Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. —Kansas State bolstered its linebacker corps on Tuesday as the Wildcats signed El Paso, Texas, native Alec Marenco (al-LICK mah-REN-coe) to a Financial Aid Agreement.
Marenco, who is transferring to K-State from New Mexico, is the second FBS transfer signee by the Wildcats this spring after they picked up running back Dylan Edwards on Monday.
Marenco has one year of eligibility remaining after carding 96 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a half sack, three pass breakups and a forced fumble over his previous three seasons in Albuquerque.
The leading tackler for the Lobos in 2023, Marenco picked up All-Mountain West Honorable Mention accolades after carding 66 tackles over his 12 games, which included 10 starts. He twice had double-digit tackle efforts, recording a career-high 12 at UMass and 11 against Utah State, the latter of which he forced a fumble. He recorded 1.5 tackles for loss against San Jose State and a half sack against New Mexico State.
Marenco saw action in six games with three seasons as a sophomore in 2022 before suffering a season-ending injury. He produced 26 tackles, including a season-high nine stop at LSU before coming back with six more tackles at UNLV. As a freshman, he played in nine games and recorded a pair of tackles.
A product of Burges High School under head coach James Routledge, Marenco tallied 113 tackles and 6.0 tackles for loss, while he also spent time at receiver, catching 17 passes for 253 yards. He was also on the track team, picking up district championships in 2019 and 2020.
The Wildcats finished the 2023 season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (No. 18), AFCA Coaches Poll (No. 19) and College Football Playoff Top 25 (No. 25) after recording a 9-4 record, which included a victory over NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. K-State is the only Big 12 program – and one of only 11 Power 4 Teams – currently to enjoy a streak of three eight-plus win seasons.