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MANHATTAN — Kansas State football landed the commitment from a starting-caliber wide receiver, giving quarterback Avery Johnson a new weapon to throw to in 2026.
Missouri transfer Josh Manning committed to the Wildcats, according to CBS Sports reporter Chris Hummer. He chose the Wildcats after visiting South Carolina over the weekend.
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Manning is coming off a season in which he started 12 games for the Tigers, catching 29 passes for 318 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He's a Lee's Summit, Missouri, native who started seven games and caught 13 passes for 192 yards and a score in 2024.
Listed at 6-foot-2, Manning becomes the second receiver to commit to the Wildcats during the transfer portal class, joining Texas A&M transfer Izaiah Williams. Manning will have one season of eligibility.
Manning is also the second former Missouri player to commit to the Wildcats, joining offensive lineman Keiton Jones.
A four-star recruit out of high school, Kansas State pursued him when it landed Johnson in 2023. Johnson tried to get Manning to join him in Manhattan, but came up empty at the time. He was also recruited by Nebraska, Iowa State, Arkansas, Kansas and others. The Johnson-Manning duo will now have a chance to work together in the Wildcats' offense in 2026.
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This past season, Manning played 599 snaps, with 414 seeing him split out wide and 175 coming from the slot. He was targeted 51 times and had one drop. His average depth of target was 8.8 yards down the field, and he averaged 5.2 yards after the catch. The majority of his targets came between the numbers, fewer than 10 yards down the field, where Pro Football Focus gave him an elite grade of 92 out of 100.
Manning isn't being brought to Kansas State to sit on the bench for his final season. Barring something unforeseen, he will line up with the starters on Sept. 5 when the Wildcats host Nicholls at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Both he and Williams have opportunities to see the field immediately. At the same time, Kansas State is also set to bring back Jaron Tibbs, Adonis Moise and Larry Porter IV, while also adding wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr., the No. 1 juco wide receiver in the country.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Josh Manning commits to Kansas State football out of transfer portal
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