PFF Names Kansas State’s Austin Romaine Big 12’s Best Defender

Romaine wrapped his breakout 2024 campaign with 96 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and three forced fumbles. He ranked among the Big 12 leaders in run stoppers and finished second-team All‑Big 12 in both coaches’ and media ballots.

PFF issued Romaine a 90.8 overall grade last season, the highest mark of any returning linebacker in the conference. That grade elevated him not just in league conversations but nationally. PFF analysts rated him fourth among all collegiate linebackers.

At 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, Romaine is a physical presence with instincts to match. He defines the modern Big 12 linebacker: capable against the run, disciplined in coverage, and relentless pursuing the ball.

Kansas State lost several contributors from its linebacker room entering 2024, but Romaine’s emergence significantly softened that blow, and now K‑State looks to him to anchor the defense once again.

With the Defensive Player of the Year award already tied to Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez on paper, Romaine now stakes his claim through elite analytics and film. The Wildcats need someone to carry a defense projected to be integral in Big 12 title implications. That someone is Romaine.

Kansas State’s loaded offense may draw headlines, but it is Romaine’s consistency and high-level performance that reinforce the defense’s identity. If preseason grades translate to fall reality, Romaine is the defining defender of the conference when games start to matter.