In which BracketCat counts down the 80th day until the 2025 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State tight end Will Anciaux.

#80 Will Anciaux

Redshirt Sophomore | 6-6 | 240 lbs. | Wichita, Kansas

Position: Tight End
Previous College: None
Projection: Co-Second-String
Status: On Scholarship

Will Anciaux (b. Nov. 5, 2004) is a strong tight end from Wichita who is majoring in kinesiology with the hope of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Although he excels at catching and route running, he redshirted and did not play in 2023 in order to add weight.

But oh, did he ever break onto the scene in 2024, playing in all 13 games, including his first career start against Kansas, and catching seven passes for 62 yards and three touchdowns on the year. (And now he’s all grown up and filming commercials with Avery Johnson!)

Anciaux tied for second nationally among freshman tight ends in receiving touchdowns and tied for sixth among all Big 12 tight ends, and he was part of a K-State tight end unit that led the nation with a combined 13 touchdown receptions last season.

His touchdowns came against Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Kansas, while he had a season-high two receptions against the latter two foes and totaled a season-high 29 yards — including a season-long catch of 24 yards — against the Jayhawks.

In all, Anciaux played on 182 offensive snaps during the year, including a season-high 32 at Colorado, and he was named to the Academic All-District team by College Sports Communicators in addition to earning Academic All-Big 12 honors following the season.

He will vie with veterans Will Swanson, Garrett Oakley and Brayden Loftin, not to mention incoming star freshman Linkon Cure, for those competitive touchdown catches in 2025.

A three-year letter-winner and two-year captain at Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic High School under head coach Weston Schartz, Anciaux was viewed as the 28th-best tight end in the Class of 2023 by ESPN and the 10th-best overall player in the state of Kansas by 247Sports.

He earned first-team all-state honors as a junior and senior from Sports in Kansas, while also picking up first-team honors in 2022 from both The Wichita Eagle and KSHSAA Covered.

Anciaux also was an honorable mention all-state pick as a junior by KSHSAA Covered and the Eagle, while he earned all-city accolades as a sophomore, junior and senior.

He totaled 58 receptions for 911 yards and nine touchdowns during his prep career, which included three scores as both a junior and senior.

Anciaux helped the Crusaders to earn city league, sectional and regional championships in 2021, while they were regional champions in 2020. He also played basketball, in which he was a two-time captain and helped Kapaun to earn a pair of sub-state championships.

Anciaux chose K-State over offers from California, Iowa State, Kansas, Liberty, Memphis, Michigan State, Minnesota and Nebraska, as well as interest from Wisconsin. His primary recruiter was recruiting coordinator Taylor Braet.

Here’s what new tight ends coach Luke Wells had to say about Anciaux this spring:

Will Anciaux is one of the more-improved guys. Will is a young guy and just from seeing what he did last year and watching tape with him, man, he’s continuing to improve. He’s a good in-line blocker with length and really good hands. He’s been taking steps in the right direction this spring and has continued to improve.