K-State’s New Pass Rushing Duo Looks Lethal

Collin Klein and the Kansas State Wildcats have a new pass-rushing duo to discuss, with the addition of two star pass rushers in two days.

The first was Oklahoma State EDGE Wendell Gregory, a top-five pass rusher in the transfer portal, ranked inside the top 25 available transfers. And the second came just a few minutes ago with the addition of Kennesaw State’s Elijah Hill.

Hill, a 6-foot-2 pass rusher from Bryant, Arkansas, is coming off a dominant season with the Owls, where he recorded nine sacks as a true freshman. Due to his stellar numbers, Hill earned a three-star grade, right on the cusp of four-star honors from On3, as well as the 185th-ranked player available, and the 20th-ranked edge rusher in the portal.

The pair of additions goes a long, long way for the Wildcats, who watched their two best pass rushers, Chiddi Obiazor and Tobi Osunsami, transfer to Indiana this offseason. The pair combined for 48 tackles, six sacks, and two fumble recoveries this fall, though Osunsanmi only saw action in five games before suffering a season-ending injury. While transfer portal rankings should be taken with a grain of salt, they replaced the sixth-ranked pass rusher (Osunsanmi) and 23rd-ranked pass rusher (Obiazor) with the fourth-ranked (Gregory) and 20th-ranked (Hill) players at their positions.

Still, there will be a jump in competition-level for Hill, as Conference USA isn’t anywhere close to the Big 12 in terms of talent. That said, hats off to Kansas State for filling their biggest need with proven playmakers.