Kansas State football team captains bring diverse backgrounds to leadership roles

MANHATTAN — Hayden Gillum had no idea five years ago when he walked into the lower level of Kansas State football's Vanier Complex and glanced at the wall, that one day he would see his own name alongside those of a bunch of all-time Wildcat greats.

Then again, neither did any number of other former walk-ons whose names, through hard work and determination, also grace the same wall.

"That's something that when I got here, I thought would always be so cool," Gillum said after coach Chris Klieman announced the seven team captains for 2023 earlier this week. "They have a wall of captains downstairs, and it's definitely something not to be taken lightly at K-State.

"And it's been a journey. When I was a freshman walk-on, you don't have a huge voice. Somebody told me early on, just lead in your circle, and that's kind of what I've continued to do."

Everybody loves a good underdog story, and Gillum's is one of several among this year's captains. It's one reason why there are seven of them, a larger-than-usual number.

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"In the past I've had five or six, but there were seven guys that had a substantial amount of votes," Klieman said. "In between six and seven it was really close, and I didn't want to only have six when the seventh won the voice of the team.

"Because the team votes, and the voice of the team said that there were seven."

Among those seven were the usual suspects: quarterback Will Howard, super-senior linebacker Daniel Green and All-America offensive lineman Cooper Beebe. But then there were three former walk-ons — starting center Gillum, starting linebacker Austin Moore and wide receiver/special teams star Seth Porter — along with senior safety Kobe Savage, a junior college transfer.

Howard, who experienced his own ups and downs before taking over as the starting quarterback midway through last season, said it's that diversity that makes this year's leaders unique.

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"It's awesome, and I think that we couldn't have had a better group of captains to lead this team," said Howard, who struggled when thrown into the fire both as a freshman and sophomore in place of injured starter Skylar Thompson. "You look and we have three walk-on guys and we've got a juco guy.

"You talk about stories and guys that have kind of been through it. Every single one of us has a story, and coach Klieman says, 'Use that. Use that to teach those young kids.' We had some success last year, but none of us had the easiest road to get to where we did."

That was especially true of Howard, who for a third straight year had to take the offensive reins when starter Adrian Martinez got hurt. This time he made the most of his opportunity, leading the Wildcats on a run to the Big 12 championship, a trip to the Sugar Bowl and a 10-4 record.

Perhaps the greatest rags-to-riches story is Porter, a leader on special teams who has seen limited action at wide receiver.

Klieman shared an anecdote from the summer that showed just why Porter now finds his name on the captain's wall.

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It seems that strength coach Trumain Carroll's routine can be quite an eye-opener for the newcomers. And that's just the pre-lift stretch.

"It's really hard to just get through the stretch, because if you don't do it right, you're going to do up-downs galore," Klieman said. "And the freshmen came in the first time in June to start, and I think it was the next day that they started. And Seth sent a note to all of them that said, 'Get up to the weight room. I'm taking you through the stretch so that you don't screw it up for us, because if you do an up-down we're all doing up-downs.'

"That's a small thing that Seth would do as an unselfish kid that we start teaching these guys right now to do it the K-State way."

Gillum sees himself and Porter as kindred spirits.

"We both walked on here together, and Seth loves this place. He's a Texas kid, but you would have thought he was born in Kansas," said Gillum, who arrived from Plainville as a defensive tackle before switching to center and finally winning a starting job last year. "I see a lot of myself in Seth.

"We both came here and we didn't know where we were going to end up or how it's going to work, but we were happy to be at K-State and be playing football, and now here we are six years later, and it's been quite a journey."

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Team captains all have a story to tell

Beebe, a starter since his redshirt freshman year in 2020 and a projected first-round NFL Draft pick in 2024, appreciates what Gillum, Porter, Savage and Moore — a Louisburg product and the team's leading tackler last year — have gone through to get where they are.

"Just to see their grit," Beebe said. "They could have given up when stuff got tough and even when they didn't feel they had a chance, but they stuck it through and it's just tremendous to see."

Savage, who was under-recruited coming out of high school, chose the junior college route instead of walking on, and after two years at Tyler (Texas), he got a scholarship offer from K-State. He stepped right into the starting lineup last year, and even after his season was cut short by a knee injury, he was a pre-season All-Big 12 for 2023.

"I've always felt like I was a leader, but it's just really crazy being a captain here," Savage said. "It's an amazing honor that my teammates believe in me that much to be a leader on this team."

Beebe ranked being a captain ahead of his preseason All-America honor. Ditto for Howard.

"(It shows) just putting you head down and continuing to get after it and what can happen and the success that you can have after not having everything handed to you," Howard said. "That's just who we are, and that's who K-State is."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football 2023 team captains bring diverse backgrounds