Pickle has 'great' in-home visit with K-State
Kansas State coaches are marching all over the country, chasing top targets but also meeting back up with their current pledges. Their first commitment of the 2018 cycle was defensive tackle Jaylen Pickle. The Cimarron (Kan.) native visited the Wildcats for a few games this season, and plans to be back in Manhattan once again this upcoming weekend for his official visit.
On Monday night, he and his family were able to share some time with his future position coach – Mo Lattimore.
“It went great,” Pickle said of the visit. And, of course it would. Pickle always wanted to play for the ‘Cats and he’ll get that opportunity. He was not aware that he had the chance to actually sign his letter of intent early for Kansas State, but he’ll probably do that as well.
Much of the conversation during his meeting with Lattimore did focus on the future.
“We just talked about football, academics my scholarship and what all it includes,” Pickle shared about the specifics of the discussion. “I found out what happens during a normal week. We talked about all the changes I will have to embrace.”
“But he did tell me that players can get massages whenever we want, so that’s pretty nice and exciting,” he added. “He also told me all about the recovery from games, the practice and the workouts.”
It’s good to find out some of that information beforehand as the jump from high school to college can be challenging for anyone, not just a student-athlete. The adjustment period isn’t just about going from high school competition to college competition, but also the change in lifestyle, approach, living situation and academic workload and difficulty.
Sometimes we get trapped into only thinking about the football aspect, but it is more than that. It can be overwhelming. But Pickle is full-speed ahead with no worries or concerns about what lies ahead for him in Manhattan.
“Nothing really intimidated me about it,” he noted about what coach Lattimore revealed to him about what it would be like as a football player and student at Kansas State and the change that was coming. “I knew what I was getting into. I already knew that it takes a lot of hard work and doing stuff outside the normal. I’m not worried about anything at all. I’m more excited than anything.”
Pickle’s mother made sure she got all of her concerns alleviated as well. She came prepared and the Kansas State assistant was able to put her at ease according to Jaylen.
“My mom of course had about 300 questions for coach Mo so he answered them, too,” the Kansas State commit mentioned. “She asked about housing, and If was to get sick, if they’ll have doctors, which of course they do. They have doctors and he explained the housing situation and what it entails after my freshman year.”
Pickle is fired up and ready to go. His mother is comfortable about what he is diving into once he arrives in Manhattan. The Wildcat staff can’t wait to work with him and get him on the field. It’s all-systems-go.