1/28/2018 football Edit

Details and evaluation: New commit wide receiver Malik Knowles

Derek Young • EMAWOnline

Recruiting Analyst

1. Malik Knowles is commitment No. 20 for the Wildcats. Among those, 16 have already signed. The new pledge from Texas will sign in February along with a few others. He was just offered less than a week ago and visited Manhattan over the weekend so he wasted no time in locking it in once the opportunity came.

2. It was probably a wise move to lock it in as soon as possible because I do not believe he had any other options that were comparable to Kansas State. Illinois extended Knowles a scholarship but that was months ago and the Illini ended their pursuit of Knowles after filling up at the position. This is not even to criticize but KSU won this battle because the Wildcats were the only offer of this magnitude that he held.

3. It does appear that K-State did its due diligence in the evaluation of Knowles, though, which can and should be expected from the Wildcat staff. The coaches also had dialogue and recruited Brendan Harmon of the Dallas-Fort Worth area and Gregory Clayton of Louisiana. As with most of the recruits in this Kansas State class, Knowles is not a "can’t miss" type of recruit but someone with a great amount of potential if all the cards check out and everything falls into place perfectly.

4. Kansas State did a lot of late action when it came to the wide receiver position. Not only did the Wildcats also look at Harmon and Clayton, they added a transfer in Hunter Rison (Michigan State). They already had Georgia wideouts E.J. Turner and Jaquavius Lane signed and in the fold. A lot of attention has been placed on this position group in the past couple of months, much like the linebacker position on the defensive side of the ball.

5. The name of the game for Knowles is size and length. But he's not anywhere near a finished product at this stage. He hasn’t filled out his 6-foot-3 frame yet. He’s on the thinner side so a couple years in the weight room will do him some good. He’s stronger than he looks but that’s an area that will need to a lot of attention so that he can improve on his physicality and beat press coverage from the bigger, stronger and more physical defensive backs at the college level.

6. Knowles has decent speed and great body control but I came away from watching his tape thinking that he had average hands and was an average route runner. Some routes from him were impressive, but rounded off a fair share as well. His hands seem to be reliable but he doesn’t always look the most natural when hauling in passes. I think he fought the ball a bit. What I also liked about him was his suddenness. He hit top gear pretty quickly so he was able to separate from the defense immediately.

7. How early does Knowles see the field? It’s hard to see him having an impact in the 2018 season as he will likely redshirt. I also don’t think his impact will be felt the following season, either. The 2020 season is the earliest I can see him making a movement on the depth chart unless a great amount of attrition occurs and he is forced into action before that.

1/28/2017 - Malik Knowles - WR - 6-3/180 - Mansfield, TX - 2 Stars

1/28/2017 - Levi Archer - ATH - 6-4/190 - Goodland, KS - 0 Stars

1/28/2017 - Rahsaan York - LB - 6-0/210 - Sacramento, CA - 3 Stars

1/21/2017 - Tyquilo Moore - DT - 6-4/295 - El Dorado, KS - 0 Stars

12/20/2017 - Kevion McGee - CB - 5-10/185 - Miami, OK - 3 Stars

12/20/2017 - Derick Newton - DT - 6-3/270 - Douglas, GA - 0 Stars

12/20/2017 - Luke Sowa - FB - 6-3/245 - El Dorado, KS - 3 Stars

12/19/2017 - E.J. Turner - WR - 6-1/175 - Cartersville, GA - 3 Stars

12/9/2017 - Cartez Crook-Jones - DE - 6-4/230 - Grandview, MO - 3 Stars

12/9/2017 - Shane Cherry - OT - 6-5/300 - Grandview, MO - 2 Stars

10/30/2017 – Ekow Boye-Doe – CB – 6-0/165 – Lawrence, KS – 2 stars

10/10/2017 – Darreyl Patterson – CB – 5-11/175 – Lawton, OK – 3 Stars