Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

For our next installment of the 100 day countdown to kickoff against North Dakota State University, 91 is both the number of days until football as well as the number of regular season tackles for Arthur Brown in 2012. One of the top linebackers in the country and an invaluable part of K-State’s Fiesta Bowl berth, let’s take one more look at the linebacker Baltimore traded up to select and replace future Hall of Fame player Ray Lewis.

Brown came out of Wichita East High School with the choice to attend any of the greatest programs in the nation – Alabama, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, USC, and others (including K-State) all offered scholarships in exchange for his services. However, he chose the University of Miami where he struggled more than expected as a freshman and eventually transferred to K-State after his sophomore year. He came to Manhattan with a cloud of suspicion after being named in an article along with his brother Bryce that alleged several students, coaches and administrators were either complicit or directly received benefits from ex-booster and convicted felon Nevin Shapiro. However, he was never implicated of any wrongdoing.

Per NCAA rules, Brown set out the 2010 season as a redshirt before suiting up his junior year. His two years playing at K-State were phenomenal, as he fulfilled all five of the stars recruiting services awarded him coming out of high school. Brown’s most notable play in 2011 was recording the first interception of RGIII that season. The play late in the fourth quarter not only halted Griffin’s streak of 110 attempts without an interception, it also led to Anthony Cantele’s game winning field goal to beat #15 Baylor 36-35. He finished the season with 101 tackles and two sacks to go along with his interception while being named Big 12 newcomer of the year.

Brown picked up exactly where he left off last season on his way to being named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He had another notable interception, becoming the first to intercept Geno Smith when K-State walloped West Virginia seven games into the season. In sum, he totaled four pass break ups, two interceptions (one returned for touchdown), seven tackles for loss, and one sack. Including the Fiesta Bowl, he finished with triple digit tackles the second straight year with 100, giving him 201 during his time at K-State. He was named an All-American his senior year and joined Mark Simoneau and Terence Newman as the only Wildcats to be named defensive player of the year.

Brown was selected with the 52nd overall pick in the 2013 draft and was ranked the #5 outside linebacker in the class by CBS Sports, although his side-to-sideline speed always made him a better inside linebacker prospect. He is expected to contribute immediately to the Ravens and be an anchor for one of the most feared defenses of the past decade and half.

To work backward in the countdown, visit 92 days, where we examine the 92-yard drive against West Virginia that validated K-State’s championship aspirations.

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Yesterday we looked briefly at some of the players that have had the biggest impact on K-State since the Big 12 was established in 1994. Today we’d like to open it up to you, the reader, in helping to determine the greatest Wildcat over the past two decades.

While it’s tricky to determine who should and shouldn’t make the cut, we’ve come up with five very solid options. Three of the players were/are coveted by NFL teams (LB Arthur Brown, QB Josh Freeman, and RB Darren Sproles). The other two (QB Michael Bishop and QB Collin Klein) found trouble trying to translate their ability to run the option to perfection into the NFL, but both placed within the top three in Heisman voting their final year and led their teams to top ten BCS rankings.

So here are your options for the top five. And if you don’t like the list, click ‘other’ and say something in the discussion thread below. Additionally, if you’re having trouble deciding, head back over to yesterday’s article for a brief recap of what each player brought to the table when they suited up in the white and purple. (Find that blog post here.)

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

That’s right folks, 100 days from now the Kansas State Wildcats will be facing off against the North Dakota State Bison on August 30 to kick off the 2013 football season. There’s as much excitement as there is trepidation coming into this year. Gone are Arthur Brown and almost all the other defensive starters, Heisman contender Collin Klein, and Chris Harper and Braden Wilson who were both selected in the NFL draft, as well as All-Conference special teams selections kicker Anthony Cantele and punter Ryan Doerr.

However, the team returns every member of the best offensive line in the league, All-American safety Ty Zimmerman, and one of the league’s best backs in John Hubert – not to mention an all-star wide receiver duo highlighted by Tyler Lockett. The linebacking unit is also expected to be stellar and the quarterback situation is merely a problem of picking the better of two excellent players in Daniel Sams and Jake Waters.

So where does K-State stand coming into the season? The majority of media pick the Wildcats to be in the thick of what should be a five-team horserace for the Big 12 crown – five of the conference’s teams are ranked between 10 and 25. And in 100 days everyone should look for a potential upset opening night as K-State has a bad habit of falling asleep at the wheel in home openers against lower division competition, while North Dakota State is one team you don’t want to sleep on.

As such, I’ve included the team’s schedule below and ranked on a scale of 1-5 my degree of confidence in the team’s ability to win.

08/30/13	vs. North Dakota State	Manhattan, Kan.	4
09/07/13	vs. Louisiana-Lafayette	Manhattan, Kan.	5
09/14/13	vs. Massachusetts	Manhattan, Kan.	5
09/21/13	at Texas *	Austin, Texas	2
10/05/13	at Oklahoma State *	Stillwater, Okla.	2
10/12/13	vs. Baylor *	Manhattan, Kan.	3
10/26/13	vs. West Virginia *	Manhattan, Kan.	4
11/02/13	vs. Iowa State *	Manhattan, Kan.	4
11/09/13	at Texas Tech *	Lubbock, Texas	4
11/16/13	vs. TCU *	Manhattan, Kan.	2
11/23/13	vs. Oklahoma *	Manhattan, Kan.	3
11/30/13	at Kansas *	Lawrence, Kan.	5

If I could see one game and one game only this year, I’d go with TCU in Manhattan. However, every game should be a battle this year and I can’t wait to get this show on the row. So how about it, Wildcat fanatics – any games on the schedule that particularly scare you? Am I too worried about some of these match ups?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

David Ubben recently profiled his top ten Big 12 football players of all time, and as most fans expected it was largely a Texas/Oklahoma lovefest (big money athletic departments do, after all, get the big money recruits). I was hopeful that at least one Wildcat would land on the list, but alas K-State was completely overlooked for the list. Which begs the question – what Wildcat in the Big 12 era is the most deserving to be listed among the top ten players in conference history? Here are my candidates:

Darren Sproles

Sproles is among the most accomplished Wildcats in the NFL to-date. After serving as LaDainian Tomlinson’s backup and return man for several years in San Diego, he moved to New Orleans and became one of the most explosive weapons in the league while serving the most dangerous offense in the NFL. Sproles was an absolute star in the 2003 Big 12 Championship game, running all over an undefeated Oklahoma team which including a 60-yard reception en route to a 35-7 victory. During his time in Manhattan, Sproles accumulated just under 5,000 yards rushing. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry and punched in 45 touchdowns during his time on campus.

Josh Freeman

In a list of three stellar quarterbacks, Freeman collected the fewest accolades. However, it’s dangerous to believe this is a reflection on his abilities. Freeman came of age during the Ron Prince era when coaching was lacking, and, let’s be honest, Bill Snyder left a pretty barren cabinet in the mid-2000s. However, before he was a starting NFL quarterback for Tampa Bay, Freeman carried the team on his back at times during three seasons before leaving early for the draft. He accumulated a 125 passer rating (136 his junior year) and threw for 34 touchdowns while rushing for another 20 over 35 games. He was drafted in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft.

Arthur Brown

Brown has a couple issues working against him, the first of which is he didn’t start his college career as a Wildcat, transferring from Miami to K-State and only serving two years on the team. However, he was once of the most ferocious defenders to ever fill K-State’s linebacker position (who else – Ben Leber? Mark Simoneau?). As a conference defensive player of the year, he enjoyed two incredible seasons on campus. As a junior Brown registered 95 tackles, two sacks and one interception. He followed that performance up with a senior year performance of 91 tackles, two interceptions, six tackles for loss and one sack.

Michael Bishop

Bishop provided fans with a tremendous amount of exciting talent without the decision-making abilities to succeed at the next level. The Blinn Junior College transfer came to Manhattan after Bill Snyder was the only coach to offer him the opportunity to play quarterback (everyone else wanted him at defensive back). He started all 25 games during his two years in Manhattan while compiling a 22-3 record. He finished fourth all-time on the team in passing with 4,401 yards and ranked second all-time behind Lynn Dickey with 5,715 total yards of offense. He finished second in Heisman voting to Texas’s Ricky Williams.

Collin Klein

If you’re reading this blog, I’m going out on a limb and guessing you’re a fan of K-State football. Or you at least have an inkling of what happened in NCAA football this year. Which means you know the magical run he had. And if you think anyone has been more valuable to their Big 12 team save maybe Vince Young or RGIII, you’re insane. The briefest of synopses: third in Heisman voting, led team to Big 12 Championship and berth in the Cotton and Fiesta Bowls, 4,573 yards throwing, 2,455 yards rushing over his career while accounting for 85 touchdowns for K-State.

Honorable mentions

Terence Newman, Daniel Thomas, any Lockett to ever suit up

So, EMAW fanatics, whose your pick for greatest Wildcat in the Big 12? And were they robbed a spot in the list of top 10 best Big 12 players?

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman – the team’s most important returning defender – is one of seven Big 12 players named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy watch list for the 2013 season. The IMPACT trophy attempts to encapsulate the player that makes the biggest impacts both on and off the field. The letters stand for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

42 players have been announced to the watch list for a trophy that ultimately went to Manti Te’o of Notre Dame last year. The team will need Zimmerman to do everything expected of a finalist for this award as he is one of the only defenders with playing experience returning this year. Zimmerman was also one of K-State’s best last year as the Junction City native recorded five interceptions and 50 tackles. He has 10 interceptions in his career in Manhattan.

Zimmerman will look to further build on the season that landed him on the All American third team last year and skyrocketed his potential NFL stock when he finishes his senior campaign. Zimmerman was a team captain last year and has been awarded the same honor for 2013. He is the second Wildcat to be placed on the Lott watch list, with linebacker Arthur Brown being placed on the same monitor last year.

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

With the dust settled on the 2013 NFL Draft, I wanted to look into where the Wildcat’s drafted fit into their new teams.  Lead Editor Dave Thoman did a great job overlooking where the entire Wildcat’s drafted and undrafted went.  If you haven’t had a chance check it out.  I wanted to look into the three drafted players and grade how they fit into their new systems.

Arthur Brown – LB, 56^th pick in the 2^nd round by the Baltimore Ravens

I was a little disappointed that Brown dropped to the second round because I really felt he was a first round talent.  But I couldn’t be happier to what team he fell to.  One of the Raven’s biggest needs heading into the draft was at Inside Linebacker after future Hall of Famer and dance enthusiast Ray Lewis retired.  Brown has big shoes to fill replacing Ray, but his attributes seem to fit what the Raven’s did with Lewis.  Brown’s instincts and tackling ability should allow him to start right away.  I actually thought if the Chicago Bears didn’t take him as I stated in my Draft Watch List, that the Ravens would snag him with the last pick in the first round.  Overall I think this is a great match for both team and player.

Overall Grade – A

Chris Harper – WR, 123^rd pick in the 4^th round by the Seattle Seahawks

Chris Harper to the Seahawks was a little surprising to me.  I thought that the Raven’s would target him more in the 3^rd round to replace Anquan Boldin.  Why the Seahawks surprise me is the big offseason trade for Percy Harvin.  Acquiring Harvin to go along with Sidney Rice, Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin help put their receiving corps in a better situation.  Harper’s key to this bunch is he’s a great possession receiver, ideal for a 3^rd or 4^th option for Russell Wilson.  His battle will be for a receiver spot on the roster, one I do think he can obtain if he clicks with Wilson.  The grade for Harper is due to what seems like a more crowded battle than the other two drafted.  I do love the potential Harper could bring to the Seahawks if he can gain Wilson’s confidence as a possession receiver.

Overall Grade – C, potential for B

Braden Wilson – FB, 204^th pick in the 6^th round by the Kansas City Chiefs

I may be a bit biased but I love this pick because I am a Chiefs fan as well.  I was surprised it was in the 6^th round, not the 7^th but new Head Coach Andy Reid had stated he thought Braden Wilson was the best blocking fullback in the draft in his opinion.  He backed that decision up by drafting a fullback that I think will be a great addition to the Chiefs lineup.  Wilson was viewed pre-draft as maybe being athletic enough to be drafted as an H-back type player.  This fits well into what Reid is bringing to the Kansas City offense, where Wilson’s main job will be opening holes for Jamaal Charles, but can catch the football if called upon.  The competition got a little more clouded with last week’s trade with the Arizona Cardinals that landed fullback Anthony Sherman.  The chances the Chiefs carry two fullbacks are slim to none, but investing a pick in Wilson would suggest he is the early favorite.  Wilson has the chance to be the Chiefs main fullback since Tony Richardson left, as the team has struggled to find a fullback in years past.  I think it’s a great fit and could be used extremely well.

Overall Grade – B if he wins the job, U if not

Drafted

LB Arthur Brown; Baltimore Ravens – Brown was selected in the second round when Baltimore traded up to get its replacement for retiring future Hall of Famer Ray Lewis.

WR Chris Harper; Seattle Seahawks – Seattle selected Harper in the fourth round to bring toughness to a unit lacking an identity last year.

FB Braden Wilson; Kansas City Chiefs – Wilson was selected in the sixth round by Kansas City. The Chiefs were without a true fullback last year, and Wilson has an excellent shot at filling this spot on the roster.

Undrafted Free Agents

CB Nigel Malone; Indianapolis Colts: Malone was accused of being burned at times but was also expected to play aggressively against the best quarterback league in the nation the past two years while hauling in interception after interception. You can never have too many cornerbacks in the NFL, and with the Colts looking to upgrade last year’s lackluster defense, this could be an excellent fit.

QB(?) Collin Klein; Houston Texans: Numerous speculations around the league considered the prospect of a team ignoring Klein’s demands to be taken seriously as a quarterback and pick him up in the fourth round as the next breakout tight end. Instead, Klein fell out of the draft and will get his chance to prove himself as the signal caller to back up Matt Schaub.

RB Angelo Pease; Green Bay Packers: Pease was clearly the back up last year in receiving 60 carries while John Hubert ran the ball 180 times and Collin Klein 207 (he also had five receptions to Hubert’s 18). However, he still displayed the strength and speed to warrant a healthy look in the league and could easily land on someone’s practice squad in August.

LB Justin Tuggle; Houston Texans: Joining Klein in Houston will be Tuggle, the converted junior college quarterback to linebacker who became a household name across the state after helping demoralize and demolish Landry Jones and the Oklahoma Sooners’ passing attack last fall. He will be given a look at inside linebacker for the Texans.

CB Allen Chapman; Indianapolis Colts: While teammates on Saturday afternoon, Malone may be one of Chapman’s biggest competitors this summer as both vie for a spot on the Colts’ secondary. Chapman brings the same acumen to the table as Malone (strong, aggressive, risk-taker), indicating the Colts believe their defense was too passive last year and desire at least one of these players to enhance the physicality of the team.

K Anthony Cantele; Indianapolis Colts: Marking the third Wildcat making the drive north to Indiana, Cantele will be given a shot to replace Adam Vinatieri – one of the greatest kickers in NFL over the past 20 years. Vinatieri has been with the Colts since 2006, but at age 40 the team may be looking to acquire a fresher kicking leg.

TE Travis Tannahill; Cleveland Browns: Cleveland maintained four tight ends on the roster last year, which is absurd in its own right. They combined for 79 of the team’s 328 receptions and were led by Ben Watson, who accounted for 49 catches. The 6’4″ Tannahill was a beast over the middle last year and seemed to catch everything Klein threw his way, no matter how hard he was hit by opposing linebackers. It will be difficult to make Cleveland’s roster given the  depth already present, but expect to see his name on someone’s roster this fall.

LB Jarrell Childs; Oakland Raiders: The third piece of the three-headed monster known as K-State’s linebacker corps this year, Childs has been given the opportunity to give Kansas residents one reason to roots for the Raiders. Personally, the Jug will be rooting for Childs to make the team and record 14 sacks – one for every loss the team suffers. Nobody roots for the Raiders.

P Ryan Doerr; Denver Broncos: Doerr will be in Denver this summer to compete against the brother of Chiefs’ punter Dustin Colquitt – Britton Colquitt. Britton ranked third in the NFL last year with a net average of 42.1 yards/punt (although the thin Denver atmosphere gives the ball a slight boost). Denver’s intentions for Colquitt are unknown – they have discussed signing him to a multi-year deal before training camp in July, but also lowballed him with a low right of first refusal that allowed teams to bid on Colquitt without surrendering a draft pick should they make a better offer to him. At the end of the day, Doerr is in a tough spot here and the extremely talented punter will likely be forced to look elsewhere for a spot in the league.

The big name missing from this list of course is DE Meshak Williams. Although his name was not widely circulated following draft workouts, I half-expected him to go in the first seven rounds and certainly didn’t expect 12 Wildcats to be brought in without his name on the list. Obviously my expectations in January have since been tempered, but there’s no way he goes without an invitation from someone before the week is up.

Editor’s note: as of Monday Meshak Williams has joined Brown in Baltimore. More on that story here.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

With one of the best value picks of the NFL draft so far, the Baltimore Ravens acquired Ray Lewis’s replacement Friday night by selecting K-State’s Arthur Brown with the 56th overall pick. The Ravens traded up six spots in the second round to acquire the pick from Seattle. The selection solidifies a retooling Ravens defense that needed to fill the shoes of both departed Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed and the legendary Lewis.

Brown was widely speculated to go in the first round of the draft Thursday night, and few believed that he could fall out of the top 40 (Sports Illustrated picked Brown to go to the Ravens in the first round). Yet once the Seahawks came on the board, the Ravens recognized how far Brown had fallen and doubted he would still be on the board six spots later. So they switched second round picks with Seattle, and gave up a fifth-round (No. 165) and sixth-round pick (No. 199) to move up the six spots to snatch Brown. Lurking to take him were also Texas, Denver, New England, Atlanta, and Green Bay in slots 57-61.

Ravens assistant General Manager Eric DeCosta acknowledged what a value Brown was Friday night this far into the draft. “He’s a guy that we coveted… we thought he was one of the best inside linebackers in this year’s draft,” DeCosta said. “He was definitely a consideration for us in the first round, there’s no doubt about it.”

Brown has the opportunity to emulate Lewis in many ways. Listed at 6’0″, many teams were deterred from drafting Arthur due to his height – an issue Lewis battled coming into the league at 6’1″. Yet Lewis emerged to become not only a physical leader for the team, but Baltimore’s emotional leader as well. Brown has similarly been commended for his leadership as a team captain for the Wildcats. And each is among the best in terms of sure tackling. The big difference is the choice of speed versus strength – while Lewis was better known as a powerhouse, Brown is expected to bring more speed to the position and can truly cover the field sideline-to-sideline for the Ravens. This looks to be a productive relationship for many years in the future.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

At the end of the first round of the NFL draft, Arthur Brown remains undrafted. While this was a possibility, most mock drafts definitely had Brown unavailable by this point. Yet going into Friday’s action, it remains uncertain where he will call home next fall.

How it happened: several teams looking to take linebackers didn’t – and that’s about the long and the short of it. Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones went a little later than expected at #17, but didn’t really change much. The NY Giants had an outside chance of taking a linebacker at #19 and didn’t, but this wasn’t entirely unexpected either. The big domino to fall was Chicago, who remains in search of a replacement for Brian Urlacher after choosing to go with Oregon guard Kyle Long.

With Manti Te’o, Alec Ogletree, and Brown all fighting to be taken in the last ten picks of the draft, no more suitors stepped forward. This was very surprising – you may be high on one or two of these players, but it’s difficult to imagine no one entertaining the idea of drafting any of the three in the first round. The Vikings owned the #23 and #25 picks, and do not have three linebackers that can be entrusted to start. This is a fact. Yet Minnesota opted to go with DT Sharrif Floyd of Florida and CB Xavier Rhodes of Florida State.

It appears that the run on defensive linemen early in the draft carried on downstream. The Green Bay Packers could desperately use a fast player like Brown for a defense that wasn’t great against the run and couldn’t cover anyone over the middle last year. Yet they also went with a lineman, taking DE Datone Jones from UCLA.

What was insane was New England traded their 29th pick to the Vikings for three Minnesota picks. Three. So you know Minnesota is planning something pick. Yet rather than take a linebacker to fill their huge hole at linebacker, they chose to pursue a replacement for Percy Harvin (traded to Seattle) in WR Cordarelle Patterson from Tennessee – a standout at the NFL Combine.

The problem for Brown, Te’o, and Ogletree was that there is now no rush for teams who desperately want one of them, but are indifferent as to which one. Obviously each brings a different skill set, but if you value Brown’s tackling and speed just as much as Te’o's strength. Some movement occurred at pick #30 when the Rams took Ogletree. However, Te’o and Brown remained on the board when the Ravens took Florida safety Matt Elam at #32.

Expect both linebackers to be picked up in the first half of the second round on Friday. Brown simply has too much talent to slip much farther, and Te’o is riding his second place finish in the Heisman race. Once one goes off the board, expect the other to follow within the next two to three slots – someone will trade up to take the other.

With the first round of the NFL draft scheduled to begin at 8/7 Central this Thursday evening, speculation remains rampant on whether a select number of players will find their names called tonight or be forced to wait until tomorrow to find out where they will make their new homes in professional football. Among those players is K-State MLB Arthur Brown, who is projected to go to the Baltimore Ravens with the 32nd and final pick of the first round in SI’s final mock draft.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King – the face of the organization’s draft team – believes two scenarios will shake out. The Giants, which are strong contenders to draft a linebacker, go with Florida State DE Bjoern Werner at 19 under his assumptions. However, the team to really watch is #20 Chicago, who is in desperate need of a middle linebacker. Yet King plugs Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert here. Even if King is wrong on the first 19 picks, a player other than a linebacker to the Bears is the most likely decision to impact whether Brown goes in the first round.

The top three linebackers in this range are Brown, Manti Te’o, and Alec Ogletree. There are questions surrounding all three – Brown’s shoulder didn’t allow him to particpate in the NFL combine, Manti Te’o was slow at the combine and can’t figure out whether or not the girl he’s dating is a dude from California, and Ogletree has some serious character issues. I believe Brown would be the best fit in Chicago, but King doesn’t see it happening. The next most likely team to go linebacker is Minnesota, who King believes takes the chance on Te’o at #23 (they also have the #25 pick).

These dominoes set up serious issues for Brown and Ogletree, with the next 7-8 teams looking for players to fill different positions than the linebacker spot. Both would most likely drop into the second round but for the Baltimore Ravens, where Brown would replace the vaunted Ray Lewis and assume his position as the next great middle linebacker for the defending Super Bowl champions. You think he could make some noise in that position?