In which BracketCat counts down the 25th day until the 2025 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State cornerback Zashon Rich.

#25 Zashon Rich

True Sophomore | 6-1 | 209 lbs. | Minneapolis, Minnesota

Position: Cornerback
Previous College: None
Projection: Starter
Status: On Scholarship

Zashon Rich (b. Feb. 5, 2006) is a promising young cornerback from North Community High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who is majoring in business administration.

At this time last year, I predicted he was likely to redshirt and not play much in 2024. I could not have been more wrong, folks.

Instead, Rich played in every game last season as a reserve defensive back, totaling 12 tackles and three pass breakups over 112 defensive snaps, while he also saw time on 159 total special teams plays as a member of the kickoff coverage, punt coverage and punt return units.

Getting a head start on his expected starting role this season, he recorded a season-high four tackles and two pass breakups in the Rate Bowl against Rutgers on a season-high 39 defensive snaps.

His final tackle against the Scarlet Knights came on a fourth-down attempt with less than two minutes left to help to preserve the win.

Rich also had two tackles in his first appearance on defense at Colorado, where he was thrown into the fire after literally almost every starting member of the secondary went down on the same drive, but he acquitted himself admirably and showed off his starting potential.

He also had two stops against Arizona State and broke up a pass against Cincinnati.

Rich prepped under head coach Charles Adams at North Community, where he was ranked as the 103rd-best cornerback nationally in the Class of 2024 by 247Sports, while he is viewed as the 10th-best overall prospect in the state of Minnesota by On3.

A first-team all-state honoree as a senior by the Associated Press and SBLive, he also was an all-district selection each of his final three years as a prep, including after he recorded nine tackles as a senior, while he caught 11 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Rich selected K-State over offers from Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Iowa, South Dakota, South Dakota State and Wyoming (from which he previously decommitted), as well as interest from Iowa State and Minnesota.

His primary recruiter was his new position coach, assistant head coach Van Malone.

Here is what head coach Chris Klieman had to say in May about Rich and his running mate:

Awesome that we are able to use development there. Rich and (Donovan) McIntosh are guys that have been in the program a short period of time, and trusted the process and what we were talking about, and the growth they’ve had putting on really good weight and strength and speed, those are young players that have ascended to essentially toward the top of the depth chart that are ready to play now. I think we all saw that in the Rate Bowl that those two kids really have talent.

Happy with McIntosh and Rich because they’ve really taken another step.