Kansas State football assistant Van Malone talks about cornerbacks
Kansas State football assistant head coach Van Malone talks about the Wildcats’ cornerbacks.
K-State Athletics
MANHATTAN — With the season opener less than a month away, Kansas State football faces a major rebuilding job in its defensive secondary, and especially at cornerback, where the Wildcats must replace both starters in 2025.
But neither head coach Chris Klieman nor assistant head coach Van Malone, who is in charge of the corners, seems overly concerned. While two-year starter Jacob Parrish was drafted by the NFL and Keenan Garber exhausted his eligibility, the Wildcats have a nice balance of youth and experience ready to step in.
“Zashon Rich (and) Donovan McIntosh started the Rate Bowl and didn’t play a lot prior to that, but that experience helped them,” Klieman said of the two sophomores, who improved throughout their freshman seasons, while primarily playing on special teams. “Justice (Clemons, formerly James) has played for two years at a high level, so it’s not like we’ve got a bunch of guys that have never played this game before.”
Along with Rich and McIntosh, the Wildcats brought in junior transfer Jayden Rowe from Oklahoma and sophomore Amarion Fortenberry from South Alabama. Sophomore Kanijal Thomas is also finally healthy, though he could see action at the nickel spot as well.
Zashon Rich and Donovan McIntosh are the future at corner
Rich and McIntosh got their feet wet last year, splitting time between cornerback and special teams, and Malone is high on both of them. Rich played in all 13 games as a true freshman, recording 12 tackles with three…
Source link : https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/college/cat-zone/2025/07/30/kansas-state-football-must-replace-both-starters-at-cornerback-in-2025/83674084007/
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Publish date : 2025-07-30 08:06:00
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