MANHATTAN, Kan. — Josh Freeman came back for Kansas State's preseason drills feeling fairly good about his summer workout program. He'd put on weight and gotten stronger.
Then the sophomore quarterback took his conditioning test — and flunked. On Saturday, he failed it again.
After two days of practice, Freeman and five other returning players were still waiting to take the field.
"I came in weighing quite a bit more than I usually weigh," Freeman said during the team's annual media day. "That's no excuse. I felt like I was in good shape.
"But obviously, the time parameters Coach gave me, I wasn't able to step up and do it."
The 6-foot-6 Freeman, who threw for a freshman-record 1,780 yards and six touchdowns as the first freshman to start for Kansas State since 1976, hit a high of 265 pounds during the summer. On Saturday, he said he was within his target range of 245 to 250 pounds.
Now, all that remains is to complete the conditioning test: 300-yard shuttles in 50-yard intervals.
Coach Ron Prince, whose first team went 7-6 and lost 37-10 to Rutgers in the Texas Bowl, is watching.
"I'm not happy about Josh not passing the test," he said. "Obviously, we've had plenty of time to train. He's very close on it, but it's one of those things where it's a performance business, and we all understand that."
Freeman's roommate, junior center Jordan Bedore, was among the others still trying to pass the test.
The list also included junior defensive lineman Vlad Faustin, junior quarterback Caleb Smith and two other offensive linemen, sophomore Brock Unruh and junior Brad Rooker. Another sophomore offensive lineman, Derek Meyer, passed his test on Saturday after failing Friday.