Texas TE Trips to Manhattan

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The first objective of recruiting kids from the State of Texas is getting them on campus in Manhattan. Dalton Vondra made the trip for junior day and came away impressed with the Wildcats.

Most Big 12 schools outside of Texas have made a living pilfering recruits out of the talent-rich state through the years. Kansas State is no exception with an abundance to Lone Star State players on their current roster. Many times when chasing one prospect, such as Kennedale’s Brett Wade, they come across another up-and-comer like tight end Dalton Vondra who made a recent visit to the Manhattan campus for a Junior Day.

“The campus was beautiful,” said Dalton Vondra. “I loved the facilities and the atmosphere. I got to meet and talk with Joe Bob Clements, Coach Dimel, the tight ends coach, Joe Gordon, and Coach Dickey, the offensive line coach. They’re all great guys. I’d love to play there.”

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end is still hoping to land his first offer. Still, he’s been making the rounds and is hearing from quite a few interested college coaches.

“The week before I went to Kansas State, I was at Tulsa, then Arkansas on March 3rd,” said Vondra. “I’m planning on going to SMU the weekend of the 23rd [of March]. I’d like to visit Baylor and LSU sometime this spring. I’m also hearing from Oklahoma State, UConn, and Washington.”

Vondra was named All-State Honorable Mention (Texas 3A) by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for his play at tight end in 2011. He was also named Second Team All-Area in the contentious Tarrant County region of Fort Worth and Arlington.

“The school’s I’ve talked to like me at tight end, but like my versatility,” Vondra said. “I could go up in weight and play the interior at offensive or defensive line. This season I played in eight games at defensive tackle averaging close to six series a game.

“At tight end I feel like I’m a physical blocker. I only caught four passes all season for 56 yards, so I think the reason I was named All-State was really because of my blocking ability. We run the ball about 90-percent of the time.”

The Kennedale Wildcats finished third in District 8/3A. They were knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by Snyder. Vondra is looking to hit some of the one day camps during the summer and come back to Kennedale for a strong senior finish.

“We only lost five seniors from last year’s team and have a big senior class this year, so the experience is in place,” Vondra said. “My goals are to be All-State, Academic All-State, and be a state champion.

“This summer I’m probably going to attend five or six camps. Kansas State’s and Oklahoma State’s are on the same day, so I’ll have to make a decision on which one to go to. The other one I’m pretty sure I’ll be at is Baylor.

"I’d love to play in the Big 12 or the SEC. If it were a great offer I’d play anywhere. Hopefully it will be at a program with a pro-style that likes to use the tight end.”

Vondra makes his campus visits with his father, Steve Vondra, a former tight end/defensive end at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. This year is Vondra’s third year as a starter for the Wildcats. He’s doing very well in the classroom with a reported 3.6 GPA.