Five-star tight end Linkon Cure picks Kansas State over KU, Oregon and Texas A&M

Kansas State football coaches have been busy recruiting high school players since the Wildcats took the field for their first game way back in 1896, but they have rarely been able to land any of the nation’s top-rated prospects in the years that have followed.

That, in part, is what made Monday a special occasion for head coach Chris Klieman and his team.

K-State scored one of its biggest football recruiting victories of all time when Goodland tight end Linkon Cure announced his intentions to play for the Wildcats during a summer ceremony at his high school.

Cure is a 6-foot-6 and 220-pound playmaker who carries a five-star rating (the highest possible) from 247Sports. He chose K-State over fellow finalists Kansas, Oregon and Texas A&M. But he held scholarship offers from more than 30 schools, meaning he could have played just about anywhere he wanted in college.

His strongest connection was with the Wildcats.

“Obviously, Kansas State has always had a special place in my heart,” Cure said. “That’s where I got to go to games a kid and watch Collin Klein. It made me fall in love with football.”

He turned out to be awfully good at the sport. Every national recruiting service now has him ranked among the top 65 players in the high school recruiting class of 2025, as well as one of the very best players in the Sunflower State.

Growing up on a farm on the western edge of the state, it is an honor for him to wear purple.

“I had a moment on my official visit,” Cure said. “I didn’t sleep at all from Saturday to Sunday and I texted Taylor Braet, my main recruiter, and asked if he could bring me to the stadium. I just needed some time to think. So I went up to section 227, seat 18, and just kind of let it all out right there, because that is where my dream started.”

More often than not, K-State has typically struck out when chasing this kind of football recruit. Cure is the first five-star high school prospect to commit to the Wildcats since 2000. But this pledge feels like a first of its kind because media and fans follow recruiting much closer now than they did at the turn of the century.

EMAW nation has followed Cure’s recruitment with great interest. Beating out notable competition for his services is cause for celebration.

Cure chose K-State because he grew up watching the Wildcats and he enjoyed his several visits to Manhattan. K-State made him a recruiting priority before most other schools, and that loyalty paid off in the end.

This is yet another sign that Klieman has upgraded K-State recruiting over the past few years.

It’s easy to see why so many schools were interested in Cure. Not only did he catch 42 passes for 946 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior last season, he also plays basketball and owns multiple state championships as a track and field star.

His mixture of speed and power should allow Cure to compete for playing time early during his K-State career. As he matures, he could be able to put up big numbers at Bill Snyder Family Stadium the same way that Ben Sinnott did under Klieman.

“It can’t be a more exciting time in Kansas State history,” Cure said. “I have my quarterback, Avery Johnson, and my running back, Dylan Edwards. And then you have got me. It’s exciting. We have got a lot of weapons.”

Cure is certainly a versatile player on the football field, as he is big enough to block at the line of scrimmage but also fast enough to line up on the perimeter and catch passes over defensive backs.

Big things will be expected of Cure the moment he arrives on campus. It’s not every day the Wildcats land a five-star recruit.