Darien Whitaker Jr. Emerging as Star for the K-State Defense – Sports Illustrated

Darien Whitaker Jr. Emerging as Star for the K-State Defense  Sports Illustrated

Darien Whitaker Jr. has gotten off to a fast start for K-State, but he took it to another level on Saturday. Darien Whitaker Jr. may have had a limited role in 2025 as a freshman, but he is off to a tremendous start in the first three weeks. In Week 1 against Nicholls, he was the No. 1-ranked K-State player on PFF with a grade of 91.9. He had a sack, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Against Tulane, Whitaker was once again causing terror for an opponent as he had three tackles and 1.5 sacks. Earlier in the season, coach Collin Klein was about his sophomore linebacker, and the coach believes that he is just scratching the surface of what he can be.

"I think Darien's ceiling is extremely high," Klein said. "His ceiling is high, and again, the great part about what he is doing is that he is attacking it and getting better. That is a great thing for him, and that is a great thing for our program." “I think Darien's ceiling is extremely high… He is attacking it and getting better.”Collin Klein on Darien Whitaker Jr. pic.twitter.com/FRaKTImqsh Wendell Gregory had a monster game against Washington State, where he had two sacks. He was the Big 12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year last season