Why K-State recruited Felix Anudike-Uzomah when hardly anyone else did

MANHATTAN, KS. (KSNT) - He was once a Kansas State Wildcat but now, he's a Kansas City Chief.

After hearing his name called in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, Felix Anudike-Uzomah is returning to his hometown to play professionally. Anudike-Uzomah has had quite the journey, but that whole journey almost didn't happen.

The former K-State defensive end was close to committing to another university before ending up in Manhattan. That was until K-State gave him his only Power 5 offer coming out of high school.

"He was a little undersized, I mean thin coming out of high school, but he had burst, he was really elusive side-to-side, he had great movement," Taylor Braet, K-State Director of Football Recruiting, said. "The question was, could he put on the weight? Coach Klieman and staff thought 'Let's take a chance.'"

It was a chance they wouldn't regret. K-State's coaching staff brought Anudike-Uzomah into the program and never looked back. 

"I think the first time he visited campus here he was 207 lbs., and shame on us, because about four months later he was 255 lbs.," Joe Klanderman, K-State Defensive Coordinator, said. "And he had no problem putting on the weight, and it was just a product of his dedication and how he takes care of himself." 

Not only did Anudike-Uzomah put on the weight, but he put in the work. He said he spent all of "quarantine" during the COVID-19 pandemic studying other defensive NFL players and working on his game. Klanderman gave Anudike-Uzomah credit for his work ethic behind the scenes, saying his efforts during the 2022 offseason set him apart from the competition.

The Kansas City native's determination allowed him to go from an underrated high school kid, to the 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, to a first-round pick in the NFL Draft. 

"People just see the product of Felix on the field, and he's done some amazing things on the field," Klanderman said. "But what I see is all the things that he's done day-to-day to get himself in that position. Him getting his body right, him putting on all the weight he needed to put on to play the position and learned to play the position. I mean, he was a really raw guy coming out of high school."

Anudike-Uzomah said getting drafted by his hometown team was a dream come true, but his coaches had no doubt he'd be able to play professionally. 

"He came in and put in the work every day. He had a desire to be great, he went out and achieved by always doing the extra," Braet said. "We talk about that all the time. He's driven to go get more, and obviously he went and did. And it's so great having a local guy like that, whose basically only offer was Kansas State."