Ranking Kansas State’s Biggest Recruiting Blunders in Recent Program History

Not every move in college football is a masterclass, and the Kansas State Wildcats are no exception to that rule. With every logical investment also comes the blunders, some of which haven't quite been erased from recent memory.

Ranking the Wildcats biggest NIL blunders in recent memory

Kansas State took a major swing when it landed former Illinois guard Coleman Hawkins. Reportedly earning close to $2 million in NIL compensation, Hawkins arrived in Manhattan as one of the most high-profile additions in program history ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Under former head coach Jerome Tang, Hawkins was expected to help elevate the Wildcats into contention in the Big 12. Instead, the season never matched the hype. Kansas State finished 9-11 in conference play and 16-17 overall, falling short of the NCAA Tournament after a 70-56 loss to the Baylor Bears men's in the second round of the Big 12 tournament

For a player coming off an Elite Eight run with the Fighting Illini, expectations were sky-high. But the production and team success never justified the investment. Instead, it goes down as one of, the biggest “what if” questions in program history.

The Will Howard debate that hasn't gone away

Former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard played a key role in setting the stage for Avery Johnson in his first few seasons. After Howard's final year with the Wildcats, he made the decision to transfer to Ohio State, arguably one of the best decisions he could have made for his career.

In his lone season with the Buckeyes, Howard threw for 4,010 yards on 309 completions. That total more than doubled the output from each of his first three collegiate seasons and marked a 51% jump from his final year at Kansas State.

Howard recently made headlines for some of his comments surrounding the NIL situation at Kansas State. In his own words, "it's different when you go to a school and you're the guy getting money. It's amazing how different you're treated."

When Johnson entered the picture, Howard was in his fourth season and on the cusp of the breakout year fans expected. Instead, he continued his career elsewhere. Had the right financial number been on the table, there’s a real argument that he could have solidified himself as the defining quarterback of the era before Johnson took over the role.

Instead, the Wildcats are left with a former quarterback who also has a national championship to his name. Had things played out differently, it could have been Kansas State in the driver’s seat instead.

Nijel Pack's NIL-era departure

Nijel Pack entered his sixth and final year of eligibility during the 2025-26 college basketball season, a career that has stretched across three Power Four programs and multiple postseason runs. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he began his college career at Kansas State under then-head coach Bruce Weber, playing his first two seasons in Manhattan.

Pack’s final year with the Wildcats came just before Jerome Tang took over the program. Since leaving K-State, he’s spent time with both Miami and Oklahoma, including a run with Hurricanes that resulted in a Final Four appearance in 2023.

On the floor, his production never dipped. His final season at Oklahoma, Pack averaged 16.8 points, three rebounds, and three assists per game. He actually posted an even higher scoring mark during his second year at Kansas State, when he averaged 17.4 points per game.

Looking back, it raises questions about whether retaining him would have changed the trajectory of Tang’s early roster-building years in Manhattan. Ironic enough, Pack’s college eligibility outlasted Tang’s entire tenure with the program.

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