MANHATTAN — Beating rival Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown may not be the biggest key to Kansas State football’s recruiting efforts, but it sure doesn’t hurt.
The No. 15-ranked Wildcats’ hard-fought 29-27 victory 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 the top-rated 2025 players in Nebraska, and 2026 defensive back Brandon Ford, from 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 commitment for the 2025 class. He also had offers from South Florida, Washington State, Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois and Minnesota State 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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2025 RECRUITING COMMITMENTS
High school players
Logan Bartley— 5-11, 175, safety, Naples, Fla.
RJ Collins— 5-11, 175, cornerback, Kansas City, Mo.
Linkon Cure— 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, Mo.
Noah King— 6-3, 195, safety, Hamilton, Ohio
Dalton Knapp— 6-4, 225, defensive end, Fort Worth, Texas
Dominic Mitchell— 6-2, 200, safety, Phoenix
Adonis Moise— 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 agreen@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
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