Marques Sigle molding himself into leader of Wildcats’ secondary

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas State’s senior safety is making a name for himself in Big 12 play, and coming off his best performance of the season.

Marques Sigle has basically picked up where he left of last season when he tied for first on the team in tackles. Now he’s making plays all over the field, and establishing himself as a true ballhawk this fall. After all, Sigle tallied nine stops, picked off a pass, and returned it for a touchdown in the victory at West Virginia.

There’s no denying that the veteran has turned it up a notch in conference play, with 18 tackles, and two interceptions over the past three games. His speed, instincts and physicality makes him one of the most dangerous defensive backs in the Big 12.

It’s getting to the point where opposing Offensive Coordinators have to know where Sigle is located before the snap, in order to avoid throwing his direction on passing downs. The Omaha native takes pride in being able to stuff the run, as well as excel out in pass coverage. As a matter of fact, the Wildcats as a team have intercepted seven passes so far this season, and Sigle feels his teammates in the secondary are naturals at making plays on the ball.

“I wouldn’t say we know what’s coming, it’s just you take a guess from your film study, especially West Virginia,” Sigle said. “What they showed early, they did later, and once I seen the ball thrown, I just knew I had to get into the endzone.”

As the Wildcats navigate through the Big 12 gauntlet, the slimmer margin they have for error. Sigle is glad Kansas State (6-1) has a home game again, after playing the last two contests on the road and at night. He understands what’s at stake this Saturday in the SunFlower Showdown under the lights. Although Kansas has lost 15-straight in the series, Sigle expects a dogfight.

Sigle recorded an interception in last year’s game against the Jayhawks, and he remembers delivering his teammates an inspiring message that helped them win. It was memorable for many reasons, particularly because it was the first time Sigle stepped up for the Wildcats as a leader, and he hasn’t looked back.

“Getting that pick, and my halftime speech, because in the first half we wasn’t having the best game or playing to our standards,” he said. “So I just gave the team a speech, gave the defense a speech, told them we had to be ourselves, and going out there to get the game-sealing catch on defense was huge for me, and that game was a moment for me that I belong here.”

Now Sigle and the defense have to deal with a Jayhawk offense that’s operating with confidence. Kansas (2-5) scored 42 points in the win over Houston last week, and will be eager to end the losing streak against Kansas State. Quarterback Jalon Daniels has scored seven touchdowns over the past two games, including five passing, and appears to be back to his normal self.

Sigle understands the Wildcats’ secondary will likely have to play their best game of the season against an explosive aerial attack the Jayhawks will unleash on them. The crowd will definitely be a factor, especially with this being the first home game in the month of October for Kansas State.

The Wildcats are playing their best ball in Sigle’s eyes though, and ready for the challenge. At the end of the day, staying alive in the Big 12 race is the top priority. Winning the Governor’s Cup will be vital too, so Sigle wants to extend the streak for the fans, and give them something positive to talk about for the next 365 days.

“It’s huge, it’s mostly who wins the State, so everybody looks forward to this game, they always circle it on the calendar,  the community looks forward to it, and we want the community to be able to brag about it.”