Kansas State football flips two recruits during weekend visits for TCU game
MANHATTAN — Kansas State football picked up more than just a key 41-3 Big 12 victory over TCU last Saturday night at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats also added a pair of recruits to their 2024 recruiting class, in both cases flipping their commitments from other programs.
Callen Barta, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound safety from Topeka's Seaman High School, and previously a Nebraska commit, announced his decision Sunday, immediately after his official visit over the weekend. On Monday, Mount Vernon, Texas, linebacker Boone Morris followed suit.
Morris, a 6-2, 225-pound former Texas-San Antonio commit, joined Barta on the official visit for the TCU game. The Wildcats also entertained four-star edge rusher Jayshawn Ross from Liberty, Missouri, and wide receiver Jacques Spradley-Demps of Pflugerville, Texas.
The addition of Barta and Morris pushes K-State's 2024 recruiting class to nine players. They are only the second and third defensive commitments, along with Castle Rock, Colorado, athlete Jake Stonebraker.
Related: Kansas State football adds lineman Kaedin Massey for the Class of 2024
Barta, who is ranked as the No. 8 prospect in Kansas in a composite of the three main recruiting websites — 247Sports, Rivals and On3 — originally committed to Nebraska in June. But K-State continued to recruit him and eventually won out.
"I'm staying home," he proclaimed in announcing his commitment on social media.
"The home feeling was like no other and just feeling comfortable around everyone there was amazing," Barta then told GoPowercat.com after making his announcement.
Morris, another three-star prospect, had 17 Division I offers, but the only other Power Five opportunity was Vanderbilt. He originally committed to UTSA on July 1.
The two weekend commitments were especially good news for the Wildcats after they missed out on Junction City linebacker Michael Boganowski, the top-rated player in the state of Kansas, who chose Oklahoma last Thursday over K-State, Kansas and Florida State.
Related: Sooners land commitment from versatile LB Michael Boganowski
Ben Sinnott and Austin Romaine's status uncertain for Houston
Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said during his weekly news conference Tuesday that it was too early to tell whether starting tight end Ben Sinnott and middle linebacker Austin Romaine would be available when the Wildcats play host to Houston at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"Romaine did practice (Monday), but he practiced late last week and just wasn't able to go," Klieman said. "Ben didn't practice, and that was probably assumed. It's probably too early in the week to make a determination on either of those kids."
Romaine left the Texas Tech game two weeks ago with an injury and did not play against TCU, while Sinnott was hurt late in the first half of the TCU game.
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 Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football flips two recruits during weekend visits
