Five New Year's resolutions for Kansas State

Happy New Year to everyone at KSO and all of the Kansas State fan base. It's time to celebrate the New Year and give the Wildcats five New Year's resolutions.

Kansas State's wide receiver room has left something to be desired in the first three years under Chris Klieman.

The most yards for a receiver in a season was only 579 for Dalton Schoen in 2019, and in 2021, Phillip Brooks only has 474 yards in advance of the Texas Bowl against LSU. Brooks' 38 receptions are the most for a K-State receiver in the last three seasons.

The one thing that can help both of those is route-running and creating separation. There are many times where Kansas State wideouts just aren't open. That's charging up the sack numbers or leaving them to rely on Deuce Vaughn even more.

They need weapons for Adrian Martinez. He and Deuce can make for a special offense, along with a perhaps elite offensive line. More production from the wide receiver position could take it to the next level.

It is a fact that Kansas State has struggled to shoot against quality competition this season and they have shot better against weaker foes. And that's against looks that have been similar in quality. They've just missed shots.

The Wildcats are only shooting 23 percent from three-point range against high-major opponents this season, which has held back the overall three-point percentage to 33.7 percent.

If K-State had shot better against Illinois and Marquette, they probably win those games, and they'd have more breathing room entering Big 12 play in regards to a possible NCAA Tournament berth.

We'll make it short and sweet. The two schools are too similar for the Wildcats to lose three in a row to Iowa State, especially when the first of the trio of games was a 45-0 defeat.

I'm sure it is not a coincidence that the Cyclones have got the better of Kansas State on the recruiting trail, either. They can't let it persist on the field or winning those battles for prospects becomes increasingly difficult.

Again, returning to full strength was also an easy choice. Bruce Weber and company have to be healthy and stay healthy to reach their ceiling and ultimately achieve the required bar, but also because they've had some bad luck in that department.

It's hard for them to have cohesion as a unit because of it.

It feels like every game, outside of the one against McNeese, they've been missing a key contributor or one is recovering from some kind of ailment and is limited.

Examples are Davion Bradford returning from pneumonia, Mike McGuirl having the flu, Nijel Pack dealing with an injury in the offseason that prevented him from practicing at times and then suffering a concussion during the season.

Selton Miguel was also dinged up and not 100 percent for a few games.

I believe that has led to some of the clunkiness that we have seen at times this year. Returning to full strength will be important when they enter the gauntlet that is the Big 12 this season.

Something has to give on the in-state recruiting battles. The 2023 class in Kansas is loaded once again and K-State has to win their share of those tussles and keep some of the top talent at home.

Whether that is learning as much as they can about them and what makes them tick, knowing their entire inner circle and the other decision-makers around them, it is imperative that they keep certain players home and have them headed to Manhattan.

There would be no better year to make in-state recruiting better than in 2023 with the likes of Avery Johnson, Dylan Edwards, Joe Otting and Camden Beebe, among others.