MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson and defensive back Russ Yeast were selected during the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft on Saturday. Thompson was taken by the Miami Dolphins with the 247th selection, while Yeast was chosen six picks later – No. 253 – by the Los Angeles Rams.
With the selections, Kansas State has had at least one player drafted in 28 of the last 29 years. It was the 16th time during that stretch that multiple Wildcats were selected.
Thompson became the fourth Wildcat selected by Miami all-time and the first since running back Daniel Thomas in 2011. He is the first K-State quarterback selected in the NFL Draft since Josh Freeman was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 17th overall pick in 2009. Yeast is the first Wildcat taken by the Rams since defensive back Jerametrius Butler was selected by the organization in 2001 when it was located in St. Louis, while he is the sixth Wildcat all-time chosen by the Rams.
Thompson played in 45 career games with 40 starts over parts of five seasons. His 40 starts and 24 career wins as a starting quarterback are the most among all K-State signal callers since at least 1990, while he is the only player in school history with 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career.
A product Independence, Missouri, Thompson set the K-State career record for lowest interception percentage (1.81), a figure that ranks seventh in Big 12 history. He also ranks second in passing touchdowns (42), passing yards (7,134), completions (552) and total offense yards (8,221), while he is third in touchdowns responsible for (68), completion percentage (62.4%) and passing attempts (855).
During his final campaign of 2021, Thompson set the school record in single-season completion percentage (59.53%), while he ranked second in school history in passing efficiency (159.3). Additionally, Thompson was eighth nationally and tops in the Big 12 in passing yards per attempt (9.07).
Thompson went out on top during his final game as a Wildcat, helping K-State capture its eighth win with a 42-20 victory over LSU in the Texas Bowl. He went 21-of-28 for 259 yards and a career-high tying three touchdowns with no interceptions against the Tigers en route to Texas Bowl MVP honors. Thompson tied for second in K-State bowl history in completions and completion percentage (75.0), tied for third in touchdown passes, ranked sixth in passing yards and tied for eighth in passing attempts.
Yeast, a transfer from Louisville, made a major impact during his lone season in Manhattan as he was a First Team All-Big 12 performer by the league’s coaches in 2021 after recording 48 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and 14 total passes defended. Yeast, who also earned votes for the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year award, led the Big 12 in total passes defended (14), carding at least one in 10 of his 13 games played, while he ranked 14th in the nation and second in the Big 12 in interceptions (4). Over his five-year college career, Yeast totaled 185 tackles, five interceptions and 24 total passes defended.
With the conclusion of the 2022 NFL Draft, other Wildcats will now sign free agent contracts, and those will be announced once they are released by their respective NFL clubs.
