K-State Q&A: Dylan Edwards, Wildcats football in Ireland and basketball transfers

Last week was a rare chance for me to unplug while I was out of the country on a cruise with my family.

It was a great trip. Thanks for asking!

I didn’t pay for Wi-Fi on the boat, so sports news (especially of the K-State variety) was hard to come by. Quite a few people texted me about Farmageddon moving to Ireland. So I knew that was happening. But I was oblivious to all the basketball and football transfers that took place until I was back on dry land and catching up on everything that I missed.

Conference realignment usually strikes when I take vacation. This time it was Transferpalooza.

As you might expect, that is a big topic this week in K-State Q&A. So let’s dive right into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

This Dai Dai Ames move is an exclamation point on Kansas State chaos. Is this the new normal or is something wrong with the program? Either one is bad! - Steve B. via e-mail.

Let me start by saying I don’t think there is anything wrong with K-State basketball.

It’s not like players are sick of playing in Manhattan or they hate working with Jerome Tang and his coaching staff. There are tons or reasons why players transfer, and every team in America is dealing personnel losses at some level.

That being said, seven outgoing transfers is more than the Wildcats would have preferred. Losing young starters like Jerrell Colbert and Dai Dai Ames was not ideal. Tang and his staff could do a better job with player retention. During his three years in Manhattan, Tang has returned no more than six players on any of his rosters. Only bringing back two players from the Bruce Weber era was understandable in Year 1. Welcoming back just three players in Year 3 is a bit of a red flag.

But it’s not a doomsday signal.

Here’s a look at how many transfers have left every Big 12 team this offseason.

• Arizona: 4

• Arizona State: 6

• Baylor: 3

• BYU: 4

• Cincinnati: 3

• Colorado: 4

• Houston: 1

• Iowa State: 3

• Kansas: 1

• K-State: 7

• Oklahoma State: 5

• TCU: 3

• Texas Tech: 4

• UCF: 5

• Utah: 3

• West Virginia: 8

Kansas and Houston kept most of their players. Arizona State, Oklahoma State, K-State, UCF and West Virginia were on the opposite end of the spectrum. But no team is way out there on an island when it comes to transfers. This is just the way things are right now in college hoops.

Players are going to transfer every single year. The key is holding on to the right ones.

Please try to explain why Ques Glover entered the portal. Injuries kept him off of the court, not the coaches. Did the staff encourage him to leave? I don’t see how coaches can develop consistency of players in this topsy turvy world of the transfer portal! - William H. via e-mail.

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise when any player chooses to transfer anymore.

Do we even need a definitive explanation when they enter the portal?

Of the seven transfers that K-State has lost, I can tell you that some of them left because the Wildcats were unwilling to meet their NIL demands. Average players are getting at least $100,000 on the transfer market right now. The best players are getting over $1 million. Everyone is trying to maximize their value via the college equivalent of free agency.

I can also tell you that some of the transfers were encouraged to leave and others felt like they needed to seek more playing time elsewhere.

K-State would have welcomed Glover back to the roster, but his status with the team was always up in the air because of his injury history and his affinity for the transfer portal. Remember, this is a senior guard who has already spent time at Florida, Samford, BYU and K-State. I don’t mean this as a knock on him, but it really shouldn’t surprise anyone that he is once again on the move.

Long gone are the days of players like Jacob Pullen, Rodney McGruder, Will Spradling, Barry Brown and Dean Wade staying in college for four years. If you can get two seasons from a player, like Markquis Nowell, you are doing pretty well for your basketball program.

K-State should seriously consider a special way to honor David N’Guessan at senior day next season. He’s going to play three (!) seasons for Jerome Tang and the Wildcats.

Retaining players is a big challenge in today’s college basketball climate. But some coaches are able to do it. When he was first hired at K-State, Tang boasted about how few transfers Baylor lost while he was working as an assistant coach under Scott Drew in Waco. He promised to bring the same kind of culture to K-State. That hasn’t happened yet. In time, maybe it will.

Are we going to have enough players to field a full basketball team? -@SchoonKC via X.

I know, or at least hope, this question was asked partly in jest. But the answer is yes. Of course K-State will have enough players to field a basketball team next season.

The Wildcats currently have eight scholarship players lined up for next year, and Bart Torvik currently projects that unfinished roster as the 63rd best in college basketball for 2024-25. That would actually be a slight improvement over this past season.

Tang has landed some quality incoming transfers. If he can add a few more then K-State might start looking like an NCAA Tournament team. But he can’t waste the five open scholarships he still has to recruit with.

The top three teams in Torvik’s projected rankings are (gulp) Kansas, Iowa State and Houston.

K-State needs more talent and depth to compete with the top teams in the Big 12.

There’s been a lot of talk lately from K-State coaches regarding the rising importance of NIL within the college game. Are public university NIL deals with college athletes public information? If not, how do coaches get a bead on what amount it will take to be competitive and reel in each of the athletes they are targeting, both out of high school and in the transfer portal? - Kirk Z. via e-mail.

NIL deals are not public information.

That makes it difficult for anyone to know for sure how much any other player is earning in NIL and probably leads to more transfers because everyone is paranoid that they are being underpaid. I think it would help things if NIL deals were made public, just like salaries in the NFL. Alas, it is what it is.

Word does get around on NIL deals in coaching circles, though. Players all have asking prices. I would guess just about all coaches know a ballpark number they need to offer to land a recruit or a transfer.

The tricky part now is that every team has its own NIL budget and that needs to be managed.

Will it ever stop raining? -@BreenGuy567 via X.

Hey, I will take the rain while we can get it.

This is the one time of year when my yard looks good and green.

But I will also admit that the Little Apple is starting to feel like Seattle.

Your guess on Big 12 player for new CFB video game cover? What small school will you (or your kids) take to the promise land? -@garretts_myth via X.

It should be Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon.

This is a guy who amassed more than 2,000 yards and reached the end zone 22 times last season. He pretty much carried the Cowboys to the Big 12 championship game.

He is back in Stillwater for another season, and I find it odd that Oklahoma State is getting 16-to-1 odds to win the Big 12. The Pokes should be up there with K-State, KU and Utah as one of the favorites in the conference. Not middle of the pack.

But I digress ...

One could also make a case for Avery Johnson, but he’s probably too young, or Jalon Daniels, but he barely played last season.

The pick will probably end up being Shedeur Sanders at Colorado. Love him or hate him, he’s the biggest name in the Big 12 right now.

I don’t know that I will play much of the new EA Sports college football game, but my oldest son does own a Playstation 5. So he will probably be into it. Here’s hoping they include FCS teams and he can lead Idaho State to a virtual national championship.

Would you ask coaches why they are on Twitter making fun of student athletes? -@RobHud3 via X.

If Chris Klieman or Jerome Tang decided to channel their inner Deion Sanders then, yes, I would definitely ask them about it.

For now, I suppose I will have to wait until Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas.

I assume Sanders will be there.

What’s on your Dublin guide of “Must do’s”? It’s not too early to start planning for this is it? Do you plan to rent a car just so you can drive around on the wrong side of the road legally? -@ChadFullington via X.

My best friend from high school travels to Ireland for work all the time, so I should probably interview him about this topic and share the highlights before the 2025 football season arrives and K-State plays Iowa State in Dublin.

I really haven’t started planning ahead on this, but I can tell you I will be very interested in visiting the Guinness brewery and the Jameson Distillery.

If I’m dreaming, I would love to play a round of golf at an exotic Irish course. Checking out the seashore and maybe a castle could also be fun.

When it comes to food, I have no expectations. But I’m sure there are some great places to eat.

Renting a car vs. using a taxi sounds like a problem for Future Kellis.

Unfortunately, like Will Ferrell’s character in Old School, I just don’t know if I’m going to have enough time to do it all. I will be working most of the time while I’m in Ireland, after all. I wonder how early I can convince my editors to let me fly over. Two weeks sounds about right!

Should K-State be considered the favorite to win the Big 12 now that Dylan Edwards has joined the offense? -Andrew B. via e-mail.

Well, the Wildcats were already the betting favorites to win the conference in 2024 at some sports books.

Adding a skilled running back like Dylan Edwards isn’t going to weaken their standing.

Right now, K-State and Utah are considered co-favorites to win the league. They are both getting 3.5-to-1 odds.

That sounds about right to me. I think K-State, Utah, KU, Arizona, Iowa State and Oklahoma State all have a decent shot at winning the Big 12 next season. And K-State deserves to be at, or near, the top of that group.

The Wildcats shouldn’t have any trouble running the ball next season. Even without an experienced offensive line, they will have too many weapons for defenses to stop on a consistent basis. Avery Johnson is one of the fastest quarterbacks in the country, DJ Giddens is one of the best running backs in the Big 12 and Edwards gives K-State a shiny new toy to use in a variety of ways.

Don’t forget that new coordinator Conor Riley is a former offensive line coach who loves to run the ball.

The only thing that could minimize the addition of Edwards is the position that he plays. K-State was already set at running back for next season. Don’t get me wrong. The Wildcats will have a better backfield with Edwards in the fold. But he’s not exactly coming in at a position of need.

His biggest impact may be felt in 2025 if Giddens leaves early for the NFL Draft. Then Edwards could take over as the team’s workhorse runner.