By CAYDEN SANDERS
Tiger Media Network
FHSU Football announced the signing of 30 new faces to the Tiger football program on Wednesday. The team went 8-3 in 2024 and just missed a bowl berth. Head Coach Chris Brown and the coaching staff have had a busy recruiting season and Brown opened the signing day press conference by thanking the individuals behind the scenes who help make recruiting successful.
“I truly appreciate the coach’s wives, the coaching staff, and Dixie (Balman) and Ashley (Moore) in the compliance office,” Brown said. “Those people make this thing run smooth and allow us to do the things we can, to sign these young men.”
Brown noted the importance of loved ones during the off-season of football and what they go through.
“Those wives put a lot of time and effort into their husbands not being around, and that’s hard on them. And I want to thank them for putting up with me, putting up with this time of recruiting and how chaotic it is and the stress it puts in their life,” he said. “But we do appreciate them for the work that they do.”
While the recruiting process never stops, since the end of November, the coaching staff has recruited athletes nationwide to replenish what is needed in the program and what must be filled.
“I want to thank the coaches for the work they put in through this year’s recruiting. It’s a year-round thing,” Brown said. “It doesn’t just happen without these three months of continuously recruiting these kids and trying to stay on top of these kids and build relationships to get these recruits to come to Fort Hays State University.”
Since the start of the 2024 season, the coaching staff compiled a system of ranking recruits by platinum, gold, and green. Brown and the coaching staff feel like they have hit their mark.
“We sit down and evaluate these young men on film, and then we rank them by platinum, golds, greens, and then try to get our top kids in. And, of course, some of those kids fall off the board, and you’ve got to go for the next one,” Brown said. “It’s a continual conversation between the head coach, coordinators, position coaches, on what kids they want to sign, and kids they want to recruit, and kids they want to bring in, and then ultimately, we make that decision to hopefully get the kids that we got here.”
In past seasons, the Tigers had smaller recruiting classes. This time, they look to add a lot more to the roster. Brown noted how the landscape of college football has changed how Fort Hays recruits players.
“With the Divison I transfer portal, of course, we’ll look at those young men and see if they fit who we are,” Brown said. “But again, there are 9,000 other schools in the country, probably hitting them up and trying to recruit them, too. So it’s still find those who want to be here and be a Tiger.”
Along with the JUCO ruling, the Tigers felt like the talent in Kansas High School football was highly sought after. The University of Kansas, Kansas State University, the other MIAA schools, Oklahoma Schools, and even Junior Colleges like the National Champions Hutchinson Community College and national runner-up Iowa Western are coming in and taking the talent.
“It’s hard when you talk about all the junior colleges that we have in Kansas, Iowa Western coming down hard into Kansas as well, all the Divison II’s and the Division I’s, and so it’s hard to get a lot of Kansas kids anymore,” Brown said. “And so we try to go for the ones we feel are the best and offer them a pretty good scholarship to get them here as well. Fortunately, we have built a good enough relationship with them and their families that they wanted to be Tigers.”
Fort Hays State signed six Kansas products, including another local Hays athlete. This is Fort Hays’ 25th Indian or Monarch to join or participate in the program since 2018. Incoming freshman Wyatt Kirkpatrick joins the list of Hays natives.
“He’s going to do good things. Good size kid. I know he long snaps very well, and that’s a big plus for him. Good size as a linebacker. So you know, he’s going to have some work to do and put the work in and the effort because we do have some terrific, talented kids at linebacker, but I think he’s very capable of working hard,” Brown said of Kirkpatrick. “I believe he’s a first-team All-WAC, I believe he got some All-State honors as well, but again, he’s going to come in and work and put the time and effort in, just like any of the other kids are.”
FHSU’s signing class is comprised of athletes from Kanas, Arizona, Florida, Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Illinois.
One thing to note for next season are the relationships between the 2024 starters and the incoming freshman class. Offensive lineman Josh Shaw will be joined by his little brother, Ethan Shaw and 5A state champion Andrew Watts, Shane and Trevor Watts’ brother, will also join the black and gold.
“Andrew is just like Shane and Trevor. He loves football, is crazy about working out, loves Fort Hays State University, and wants to be a part of this program. I know he’s going to grind every day, and then he will be a good player for us,” Brown said. “The other one you probably didn’t know, Ethan Shaw…that’s another good gift for us. So, we got another set of brothers on our team this year, which is cool to have.
“Both kids will do good things for us. They know what we’re about already. They understand the culture and what’s expected of them just because of their brothers and truly want to be here.”
The recruiting class also includes a couple of teammates who will join the Tigers next season.
“It’s very important, especially for the quarterback and wide receiver. You have Kody Guy and Trey Foster, who are from the same school, are quarterbacks and wide receivers, and they played with each other. They understand each other, they’re good friends and they’re going to be good teammates together here, hopefully bringing that bond,” Brown said. “Then, you’ve got Will Rodgers and Kole Rogers, Will is a DB and Kole is a kicker, different last name spellings, but good friends as well.”
The Tigers will announce their full commitment list at the end of the academic year.
“There’s still gonna be kids out there and available here in May,” Brown said. “So we’ll still be trying to grind out and get some of those kids as well.”
Fort Hays State opens the 2025 season against Angelo State for a week-zero game. The full list of 2025 signees can be found here.