Aug 23, 2025; Dublin, IRELAND; Iowa State player Carson Hansen is tackled by Rex Van Wyhe of Kansas State during the Aer Lingus Classic between Iowa State and Kansas State at Aviva Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Laszlo Geczo/INPHO via Imagn Images | INPHO via Imagn Images

Note

I’m using the same introduction for all of these articles. If you read any of the articles below, you’ve already read it. I’d recommend skipping ahead to the table.

Offense

Quarterback

Wide Receiver

Running Back

Tight End

Interior Offensive Line

Offensive Tackle

Defense

Defensive End

Interior Defensive Line

I’m going to move forward with the idea that the new “age-based” NCAA eligibility model will stick around in some form once all the legal challenges are exhausted. It makes sense, and I’m not sure the schools are interested in the constant court battles over eligibility. I get the feeling that some high-up folks went to check on the college athletics golden goose, and while it wasn’t dead, it was missing some feathers. This age-based model is an attempt to limit some long-term financial damage from disillusioned fans (mostly middle-aged and older) who were once the backbone of college athletics. It feels like this is the first bone they’ve thrown the die-hard fans who care about this sort of stuff in a long while.

I wrote an article explaining the age-based model here. The basic idea is that athletes get 5 seasons of eligibility if they enroll in school by age 19. It prevents 27-year-old Euro pros from dominating college basketball as true freshmen and does away with the archaic redshirt rules in both football and basketball. In theory, it also gets around the arbitrary NCAA eligibility “waiver” system, but I’ll believe it when I see it in action. The schools like hard-and-fast rules right up until the point when they think they should get an exception from said rules.

Anyways, this is how the new “age-based” model affects the football team moving forward. I’ll go through the roster by position group, and at the end I’ll put it all together into a coherent roster with a bunch of information beyond what you find on other sites.

So, without further ado….

Position Group

#	Name	Pos	Recruiting Class	HS/JuCo/Portal	Home State	High School	HS Rating	Juco/Port	JuCo/Port Rating	Seasons at KSU	Eligibility	Name
28	Rex Van Wyhe	WLB	22	JuCo	IA	Central Lyon	NR	Iowa Central C.C.	3*(89.5)	3	1	Rex Van Wyhe
35	Gabe Powers	MLB	22	Port	OH	Marysville	4*(94)	Ohio St.	3*(87.7)	1	1	Gabe Powers
4	Mekhi Mason	MLB	22	Port	FL	Monsignor Pace	3*(83.6)	Syracuse/La Tech	3*(87)	0	1	Mekhi Mason
23	Asa Newsom	WLB	23	HS	IA	Waverly-Shell Rock	3*(88.3)	NA	NA	3	2	Asa Newsom
20	Jacobi Oliphant	WLB	24	Port	MO	St. Louis University	3*(86.4)	Oklahoma State	3*(85.5)	0	3	Jacobi Oliphant
44	Weston Polk	WLB	25	HS	TX	Coppell	3*(87.2)	NA	NA	1	4	Weston Polk
26	Sawyer Schilke	MLB	25	HS	NE	Kearney	3*(85.1)	NA	NA	1	4	Sawyer Schilke
6	Darien Whitaker Jr.	MLB	25	HS	NE	Boys Town	3*(86)	NA	NA	1	4	Darien Whitaker Jr.
41	Ashton Moore	MLB	25	HS	KS	Louisburg	3*(84.5)	NA	NA	1	4	Ashton Moore
16	DJ Ackerson Jr.	WLB	26	HS	OK	Putnam City	3*(87.7)	NA	NA	0	5	DJ Ackerson Jr.

Eligibility Changes

Weston Moore should receive an extra season of eligibility after being a key special-teams contributor as a true freshman. He now has 4 seasons remaining instead of 3.

Thoughts

Kansas State is moving from a three-linebacker base defense (3-3-5) to a two-linebacker base defense (4-2-5). The new defense will feature a middle and weak-side linebacker. In theory, new defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson should have everything required to get two solid linebackers on the field, but that’s more of a theory than a fact at this point.

Louisiana Tech (via Syracuse) transfer Mekhi Mason was the talk of the spring and seems poised to secure a starting spot heading into fall camp. I still think both linebacker positions are open, but it would take Mason falling off or someone else stepping up to keep him out of the middle. Mason was Second Team All-Conference USA last season after putting up 68 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks. He’s the only guy on the roster with real starting experience.

Ohio State transfer Gabe Powers should be able to slot into the reserve role at middle linebacker. Powers came into Ohio State as a highly regarded 4-star recruit but hasn’t been able to put it together over 4 seasons of college football. I’ve seen linebackers figure it out in their final year, but the odds are that Powers will work into the rotation and play some special teams, like he did last season.

Assuming Mason wraps up the middle linebacker spot, which is why he’s in Manhattan, the weak side linebacker spot could be one of the most hotly contested battles in fall camp. There are several options, but none are particularly proven; it’s going to come down to who best understands the defense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a steady, situation-based rotation at the Will spot, with at least two and potentially three guys regularly playing. If I were forced to bet on who starts, at least initially, I would reluctantly put my money on Rex Van Wyhe. The 6’5”, 244-pound linebacker has the size to hold up against a power run game and can still run well enough to hold up on the outside. He was in the regular rotation last season, and he should be able to parlay that into the starting job. He wasn’t a world beater; in fact, at times he struggled, b...

Bring On The Cats

Message History

Delivery option(s)