Rapid Recap: Leaders in the receiver room and Ward's impact

According to our conversation with Kansas State receiver Phillip Brooks, at least two receivers have emerged as likely to enter the rotation at the position for the Wildcats. That would be Jadon Jackson and RJ Garcia.

Brooks shared that Garcia has stepped up since the Spring. He's always been a good route-runner in a smaller body, but he has become stronger in the weight room and shows a true competitiveness.

Garcia has built more confidence every day while playing with the ones, Brooks noted. He's excited for him and believes he'll be a great contributor for K-State this year, along with Jackson.

The Ole Miss transfer was described as a bigger wide receiver and Brooks insisted on him having a ton of potential.

Because he's newer to the program, Jackson is still learning, but Brooks is a firm believer that he will be helping the Wildcats this season. The potential is there, he just needs to keep working at it.

Speaking of Brooks, he always wanted to wear a single digit number when playing college football. Despite other opportunities in the past couple years, he chose to stick with No. 88 since that was what he was known for.

However, he decided to strike on No. 8 and ride out in his final year with a number he adored. When he arrived in Manhattan, he was not blessed with a lot of good options. He chose No. 88 because the other alternatives were 99, 97 and a number in the 50s.

Chemistry between a quarterback and his receivers is imperative. Phillip Brooks knows that. So does Kade Warner and Adrian Martinez, and they have attempted to grease the wheels of that operation over the Summer.

Warner facilitated a lot of the early interactions so that everything went smoothly and grew in a rapid manner between the Kansas State wideouts and their new starting quarterback.

Brooks was just as eager. Even before Martinez arrived in Manhattan, Brooks was asking Warner everything there is to know about the quarterback on and off the field.

The new No. 8 even watched a few Nebraska games and did his own homework.

However, the cohesion and process of developing familiarity has been a natural fit.

Brooks described his new offensive leader as relaxed and down-to-earth. They even live near one another. Because of that, they arrive and leave the complexes at the same time and watch a lot of film together.

They're still building a connection, but it is progressing well.

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We didn't even ask about the leaders in the room, but Brooks was more than willing to share who it was for the 2022 season. In addition to himself, the more vocal wideouts have been Warner and Seth Porter.

Porter was awarded a scholarship in the offseason and will be a consistent force on special teams units, as he has for most of his career with the Wildcats. The K-State legacy is one of the fastest players on the team.

Warner is one of smartest football player on the team. That's not always common to hear about a non-quarterback, however, his father does happen to be NFL Hall of Famer, former NFL MVP and Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner.

Kade gives suggestions to the room every day, bringing forward ideas to offensive coordinator Collin Klein on a daily basis. Brooks noted that having someone with that high of a football IQ in the locker room has taken their offense to an entirely new level.

At the end of the day, the real leader in the room is the assistant coach in charge of mentoring and developing them as people and college football players. That is Thad Ward.

For Porter, Brooks and Malik Knowles, Ward is their fourth position coach in their career. That kind of turnover is pretty rare at one spot. They previously were led by Andre Coleman, Jason Ray and Courtney Messingham.

But Ward has quickly earned the respect of the room. Brooks pointed out that the first thing the coach did was build relationships with each and every wide receiver on the team, scholarship or walk-on. It was something they had never experienced before.

Because he gained their trust that quickly, he was able to coach them harder and hold them more accountable. That means more development, improvement and preparation.

Just that action can shift an entire season in a much more positive direction.

Ward is pushing all the right buttons and resonating with his players. He's known as a technician and very detail-oriented about that trait. His players feel like they learn something new from him every day.