Gabe Powers was the No. 61 recruit in the country once — a four-star linebacker out of Marysville who picked Ohio State over everyone. Three years later he was still on the bench, so he did the modern thing and bet on himself. Now, at Kansas State, the Will linebacker job is sitting open with his name next to it.
6′3″ · 233 lb · Marysville, OH · Marysville
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
tackles · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 5 tackles, 2 TFL, vs Nicholls
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Gabe Powers was the No. 61 recruit in the country once — a four-star linebacker out of Marysville who picked Ohio State over everyone. Three years later he was still on the bench, so he did the modern thing and bet on himself. Now, at Kansas State, the Will linebacker job is sitting open with his name next to it.
The Powers story has always been about the gap between what he was supposed to be and what he'd actually gotten to do. He landed at Ohio State as the No. 61 overall prospect in the 2022 class, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound four-star, and then spent three seasons stuck behind veterans, his career highlight a 29-yard pick-six against Akron in a season opener. In December 2024 he became the first Buckeye to hit the portal, telling anyone who'd listen he just wanted to play.
Kansas State won that recruiting battle over Minnesota, North Carolina and Wisconsin, and 2025 was the first time the bet paid anything back: he appeared in all 12 games, earned his first career start against Army, and finished with 21 tackles and 1.5 for loss across 189 defensive snaps, plus Academic All-Big 12 honors. Useful, not yet decisive. With Austin Romaine and Desmond Purnell locked in at Mike and Sam, the projection now is that Powers slides into the open Will spot.
That's the whole offseason question in Manhattan. The talent was never the doubt — the snaps were. He has two seasons of eligibility and, for the first time in his career, a starting job that isn't blocked by an entrenched veteran. 2026 is where the four-star label either becomes production or stays a recruiting footnote.
His career
He was on the field for 4 seasons. That is rarer than it sounds.
A long, rangy WILL linebacker built more like a big nickel than a thumper — 6-foot-4 and around 230-237 pounds, with the length and movement skills that made him a four-star and the kind of body that shows up in coverage and in chase. The one play that travels is the pick-six, which fits the profile: instincts and ball skills more than downhill violence. His 2025 K-State tape was a rotation player's tape — 21 tackles, 1.5 for loss over 189 snaps, plus heavy special-teams duty — so the read is a developmental athlete with the frame and the range to start, who still needs to prove he can hold up snap-to-snap as a full-time defender rather than a situational piece.
Written by our staff.
Career arc
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Chris Klieman → Collin Klein. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Kansas State | 13 | 9 | 3.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Kansas State | 21 | 10 | 1.5 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 7 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 46 | 29 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 71-3vs Nicholls | 5 | 2 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 5 tackles |
| Wk 2 | W 34-7vs Washington State | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 31-20vs Tulane | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 13 | 9 | 3.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 71–3
vs Nicholls
2 tackles for loss · 5 tackles · 2 solo tackles
Dominant 68-point win at home against Nicholls.
With A. Johnson — 199 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · 23 rush yds (4 car) · 1 TD · B. White — 7 rush yds (1 car)
Since week 2: +4 tackles, +1.5 tackles for loss.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Elite: tackles for loss (95th percentile). Strength: qb hurries (93rd percentile). Concern: passes defended (28th percentile).
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 4.3 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Collin Klein
Pass share
43.2%
89 pass / 117 run
Plays / game
68.7
3 games
Team sack rate
0.0%
89 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Tackle volume for the position in rotation-piece range.
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Former four-star. Now #565 at the position.
2026 outlook
Outside shot for All-Big 12
Based on 2025: #72 of 73 Big 12 LBs
15% estimated, 95% confidence interval 13–17%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Play style
A long, rangy WILL linebacker built more like a big nickel than a thumper — 6-foot-4 and around 230-237 pounds, with the length and movement skills that made him a four-star and the kind of body that shows up in coverage and in chase. The one play that travels is the pick-six, which fits the profile: instincts and ball skills more than downhill violence. His 2025 K-State tape was a rotation player's tape — 21 tackles, 1.5 for loss over 189 snaps, plus heavy special-teams duty — so the read is a developmental athlete with the frame and the range to start, who still needs to prove he can hold up snap-to-snap as a full-time defender rather than a situational piece.
Our classifier reads him the same way: is steady in every phase without a signature trait.
Returning starter at defensive back for a 6-6 Kansas State team that went -6 in the portal.
Player DNA
Solid in every phase without a signature dimension.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Stanquan Clark’s 2025 season.
Matches Stanquan on
Differs from Stanquan on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Stanquan Clark's junior season at Louisville (2025).
Matches Stanquan on
Differs from Stanquan on
Player DNA
CAREER HONORS • 2025 Academic All-Big 12 • 2023 Academic All-Big Ten 2025: Played in all 12 games as a regular member of the playing rotation in addition to earning his first-career start against Army as he posted 21 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss over 189 defensive snaps and 36 special teams…
6 more on the roster · Kansas State team page