Rich in the secondary for his leadership ability:
Avery (Johnson) sticks out. He’s done a tremendous job. Him and Joe Jackson both have been a very, very vocal piece of driving energy and driving spirit. Rex Van Wyhe and Jordan Allen on defense and Zashon Rich, all those guys have really done a great job of facilitating those things relationally on both sides of the ball.
*Keep in mind that starting this season, redshirted players can play in up to nine total games and retain their year of eligibility. If the 5-for-5 rule survives its court challenges, that number goes from nine to “all of them.”
