Kansas State DL Damian Ilalio Impacts While Also Serving as An Extra Coach
Kansas State defensive tackle Damian Ilalio is everything you want in a leader.
Just let Wildcats defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman explain his worth to the team.
"His leadership, what he does, how he attacks each drill, each day, each meeting," Klanderman said.
Ilalio is now No. 2 on the depth chart at noseguard after appearing in 11 games last year. Nothing better exhibits his value than a story Klanderman relayed to the media earlier this week. Last month Ilalio decided to hold a meeting of the defensive linemen. He served as the teacher of the class.
"I was walking around upstairs and I heard voices," Klanderman said. "I went in and he had all the nose tackles in a meeting. He was on the board with a pen. I thought that was just really cool. I think he's got the attention of a lot of our players because of who he is and how he goes about his business on an everyday basis."
SIGLE A CAPTAIN IN MANY WAYS
There have been more highly-rated players at Kansas State than defensive back Marques Sigle.
What he lacked in recruiting stars is made up in heart. Sigle is one of hardest-working players on the roster, so the reward was earning a spot as one of the team captains. This year, he is serving as the leader of the secondary.
"Very proud of him," Klanderman said. "It's cool that a guy can come in here and be in the program for two years and do what he's done and get the clout that he has. He's not a huge verbal guy. He's not a quiet guy by any means. He's not the loudest guy. He's just a guy that's going to do his business every day."
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Kansas State Wildcats On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com
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SHANDEL RICHARDSON