DE Kenny Givens commits to the Wildcats

Kansas State has made noise following the final official visit weekend of the recruiting cycle. They had already added one pledge in running back Thomas Grayson and have added a second.

Chicago native Kenny Givens has committed to the Wildcats after his trip. He was not offered until Monday, but it didn't take him too long to jump on the opportunity.

"Coach Klieman called and asked me how I would feel if they extended an offer," Givens recalled. "I said, 'man, shut your mouth'. After he told me that he was, I was almost brought to tears. It meant a lot."

The 6-foot-4, 272-pound senior marks the Wildcats’ first step under the new staff to establish a foothold on the recruiting trail in Chicago. New assistant Joe Klanderman has the recruiting experience in the Midwest city and has worked to make it a regular territory for Kansas State in short order.

"I loved it," Givens said of his visit. "I felt good around the players and the coaches. I could tell they would care about their players and already did. They loved their players even though they just got there. I had heard nothing but great things about them and then I saw it all in person. Everything was perfect. Everyone was great, from the coaches all the way down to my host."

A bit of a surprise is that Givens is being recruited as a 3-tech defensive tackle to provide depth in the future, as they anticipate the graduation of three defensive tackles (Jordan Mittie, Joe Davies, Trey Dishon) following the 2019 season.

The football side is important to Givens, but he is more focused on academics when he signs with Kansas State on Wednesday, rather than production on the field.

"At the end of the day, with me leaving for K-State, I'm not only going there to prepare for an opportunity to play in the NFL, but I'm going there to serve the purpose of getting a degree," Givens admitted. "Of course, the football stuff on the visit was awesome. It stood out. But my favorite part was that they care very much about academics.

"At the end of the day, I struggled in high school with academics. I'm not going to do that again in college. That's what I'm not going to do. If all my time has to go to school, then that's what it will be. It's my mission to walk away with a degree."

There was also some fun on the trip. To nobody's surprise, it did involve Director of Football Recruiting, Taylor Braet.

"Coach Braet and I ended up doing some freestyle rapping together," Givens revealed while laughing. "He can spit a little bit, actually. I was very much surprised and impressed. I was better. I'm very good. I definitely won, but he hung in there."

While Givens is the second commit from the weekend for the Wildcats, they are waiting on a few more to make a decision. Stay tuned to KSO for the latest.