This week, we’ve been looking at one player at each Big 12 school with the potential to make a difference right away.

Up next: Kansas State.

Instant impact recruit: S Elijah Walker

With three starters returning, the Wildcats have a chance to feature the top secondary in the Big 12 next season. But finding an immediate replacement for outgoing veteran safety Dante Barnett was a critical need for this K-State recruiting class.

At first, the Wildcats appeared to lose that player. But on signing day, they reeled him back.

After having initially committed to the Wildcats, ESPN JC50 Elijah Walker began to wonder, and even took visits to TCU and Texas Tech in the weeks leading up to signing. But when the day came, he reaffirmed his pledge to K-State and inked with the Wildcats, giving them the No. 26 overall juco prospect, the third-ranked juco safety and perhaps the most important recruit of their class.

The book on Walker is that he can deliver big hits and possesses terrific closing speed. Adding an enforcer to the secondary is exactly what the Wildcats needed.

D.J. Reed is already a lock-down cornerback. Opposite him, Duke Shelley is one of the better playmaking corners in the league. Free safety Kendall Adams was one of K-State's most improved players last year, and can cover as well.

The key will be filling Barnett's spot.

But if Walker can step in and man that position immediately, the Wildcats stand to have one of the most complete defensive backfields in the Big 12.