Perusing the annual K-State media guide probably sounds boring to most people, but I love reading it when it is released. I’ve always loved numbers and statistics, so my favorite sections of the guide are the individual player records. As a little preview of the upcoming season, I like to check it out and see if any players on this year’s football team might be positioned to break some school records this fall.

K-State has a pretty young roster right now, so there aren’t many players that have been around long enough to show up prominently in the record books. Kicker Chris Tennant is one, as he could move into the top five in career extra points made. DJ Giddens is the only other active player listed in the record books. He shows up prominently in many categories, which kind of surprised me. Giddens might be the most underrated and unheralded player to play at K-State in quite some time. With two years left in his career, he’ll have a chance to break some records.

DJ Giddens has 1,744 rushing yards, which ranks 16th in K-State history. He needs 467 yards to break into the top 10, 1,075 to break into the top 5, and 1,250 to break into the top three. By the end of the 2024 season, Giddens has a great chance to be the number three rusher in K-State history, behind only Darren Sproles and Deuce Vaughn. He had 1,226 rushing yards in 2023, and he’s only 1,250 away from that mark, so this is absolutely doable. But that’s not nearly all.

Giddens ranks 3rd in K-State history in yards per carry, at 5.59. Darren Sproles is number one with 6.11 yards per carry. He set the sophomore rushing record for yards in a game last season, with 207 yards against UCF. His 1,226 yards rushing in 2023 is the 10th-best rushing season in school history. His 518 yards as a freshman are the third-best for a freshman in school history, behind only Deuce Vaughn and Leon Patton, and his 1,226 yards as a sophomore are also the third-best for a sophomore behind only Darren Sproles and Deuce Vaughn. He is also the third-fastest K-State running back in history to reach 1,000 yards in a career, behind only Darren Sproles and Alex Barnes.

There is a lot of hype around Avery Johnson and Dylan Edwards this fall, and for good reason, but Giddens is the unheralded star of the three…so far. If Giddens continues on this trajectory, we could be watching one of the all-time K-State greats by the time his career ends. The numbers don’t lie.