78 DAYS TO 2026 KICKOFF: John Pastore

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MANHATTAN, KS - OCTOBER 11: Offensive lineman John Pastore #78 of the Kansas State Wildcats gets set on the line of scrimmage against defensive end Paul Oyewale #97 of the TCU Horned Frogs in the second half at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on October 11, 2025 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) | Getty Images

#78 John Pastore​

Redshirt Senior | 6-6 | 300 lbs. | Erie, Colorado​

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• Position: Offensive Line
• Previous College: None
• Projection: Starter
• Status: On Scholarship

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John Pastore (b. Dec. 24, 2003) is a mean ol’ offensive tackle from Erie (Colo.) High School who redshirted in 2022 and did not play that season in order to put a bit more weight on his tall frame.

He saw playing time in 2023 as a reserve offensive lineman against Baylor, seeing time on 10 offensive snaps.

Pastore earned playing time in eight games in 2024 as a reserve offensive lineman, as well as on field goal and extra point protection, as he battled back from a significant back injury that required offseason surgery.

He saw action on 114 offensive snaps — including a career-high 28 at Tulane — while he was in for 42 special teams plays and earned Academic All-Big 12 honors following the season.

Last season, Pastore started all 12 games at left tackle — the first starts of his career — and was in for 715 total offensive snaps en route to All-Big 12 second-team honors and, once again, Academic All-Big 12 honors.

Replacing the sidelined George Fitzpatrick, he helped to lead the offensive line that ranked 10th nationally in sacks allowed (1.08 per game), while K-State finished fifth in school history in rushing yards per carry (5.09).

The Wildcats also had three rushes of at least 70 yards on the season, their most in school history and tied for the second most in the nation during the 2025 season. One of those came in the Utah game and it was no accident:

“We wanted to establish what K-State is, which is running the football,” Pastore said. “All week, we ran the ball, ran the ball, ran the ball. It was a mindset we were going to run the ball this week.”

Pastore prepped under head coach Jeff Giger at Erie, where he was regarded as the 35th-best offensive guard and fourth-best overall player in Colorado for the Class of 2022 by ESPN.

He helped to lead the Tigers to a 13-1 record and trip to the state championship as a senior.

Pastore, who is majoring in business administration, also showed top athleticism by blocking four field goals as a junior, the most in Colorado during a single season, as he earned second-team all-state, first-team all-conference and first-team all-region accolades.

He also competed in track and field and in basketball as a prep. Here is what former head coach Chris Klieman had to say about Pastore after he signed with K-State in December 2021:

Another one that came to camp and did a great job for (offensive line) Coach (Conor) Riley. He can play multiple positions. He’s a versatile guy, 6’6” and he’s close to 295 pounds already. He can play guard, he can play tackle, really good feet, really good hands, physical player. Excited to get John to join the program.

Klieman also compared Pastore to another local stud and future Dallas Cowboy:

We think they have the ability to play tackle first, and if not tackle then guard, as opposed to the flipside of them being guards and potentially becoming a tackle. Cooper Beebe is a great example. Cooper (was) playing tackle. We brought him in thinking he was going to be a guard and then we were able to move him outside. The guys we’re bringing in, we hope have the potential to play tackle and if not, we’ll slide them into guard. Having the length with all three of those guys is important.

Riley had high praise for Pastore and Andrew Leingang following the 2024 game at Tulane:

Yeah, I was (pleased). You look at the environment and you look at two young guys playing what I believe is very good defense, I thought that they held up pretty well. There were some execution things that we look at collectively as an offense that we need to continue to improve upon, and both of those guys were right there with it. I’m very, very pleased with where both those guys are at.

John, having the ability to play a little bit of the left side, a little bit of the right side as well, has been very beneficial, too.

Pastore chose K-State over offers from Colorado State, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, as well as interest from Colorado. Conor Riley was his lead recruiter.

You can read GoPowercat.com’s assessment of Pastore’s promise in this free article. Fun fact: He has a 29-inch vertical leap.

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