MANHATTAN — Beating rival Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown may not be the biggest key to Kansas State football recruiting efforts, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.
The Wildcats, ranked No. 15 The hard-fought 29-27 win over KU Saturday night at sold-out Bill Snyder Family Stadium made enough of an impression on two visiting high school prospects — one for the 2025 class and one for 2026 — that they committed to K-State.
Linebacker Darien Whitaker, one of Nebraska’s highest-rated 2025 players, and 2026 defensive back Brandon Ford of Crowley, Texas, announced their decisions on social media Monday.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Whitaker, a three-star prospect from Boys Town near Omaha, is the Wildcats’ 19th commit for the 2025 class. He also has offers from South Florida, State Washington, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois and Minnesota State in Mankato.
Ford, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound cornerback from the Fort Worth area, is K-State’s first commit for the 2026 recruiting cycle. He chose the Wildcats over a number of Power Four offers, including Big 12 schools Arizona, Arizona State, Houston and Texas Tech.
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Kansas State Football Commitments for 2025
RECRUITMENT COMMITMENTS 2025
High school players
Logan Bartley — 5-11, 175, Security, Naples, Florida.
RJ Collins — 5-11, 175, cornerback, Kansas City, Missouri.
Cure Linkon — 6-6, 220, tight end, Goodland
Dillon Duff — 6-2, 185, quarterback, St. Louis
Monterrio Elston — 5-8, 170, running back, Little Rock, Ark.
Brock Heath — 6-5, 260, offensive lineman, Blue Valley NW (Kan.)
Martel Jackson — 6-2, 175, cornerback, Derby (Kan.)
Will Kemna — 6-5, 260, offensive lineman, Jefferson City, Missouri.
Noah King — 6-3, 195, safety, Hamilton, Ohio
Dalton Knapp — 6-4, 225, defensive end, Fort Worth, Texas
Dominique Mitchell — 6-2, 200, safety, Phoenix
Adonis Moses — 6-0, 180, wide receiver, Bradenton, Fla.
Ashton Moore — 6-0, 200, linebacker, Louisburg (Kan.)
Weston Polk — 6-1, 215, linebacker, Coppell, Texas
Maguire Richman — 6-2, 208, linebacker, Blue Valley (Kan.)
Sawyer Schilke — 6-3, 225, linebacker, Kearney, Neb.
JoJo Scott — 6-1, 175, cornerback, Lakeland, Fla.
Brad Stanyer — 6-5, 235, defensive end, Grapevine, Texas
Darien Whitaker — 6-4, 215, linebacker, Boys Town, Neb.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article was originally published on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football makes two recruiting commitments
