Kansas State football's Cody Stufflebean and Taylor Poitier chose to remain with the Wildcats for their super-senior seasons.
Kansas State football linemen Taylor Poitier and Cody Stufflebean were already part of a dying breed when they decided to return to the Wildcats in 2025.
As veterans of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, they received an extra year of eligibility, the last remaining group to do so. What also sets them apart in the age of NIL money and the transfer portal is their loyalty to the program that brought them in to begin with.
As the years passed, such decisions have become increasingly rare, though K-State has done remarkably well with keeping its super-seniors at home. Of the eight players on the Wildcats' 2025 roster, six — including two junior college transfers — have now been with the team for at least four seasons.
"I take that as two things," K-State coach Chris Klieman said last week during Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas. "One, every kid that's had a chance to come back for that extra year typically chooses to stay with us and not go enter the portal and see what's out there. That's a credit to our program and people in our locker room and our staff."
That definitely was the case for Stufflebean, who arrived at K-State from McPherson High School in 2020 as a tight end before switching to defensive end at the end of his redshirt freshman year. He started every game last season for a Wildcat team that finished 9-4, recording 19 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, with two sacks and five quarterback hurries.
"I would say it's kind of to mentor and share some of the wisdom I've been able to learn in my years here," Stufflebean said of his decision to return for a sixth season. "I got to learn from older guys like (defensive tackle) Eli Huggins, (linebacker) Deuce Green, and people like that in my career when I was younger, so wanting to give back to those guys is something big."
Poitier is an even rarer case as he is the lone remaining member of Klieman's first K-State team in 2019. In addition to his COVID year, he petitioned the NCAA for yet another season after missing 2021 and all but one game in 2022 with knee injuries.
"I was really anti-seven years, and I didn't really understand why I should come back," said Poitier, who started all 13 games at right offensive guard last season. "It actually took me a couple of months to really think about if I wanted to come back.
"I was a very average player last year and the year before that, and my whole thing was I'm going to leave here with no mistakes and no regrets, and that's my biggest thing. Not leave here with any regrets. Because if I left last year, I would have a bunch of regrets, and I'm coming back this year to make sure I don't have any."
Poitier took full advantage of an extended winter conditioning program to reshape his body, and at 6-foot-3, 302 pounds, says he is in the best shape of his career. Klieman agrees.
"TP was one of the best offensive linemen we had in 2020 in that pandemic year," Klieman said. "And going into 2021, he was one of the best offensive linemen in the Big 12, but it got cut short. Going into 2022, he was getting back healthy, and he had it cut short.
"He played good football in 2023 for missing two years, played exceptional football in '24, and I think he wanted to make sure that he had his last opportunity to play his best football."
Stufflebean's situation was different in that he already had a job lined up and was ready to step away from football.
"He was ready to go to work, and he wanted to end on a better note," Klieman said. "He wanted one more chance to play college football, because I think he knew if he hung up the cleats, it would be for the last time."
Poitier said there is a good reason the eligible super-seniors stick around, especially this year. Others who chose to return are tight end Will Swanson, linebacker Beau Palmer, nose tackle Uso Seumal, and cornerback Justice James.
"Everybody knows that we have a chance to make it far this year," he said. "I feel like everybody who came back has no doubt of how we're going to do this year, and only time will tell, but I feel like we're going to have a good year."
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football's super-seniors prefer to remain with Wildcats
Category: General Sports
