Stewartville's Blake Turner accepts dream offer from Kansas State football program

Feb. 6—Blake Turner had all but removed college football as a possibility for himself.

One of two things weren't lining up with all of the schools the Stewartville senior was considering, either the academics not meeting his desires, or the football.

But then, out of the blue, came a phone call from Kansas State University.

Now, this could be a match for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound rangy and fast tight end. KSU has the academic major that Turner covets, Agribusiness. Turner wants to run his family's farm after he graduates.

They also play a little bit of football at Kansas State. It's Power-Five, Division-I style, in the Big 12 Conference.

When Turner received a call from Wildcats assistant coach Brian Lepak on Jan. 20, wondering if he'd be interested in joining the program as a preferred walk-on, he was floored. No way did he see this coming.

"That blew my mind," said Turner, who'd filled out a recruiting form from Kansas State way back in the fall, but hadn't heard a thing from the program since. "I got super excited."

One week later, he was in the family car with his parents, Bruce and Amie Turner, driving the 530 miles to Manhattan, Kan., to get a close-up look at what the school and its football program had to offer. One day later, he was "all in," giving the Wildcats a verbal commitment to join their team.

On Wednesday, alongside Stewartville senior football teammates Ayden Helder and Caleb Jannsen in the Stewartville gymnasium, Turner will make his commitment to Kansas State official on National Signing Day. Quarterback Helder and linebacker Jannsen are headed to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Winona State University, respectively. That trio helped lead Stewartville to the Class 3A state championship this fall.

Turner, Helder and Jannsen are among a long list of southeastern Minnesota players putting their football pledges in writing Wednesday. Included in that is Rochester Mayo's Carter Holcomb, the second-leading receiver all-time in Minnesota in both catches and yards. Holcomb is set to join his older brother Cayden Holcomb at Winona State. Another elite southeastern Minnesota receiver, Fillmore Central's Jayce Kiehne, announced Tuesday that he will also play at Winona State.

The 6-3 Kiehne was a revelation this past season. His 978 yards receiving was a Fillmore Central record as were his 16 touchdown receptions. Kiehne is also first all-time at Fillmore Central in career receiving yards (1,846) and receiving touchdowns (29).

Two of southeastern Minnesota's best players, Byron defensive lineman Zach Vanderpool and Lake City receiver Keegan Ryan, put their pledges in writing on Dec. 20 during the early signing period. Both are going Division I, Vanderpool to North Dakota State University and Ryan to the University of North Dakota.

Stewartville coach Garrett Mueller believes that Turner — a tight end and defensive lineman for the Tigers — has the potential to make a serious impact at Kansas State.

"Kansas State really likes Blake's combination of size and athleticism," Mueller said. "They've had a lot of success with guys like him. They drew comparisons to other walk-on guys who've been impact players for them. Blake does a lot of things well. He was kind of a hybrid tight end and H-back for us, involved a lot in the passing and run games. We used his length and athleticism in space. We tried to get him vertically down the field. And he is an outstanding blocker. We had a lot of success running the football behind him. He made us really dangerous."

Though it isn't the glamorous part of being a tight end, Turner gets his greatest satisfaction from blocking.

"I take a lot of pride in that," he said. "It's my favorite thing to do, just being able to work with the running backs and make those reads (as a blocker). But I also love catching the ball and getting yards after the catch and moving in space."

Kansas State has had great success under sixth-year head coach Chris Klieman, going 9-4 this past season and 10-4 in 2022. Klieman is the former head coach at North Dakota State.

Byron running back Adam Glynn had made a verbal pledge in July to the University of Sioux Falls.

On Tuesday, Glynn made a new decision. He will play his college football at fellow Division II and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference school Minnesota State University, Mankato instead.

He finished his high school career as Byron's third all-time leader in rushing yards with 3,411, first in points scored in a season with 162 and first in yards gained in a single season (1,944 this past year). He got those career yards despite missing much of his junior season with an injury.

Glynn is opting for Mankato over Sioux Falls mostly to be closer to home.

"I have two siblings living in Mankato now and someone who feels like a grandma to me in Byron who fell and hurt her head recently, and I also want to be closer to home for her," Glynn said.

Glynn likes the brand of football being played at Minnesota State, Mankato. The Mavericks have been one of the strongest Division II programs in the nation the last decade. There, he will join another former star high school running back from southeastern Minnesota, Sam Backer. The Chatfield graduate played in two games this past season as a true freshman and gained 68 yards on 16 carries.

The 5-11, 185-pound Glynn figures to play running back for Mankato, though he could also be shifted to defensive back or receiver.

Here is a list of the southeastern Minnesota players who are expected to sign official letters of intent on Wednesday:

* Byron: Adam Glynn, running back, Minnesota State, Mankato; Tyler Connelly, linebacker, Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Payton Jax, offensive line, Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Luke Scheuer, linebacker/running back, Wisconsin-Stout.

* Caledonia: Lewis Doyle, receiver, Hillsdale College (Mich.); Jordan Tornstrum, offensive lineman, Upper Iowa.

* Cannon Falls: Sam Shepersky, linebacker, Southwest Minnesota State; Corbin Schroeder, offensive line, Southwest Minnesota State; Nick Barrett, defensive line, Southwest Minnesota State.

* Century: Jake Wills, receiver, Minnesota State, Mankato; Miles Prochnow, offensive lineman, Minnesota State, Mankato; Eli Thompson, receiver, Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

* Dover-Eyota: Damon Bye, receiver/defensive back, Northwestern College (Iowa).

* Fillmore Central: Jayce Kiehne, receiver, Winona State; Zach Krage, lineman, Gustavus.

* Goodhue: Grant Reed, running back, Wisconsin-River Falls; Max Loos, receiver, Simpson College.

* John Marshall: Nolan Radtke, linebacker, Bemidji State; Zach Ladu, defensive back, Augustana (Sioux Falls).

* Kasson-Mantorville: Easton Suess, defensive end, Winona State.

* Kingsland: Beau Wiersma, running back, Winona State.

* Lewiston-Altura: Owen Sommer, tight end/defensive end, Wisconsin-River Falls; Levi Oevering, offensive line, Wisconsin-River Falls.

* Mayo: Remington Gau, fullback, Winona State; Carter Holcomb, receiver, Winona State; Lucas Peterson, receiver, Bemidji State.

* Pine Island: Nate Klusmann, lineman, Wisconsin-Stout.

* Spring Grove: Ethan Crouch, defensive lineman, Dakota State.

* Zumbrota-Mazeppa: Jack Boraas, lineman, Wisconsin-River Falls; Oliver Liffrig, linebacker, University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

* Winona Cotter: Luke Gardner, receiver, Wisconsin-La Crosse.