Kansas State Football: Interior Defensive Line

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Kansas State Wildcats defensive end Travis Bates (39) celebrates a sack during the first half against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK 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

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….

Interior Defensive Line​

Name	Pos	Recruiting Class	HS/JuCo/Portal	Home State	High School	HS Rating	Juco/Port	JuCo/Port Rating	Seasons at KSU	Eligibility	Name
Travis Bates	DE/DT	22	Portal	TX	Tomball	3*(79.5)	Austin Peay	3*(86.5)	2	1	Travis Bates
Patick Tackie	NG/DT	23	JuCo	NY	A Phillip Randolph	NR	Hinds C.C.	3*(87.1)	1	2	Patick Tackie
Austin Ramsey	NG/DT	23	Portal	PA	Roman Catholic	3*(85.9)	Kentucky	3*(86)	0	2	Austin Ramsey
Kamari Burns	DT	23	Portal	OH	Gahanna Lincoln	3*(86.9)	Cincinnati	3*(86)	0	2	Kamari Burns
De’Arieun Hicks	DT	24	Portal	IN	Richmond	NR	Gardner-Webb	3*(85.5)	0	3	De’Arieun Hicks
Holden Bass	DT	24	HS	KS	Nemaha Central	NR	NA	NA	2	3	Holden Bass
Elijah Jackson	DT	24	JuCo	FL	Williston	NR	Hutchinson C.C.	3*(85.6)	0	3	Eli Jackson
Kingston Hall	DT	26	HS	OK	Tahlequah	3*(85.8)	NA	NA	0	5	Kingston Hall
Adrian Bekibele	NG/DT	26	HS	Sweden	RIG Academy	3*(85.4)	NA	NA	0	5	Adrian Bekibele
Carnell Jackson Jr.	NG	26	HS	AL	Auburn	3*(85.5)	NA	NA	0	5	Carnell Jackson Jr.

Eligibility Changes​

Patrick Tackie and Elijah Jackson both received an extra season of eligibility after transferring from junior college. Most Junior College players will have 3 seasons of eligibility rather than the traditional 2.

Thoughts​

The entire defensive line was a gut job this offseason. Jordan Peterson runs a base 4-2-5 defense, while former defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman preferred a base 3-3-5. The coaching staff needed to bring in more dynamic, pass-rushing defensive ends and defensive tackles after the line mainly ate blocks for the linebacker’s last season.

The interior defensive line is really two positions. You have the 1 tech, or nose guard, who plays off either shoulder of the center and is generally a big dude who can hold up in the run game and take on interior double teams. They don’t produce much in terms of countable statistics, but when a team is weak at nose guard, it generally shows up in the run defense. If a defense can’t hold up in the A gap (either side of the center), a team should do nothing but run in the A gap. It’s the easiest play to call and execute in football. The quarterback hands the ball to the back, and the back runs straight ahead through the hole in the middle of the defense. In theory, nose tackle should be stocked, because K-State played nothing but nose tackles in their 3-man front, but Uso and Ilalio graduated, leaving a gaping hole in the middle of the defensive line.

Kentucky transfer Austin Ramsey could be the best option at nose to start the season, but this is a position that probably won’t be settled until fall camp. There are several options, but none are particularly experienced. Ramsey played in 11 games last season at Kentucky, which is why I have him tentatively penciled in as a starter, but this could be a spot where a newcomer contributes early. Swedish freshman Adrian Bekibele, by all accounts, is a physical anomaly who has serious interest from Georgia during his recruitment. It’s a huge jump from Sweden to American football, but at an athletic 6’3”, 308, Bekibele could be up to the task. Freshman Carnell Jackson Jr. has the type of size that stands out amongst other big guys. He’s currently listed on K-State’s official roster at 6’2”, 350 pounds. That sounds ideal, but I’m also wary about players listed at 350+ pounds. It’s almost impossible to be in shape at 350 pounds. Guys that can pull it off, like Dexter Lawrence and Haloti Ngata, are few and far between and are coveted by NFL defensive coordinators. My guess is that Jackson should play closer to 320. Still, with limited options in the middle, he could potentially see early action.

The “new” position for Kansas State’s defense is the 3-tech defensive tackle. This player lines up on the outside shoulder of either guard and tends to be smaller (for defensive tackles, not normal humans) and quicker. They attack the B gap (between the guard and tackle) and try to squeeze into the offensive backfield and cause trouble. After watching K-State’s defensive ends last season, I thought, “Most of these guys should be defensive tackles”. Now Travis Bates will get a chance to prove me right, because it sounds like he’ll play inside unless things fall apart at defensive end. Bates was fine as a strong-side defensive end but should be even better as a 3-tech defensive tackle, where strength and aggression are more important than quickness and finesse. He won’t have to worry about getting outside and setting the edge or tackling running backs or quarterbacks in space like he did on the edge and can focus on wreaking havoc in the backfield. Ideally, he’d be closer to 300 pounds, because he still needs to hold up in the run game, but this coaching staff is going to need to get creative with the defensive tackle rotation. Bates will be on the field for 3rd down for his pass rushing, but Cincinnati transfer Kamari Burns could handle the early downs at the more conventional 6’3”, 300 pounds. Burns wasn’t super productive during his 3-seasons for the Bearcats, but he was also stuck playing behind star defensive tackle Dontay Corleone. There’s nothing stopping him from winning the starting job at Kansas State, and if you’re looking for a breakout star on the interior, Burns could be your man.

I tend to stay on the sunny side of the street when it comes to preseason evaluations, but the interior defensive line could be an issue. There’s some talent, but not much experience. I expect the coaching staff to sub liberally on the interior. The actual defensive tackle rotation may not be settled until a few games into the season.

Moving Forward​

The coaching staff knows the defensive tackle position needs to be shored up moving forward. You can see this in recruiting, where they currently have 5 potential interior linemen already committed in the 2027 class after taking 4 in 2026.

I’m more optimistic about the interior of the defensive line moving forward than I am with their 2026 prospects. It may take until 2027 for things to fully materialize, but the coaching staff recognizes the issue and are attacking the problem head on through recruiting, while hoping that transfers can help bridge the gap.

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