Kansas State University Athletics
Salley Ready to Be a Part of ‘Building Something Great’
Dec 11, 2025 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Derrick Salley, Jr. is focused on one thing: A national championship. The top-rated junior college wide receiver in the country torched the nation's top-rated junior college cornerback Jakwon Morris with seven catches for 84 yards as No. 1 Hutchinson Community College shut out No. 4 Northwest Mississippi 27-0 in the NJCAA Division I Football Playoff semifinals on Saturday, running its winning streak to 15 games before facing No. 2 Iowa Western next Wednesday in the national title game in Canyon, Texas.
In the semifinal victory, Salley moved to eighth all-time with 1,126 receiving yards, ninth with 68 receptions and fifth with 12 touchdowns in Hutchinson Community College history. Seems the 6-foot-4, 216-pound Salley, a native of Green Pond, South Carolina, is capping a stellar sophomore season in style after posting three 100-yard receiving performances in a span of five games — 106 against Iowa Western, 146 at Iowa Central and 135 at Dodge City — before his 7-catch, 84-yard effort in the semifinals.
Salley's exploits were enough to earn him Jayhawk Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year last Thursday. He is the first player in Hutchinson Community College history to record three three-touchdown games in a single season.
It wasn't until late this season that Salley learned that he was the No. 1-rated junior college wide receiver by 247Sports.
"I'm just trying to help my team to a national championship," Salley says shortly after a workout at Hutchinson on Tuesday evening. "I saw everybody posting about it, and I saw I was ranked, but I was like, 'I still have to do the big thing and get that national championship.'
"The ranking is a number, but the national championship will last forever."
Another big milestone in Salley's life arrived last week. On Wednesday, Salley, sitting inside his dorm room, and with his thrilled parents watching along via Zoom, signed with Kansas State.
Shortly after, Shelley learned that Chris Klieman retired as K-State head coach.
"Yeah, I thought Coach Klieman was going to be my head coach," Salley says. "When he retired, I was anxious to see who the next head coach would be so I could build a relationship with him. I didn't hesitate because I knew even if Coach Klieman left, they'd bring in someone who'd do a good job. I knew the culture wouldn't change."
Little did Salley realize at the time that 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein, one of the finest quarterbacks in K-State history, was returning to Manhattan to serve as head coach after the 2025 Broyles Award semifinalist helped guide Texas A&M to the College Football Playoff in his second season as offensive coordinator.
"I've texted with him now," Salley says. "We'll talk on the phone soon. I did my research, and with what he's doing at Texas A&M, I'm excited to see what I can do in his offense. I like the different ways he gets his playmakers the ball. KC Concepcion (57 catches, 886 yards, 9 TDs) gets deep down the field and gets balls on screens and intermediate routes. Coach Klein finds ways to get the playmaker the ball."
So does Avery Johnson, who has thrown for 5,576 yards with a school record-tying 48 touchdowns in a three-year career that includes 26 starts. His two 300-yard passing performances as a junior marked the most since Skylar Thompson in 2021, while his six career games with at least three passing touchdowns are fourth most by a K-State quarterback in the Big 12 Conference era behind Josh Freeman (8), Michael Bishop (7) and Will Howard (7).
"I'm excited to get to work and build a connection with (Johnson)," Salley says. "I watched a couple games and saw his IQ and the way he can sling it. I'm ready to get over there and catch some balls from him. I'm physical, fast, my catch radius is great, and I have great hands.
"If you put the ball where I can get it, I'm going to come down with it."
Perhaps that's an understatement. Salley totaled 2,027 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior at Ashley Ridge High School.
Salley recorded the most single-season receiving yards by a high school player in South Carolina history while catching the second-most touchdown passes in a single season in South Carolina history.
"It was a crazy year," Salley says. "I didn't know I was doing that. We played a wing-T offense before my senior year, and then we got a new offensive coordinator. He really let me show what I could do. He told me I'd get 1,000 receiving yards my senior season. I didn't believe him. Then I had 1,000 receiving yards halfway through the season. Then I set the record.
"That made me feel great, like I could do something."
And now he's here.
After the NJCAA national championship game, Salley plans to return home to Green Pond, South Carolina, before journeying to K-State — a program that began discussions with Salley during the 2024 season. Salley committed to K-State on November 25 after an official visit showed him that "K-State is where I needed to be."
Yes, several other Power 4 schools offered Salley along the way. But they couldn't touch the Wildcats.
"The environment, the coaches, that sets K-State apart," Salley says. "They're building something great, and I want to be a part of that. I loved everything about it. When I stood on the football field, I could see myself playing on it."
Next Wednesday, Salley will play his final game at Hutchinson Community College, marking the end of a chapter to a journey that has incurred a few hard knocks along the way, before he focuses on the promising career at K-State in front of him.
"Even when times got hard, I never gave up," Salley says. "I never knew that I was going to go to junior college. I always thought I was going to go big right out of high school. Then I didn't qualify. Seeing all my friends go to Power 4 schools out of high school and me going to junior college, it made me tougher and mentally stronger.
"I'm super excited to get to K-State. I'm trying to do big things in the Big 12. I want to help the team win some championships."
Derrick Salley, Jr. is focused on one thing: A national championship. The top-rated junior college wide receiver in the country torched the nation's top-rated junior college cornerback Jakwon Morris with seven catches for 84 yards as No. 1 Hutchinson Community College shut out No. 4 Northwest Mississippi 27-0 in the NJCAA Division I Football Playoff semifinals on Saturday, running its winning streak to 15 games before facing No. 2 Iowa Western next Wednesday in the national title game in Canyon, Texas.
In the semifinal victory, Salley moved to eighth all-time with 1,126 receiving yards, ninth with 68 receptions and fifth with 12 touchdowns in Hutchinson Community College history. Seems the 6-foot-4, 216-pound Salley, a native of Green Pond, South Carolina, is capping a stellar sophomore season in style after posting three 100-yard receiving performances in a span of five games — 106 against Iowa Western, 146 at Iowa Central and 135 at Dodge City — before his 7-catch, 84-yard effort in the semifinals.
Salley's exploits were enough to earn him Jayhawk Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year last Thursday. He is the first player in Hutchinson Community College history to record three three-touchdown games in a single season.
It wasn't until late this season that Salley learned that he was the No. 1-rated junior college wide receiver by 247Sports.
"I'm just trying to help my team to a national championship," Salley says shortly after a workout at Hutchinson on Tuesday evening. "I saw everybody posting about it, and I saw I was ranked, but I was like, 'I still have to do the big thing and get that national championship.'
"The ranking is a number, but the national championship will last forever."
Another big milestone in Salley's life arrived last week. On Wednesday, Salley, sitting inside his dorm room, and with his thrilled parents watching along via Zoom, signed with Kansas State.
Shortly after, Shelley learned that Chris Klieman retired as K-State head coach.
"Yeah, I thought Coach Klieman was going to be my head coach," Salley says. "When he retired, I was anxious to see who the next head coach would be so I could build a relationship with him. I didn't hesitate because I knew even if Coach Klieman left, they'd bring in someone who'd do a good job. I knew the culture wouldn't change."
Little did Salley realize at the time that 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist Collin Klein, one of the finest quarterbacks in K-State history, was returning to Manhattan to serve as head coach after the 2025 Broyles Award semifinalist helped guide Texas A&M to the College Football Playoff in his second season as offensive coordinator.
"I've texted with him now," Salley says. "We'll talk on the phone soon. I did my research, and with what he's doing at Texas A&M, I'm excited to see what I can do in his offense. I like the different ways he gets his playmakers the ball. KC Concepcion (57 catches, 886 yards, 9 TDs) gets deep down the field and gets balls on screens and intermediate routes. Coach Klein finds ways to get the playmaker the ball."
So does Avery Johnson, who has thrown for 5,576 yards with a school record-tying 48 touchdowns in a three-year career that includes 26 starts. His two 300-yard passing performances as a junior marked the most since Skylar Thompson in 2021, while his six career games with at least three passing touchdowns are fourth most by a K-State quarterback in the Big 12 Conference era behind Josh Freeman (8), Michael Bishop (7) and Will Howard (7).
"I'm excited to get to work and build a connection with (Johnson)," Salley says. "I watched a couple games and saw his IQ and the way he can sling it. I'm ready to get over there and catch some balls from him. I'm physical, fast, my catch radius is great, and I have great hands.
"If you put the ball where I can get it, I'm going to come down with it."
Perhaps that's an understatement. Salley totaled 2,027 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior at Ashley Ridge High School.
Salley recorded the most single-season receiving yards by a high school player in South Carolina history while catching the second-most touchdown passes in a single season in South Carolina history.
"It was a crazy year," Salley says. "I didn't know I was doing that. We played a wing-T offense before my senior year, and then we got a new offensive coordinator. He really let me show what I could do. He told me I'd get 1,000 receiving yards my senior season. I didn't believe him. Then I had 1,000 receiving yards halfway through the season. Then I set the record.
"That made me feel great, like I could do something."
And now he's here.
After the NJCAA national championship game, Salley plans to return home to Green Pond, South Carolina, before journeying to K-State — a program that began discussions with Salley during the 2024 season. Salley committed to K-State on November 25 after an official visit showed him that "K-State is where I needed to be."
Yes, several other Power 4 schools offered Salley along the way. But they couldn't touch the Wildcats.
"The environment, the coaches, that sets K-State apart," Salley says. "They're building something great, and I want to be a part of that. I loved everything about it. When I stood on the football field, I could see myself playing on it."
Next Wednesday, Salley will play his final game at Hutchinson Community College, marking the end of a chapter to a journey that has incurred a few hard knocks along the way, before he focuses on the promising career at K-State in front of him.
"Even when times got hard, I never gave up," Salley says. "I never knew that I was going to go to junior college. I always thought I was going to go big right out of high school. Then I didn't qualify. Seeing all my friends go to Power 4 schools out of high school and me going to junior college, it made me tougher and mentally stronger.
"I'm super excited to get to K-State. I'm trying to do big things in the Big 12. I want to help the team win some championships."
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