The previous game against Texas Tech was the first game of the season where I felt the other team was simply better than Kansas State. The Wildcats fought hard, Avery played a gutsy game under constant
pressure from the Texas Tech front, and the defense did enough to keep the team in the game early. It didn’t matter. The Red Raiders had a serious talent and depth advantage. They held a game K-State team at arm’s length and always seemed to make a play when a play was required.
If you play that game 10 times, Texas Tech wins, at minimum, 7.
It’s no secret the Red Raider athletic department is suddenly flush with oil money and Coach Joey McGuire has reaped the benefits. Avery Johnson is going to see edge rushing Standford transfer David Bailey in his nightmares, but not to worry, he’ll be able to form a support group with the other Big 12 quarterbacks because Bailey has been unblockable this season. On the opposite side of the defensive line is 4* Georgia Tech transfer Romello Height, who would be a bigger story himself if David Bailey wasn’t treating Big 12 left tackles like traffic coaches.
I’d take either transfer over what K-State has to offer at edge rusher.
Texas Tech invested in a couple high profile defensive ends, and those two players have played massive dividends to the tune of a collective 22 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks.
This article isn’t about comparing Kansas State to Texas Tech. I just wanted to point out what it looks like when a team actually hits in the transfer portal, because buddy, I’m not sure the Wildcats could have done worse without intentionally bringing in the wrong guys.
Whatever could go wrong, has gone wrong with the 2025-‘26 transfer portal class.
I want to go position group by position group and show you exactly how little production Chris Klieman received from his offseason additions.
Offense
Running Back
Antonio Martin: DNP
The staff brought Martin in when the transfer back they originally signed, Gabe Ervin, had to medically retire from football. Martin hasn’t been a factor this season despite attrition at running back.
Wide Receiver
Jerand Bradley: 5 Snaps
Jaron Tibbs: 56 Snaps
Caleb Medford: DNP
Bradley has been good when healthy, but he’s rarely been healthy.
Tibbs is a solid, but not spectacular possession receiver. He’s been the bright spot on offense when it comes to portal additions.
Medford: Non-factor all season
Offensive Line
T: George Fitzpatrick: DNP
T: Terrence Enos: 3 Snaps
RG: JB Nelson: 8 Snaps
LG: Amos Talalele: 3 Snaps
This was the position group the coaching staff wanted to solidify in the offseason, and as you can see, it didn’t work. You can’t blame the coaching staff for missing on Fitzpatrick. He’s the starting left tackle if he doesn’t have some sort of medical emergency a few weeks before the season.
You can blame the coaching staff for the rest of the offensive line additions though, because none of them have been good. Nelson and Enos have both battled injury and ineffective play.
Talalele was more of a long-term prospect, than an immediate impact player, to be fair. I’m going to guess the coaching staff didn’t anticipate missing on the other three.
Defense
Defensive Line
DE – Jayshawn Ross: DNP
Linebacker
Gabe Powers: 2 Snaps
Ralph Ortiz: DNP
Corner
Jayden Rowe: DNP
Amarion Fortenberry: 20 Snaps
Safety
Gunner Maldonado: 48 Snaps
Qua Moss: 43 Snaps
To Make Matters Worse
Not only is the 2025 transfer portal class a complete failure, but the Wildcat’s haven’t gotten any production some of their highest value players. Hindsight is 20/20 but the Dylan Edwards experiment can only be viewed as an abject failure. I never bought the idea of Edwards as a feature back. He’s like an exotic sports car; nice to look at in the driveway, fun to take out on the road, but ultimately unreliable. Dylan is the type of car you drive around on Sunday afternoon when the weather is nice. He’s not the type of car you take to the grocery store in mid-February when the snow in the parking lot is gray.
The Wildcats can’t afford a luxury car, when they invest in a vehicle, it needs to run.
The same can be said for Lincoln Cure. The coaching staff poured a ton of resources into the in-state 5* tight end. They went head-to-head with Phil Knight and Oregon, won, and as a reward added 3 receptions for 28 yards to the roster this season. I get it, Cure is an elite athlete, but man, the Wildcats paid a steep price for a guy who, at least for this season, looks like another luxury addition, assuming he stays the course in Manhattan, which, as we all know, isn’t a guarantee (I say this with zero “inside” information).
It’s wild to think that this team essentially received nothing from their projected starting left tackle, running back, and highest rated offensive recruit.
The defense has felt like more of the same. Tobi Osunsanmi was supposed to be the breakout star on the defe3nsive line. He went down for the season on October 4 and still leads the team in sacks with four a month later.
Maldonado looks like he’s finally healthy, and playing well in the back end, but that wasn’t the case for the first half of the season when the secondary desperately needed experience in the back end. Fortenberry, frankly, has not lived up the normal standard of Wildcat cornerback transfers.
In Conclusion
All of this is to say, Texas Tech beat Kansas State because Texas Tech had better players across the board.
I spent all offseason selling an improved 2025 roster, in terms of talent, and that simply hasn’t been the case. Given what I know now, I’d take the 2024 team over this the 2025 and it’s not particularly close.
It will be interesting to see how Chris Klieman and his staff handle the 2026 roster. I’m guessing you’re going to see an emphasis on availability and production after taking a big swing on talent in 2025 and coming up empty.
