Three observations from Kansas State’s second open football practice of the spring

The Kansas State football team allowed media to watch portions of spring practice on Tuesday morning.

Here are three observations from the session:

Offensive line starting to take shape

So many K-State football players are being held out of spring practice as they recover from injuries or watch from the sidelines for precautionary reasons that it’s impossible to pencil in starting lineups at most positions this far ahead of the 2024 season.

That being said, the Wildcats seem to like the five offensive linemen they trotted out there for first-team drills on Tuesday.

The front five consisted of Easton Kilty (left tackle), Hadley Panzer (left guard), Sam Hecht (center), Taylor Poitier (right guard) and John Pastore (right tackle).

As a group, they worked well together and showed off the ability to both pass block and run block with various offensive linemen zooming across the line of scrimmage as pulling blockers.

One can safely assume that Andrew Leingang, Carver Willis and others with be included in the rotation and/or starting lineup when the fall arrives. But it is encouraging to see that K-State already has confidence in five offensive linemen.

That is a difficult position for transfers to master right away as they enter a new scheme. But it seems as though Kilty is ready to make an impact along with K-State’s returning blockers.

Nobody knew for sure what to expect from the K-State offensive line after it lost Cooper Beebe, Kaitori Leveston, Hayden Gillum and Christian Duffie from last year’s starting five. At least one new lineup is starting to take shape.

DJ Giddens isn’t taking it easy this spring

Rest days are common for K-State’s oldest and most accomplished players during the spring. You could compare their time off to load management in the NBA. There is no need to demand extra reps from certain players right now when younger players could use extra opportunities to develop.

So it is a little surprising to see running back DJ Giddens so involved right now.

The junior playmaker from Junction City is coming off a season in which he rushed for 1,226 yards and 10 touchdowns on 223 carries. He has nothing to prove. After Deuce Vaughn rose to the top of K-State’s depth chart, he was better protected than quarterbacks during spring practice. But that is not the case for Giddens.

He is the first running back up at every drill and the first running back to carry the ball during scrimmages. On Tuesday, he broke away for two long runs after taking a handoff from Avery Johnson.

K-State coaches might be better served using this time to evaluate backup running backs like Joe Jackson, Evan Cantu and La’James White. But the hunch here is that Giddens doesn’t have the type of personality to take a backseat to anyone, even during spring practice. Taking it easy might not be in his football DNA.

K-State coaches are using creative drills at every position

One thing that was impossible to miss at this practice was the use of props during position drills.

K-State coaches launched yoga balls at linebackers as they simulated blitzes and other open-field tackling opportunities. They also held out long sticks with football helmets or boxing gloves attached to them to help wide receivers practice the art of delivering a stiff arm while running backs worked on ball security.

To simulate tackling, coaches rolled huge foam doughnuts across the turf so K-State defenders could bring them to the ground.

Those were all creative ways for K-State assistants to get more involved at practice without risking injury to any K-State players.