In which BracketCat counts down the 78th day until the 2025 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State offensive lineman John Pastore.

#78 John Pastore

Redshirt Junior | 6-6 | 300 lbs. | Erie, Colorado

Position: Offensive Line
Previous College: None
Projection: Second-String
Status: On Scholarship

John Pastore (b. Dec. 24, 2003) is a mean young offensive tackle from Erie (Colo.) High School who redshirted in 2022 and did not play to put a bit more weight on his tall frame.

He saw playing time in 2023 as a reserve offensive lineman against Baylor, seeing time on 10 offensive snaps. It seems injuries may have been somewhat responsible for limiting him.

Pastore earned playing time in eight games last year as a reserve offensive lineman as well as on field goa and extra point protection.

He saw action on 114 offensive snaps — including a career-high 28 at Tulane — while he was in for 42 special teams plays and earned Academic All-Big 12 honors following the season.

Pastore seemed primed for the starting right tackle position after Carver Willis transferred to Washington, but it appears the injury bug has reared its ugly head again. Rumors are that it possibly could be similar to the issue that ended Camden Beebe’s career early, in fact.

This, then, would explain why the coaches brought in four Power 4 transfers, three of them experienced at playing the tackle position, following spring camp to bolster our depth.

Pastore played under head coach Jeff Giger at Erie, where he was regarded as the 35th-best offensive guard and fourth-best overall player in Colorado for the Class of 2022 by ESPN.

He helped to lead the Tigers to a 13-1 record and trip to the state championship as a senior.

Pastore, who is majoring in business administration, also showed top athleticism by blocking four field goals as a junior, the most in Colorado during a single season, as he earned second-team all-state, first-team all-conference and first-team all-region accolades.

He also competed in track and field and in basketball as a prep. Here is what head coach Chris Klieman had to say about Pastore after he signed with K-State in December 2021:

Another one that came to camp and did a great job for (offensive line) Coach (Conor) Riley. He can play multiple positions. He’s a versatile guy. 6’6 and he’s close to 295 pounds already. He can play guard, he can play tackle, really good feet, really good hands, physical player. Excited to get John to join the program.

Klieman also compared Pastore to fellow lineman Drake Bequeaith and another local stud:

We think they have the ability to play tackle first, and if not tackle then guard, as opposed to the flipside of them being guards and potentially becoming a tackle. Cooper Beebe is a great example. Cooper (was) playing tackle. We brought him in thinking he was going to be a guard and then we were able to move him outside. The guys we’re bringing in, we hope have the potential to play tackle and if not, we’ll slide them into guard. Having the length with all three of those guys is important.

Riley had high praise for both Pastore and Andrew Leingang following the Tulane game:

Yeah, I was (pleased). You look at the environment and you look at two young guys playing what I believe is very good defense, I thought that they held up pretty well. There were some execution things that we look at collectively as an offense that we need to continue to improve upon, and both of those guys were right there with it. I’m very, very pleased with where both those guys are at.

John, having the ability to play a little bit of the left side, a little bit of the right side as well, has been very beneficial, too.

Pastore chose K-State over offers from Colorado State, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, as well as interest from Colorado. Conor Riley was his lead recruiter.

You can read GoPowercat.com’s assessment of Pastore’s promise in this free article. Fun fact: He has a 29-inch vertical leap.