Bachelor In Paradise Season 5

Kansas State landed a class-defining in-state commitment when four-star tight end Linkon Cure, No. 64 in the 2025 ESPN 300, announced his pledge to the Wildcats on Monday afternoon.

With his commitment, Cure becomes the Wildcats' first ESPN 300 pledge in 2025 and immediately steps in as the cornerstone of the program's incoming class. Per ESPN rankings, he is the highest rated Kansas State commit since quarterback Jake Rubley, No. 28 in the 2021 ESPN 300, picked the Wildcats. Cure also ranks as the program's second highest ranked pledge since Chris Klieman took over in 2019.

Cure, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound prospect who plays at Kansas' Goodland High School, is the No. 2 tight end H-back in the 2025 class and the No. 2 recruit in the state of Kansas in this cycle. Cure picked Kansas State over Oregon, Texas A&M and Kansas following official visits to all four campuses this spring. He also visited Miami earlier this year and held recent offers from Alabama, Texas and USC, among others.

Cure began his slate of spring visits with a trip to nearby Kansas before returning for a second visit at Texas A&M, followed by a weekend with the Ducks. But it was Kansas State that got Cure's final visit late last month, and Cure is now headed to the school's Manhattan campus situated just 300 miles from home.

The brother of Kansas tight end Leyton Cure, the younger Cure plays as a jumbo wide receiver at Goodland High School, where he has developed into a sharp route runner and skilled pass-catcher across his first three high school seasons.

A hamstring injury limited Cure to four games in his sophomore season in 2022 before he returned to catch 42 passes for 946 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior last fall. A multi-sport athlete, Cure is a three-time state champion hurdler and helped lead Goodland to the Kansas 3A state basketball title game earlier this year.

Cure's pledge marks Kansas State's third four-star pledge since the start of June. Bradenton, Florida, wide receiver Adonis Moise committed to the Wildcats on June 11 before offensive guard Brock Heath, the sixth-ranked prospect in the state of Kansas, gave his pledge last week.