Blake Seiler - Football Coach - Kansas State University Athletics

Blake Seiler

Title:
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Email:
bseiler@kstatesports.com
Phone:
(785) 532-5876

The Seiler File

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Year at K-State: 10th
Date of Birth: March 31, 1984
Hometown: Goddard, Kan.
Spouse: Inge
Children: Elle, Bryann

EDUCATION

Kansas State (2007)
Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering
Wichita State (2010)
M.B.A.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

K-State, Defensive End (2003-06)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2009-10 K-State Quality Control Coach
2011-12 K-State Defensive Graduate Assistant
2013-16 K-State (Defensive Ends)
2017 K-State (Asst. Defensive Coord./LB)
2018 K-State (Defensive Coordinator/LB)
2019 K-State (Defensive Line)

BOWL EXPERIENCE

2004 Fiesta Bowl (K-State)*
2006 Texas Bowl (K-State)*
2010 Pinstripe Bowl (K-State)
2012 Cotton Bowl (K-State)
2013 Fiesta Bowl (K-State)
2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (K-State)
2015 Alamo Bowl (K-State)
2016 Liberty Bowl (K-State)
2016 Texas Bowl (K-State)
2017 Cactus Bowl (K-State)
* As a player

A former defensive lineman for Kansas State, Blake Seiler enters his 11th season on the K-State staff and seventh as a full-time assistant coach.

Seiler is moving back to the front of the defense in 2019 after coaching the defensive ends from 2013-16. Seiler then coached the linebackers in 2017 and 2018 seasons, the latter as he served as the team’s defensive coordinator.

In his inaugural season as coordinator, Seiler’s defensive unit ranked third in the Big 12 in scoring defense (25.4 points per game) and fourth in total defense (403.4 yards per game) at the end of the regular season. Two of the Wildcats’ top three tacklers in 2018 were linebackers, as Da’Quan Patton led the team with 70 stops, and Justin Hughes – who didn’t start playing on a full-time basis until the fifth game of the season – finished third with 56.

In his first season coaching the linebackers, Seiler quickly produced a pair of All-Big 12 linebackers in Jayd Kirby and Trent Tanking . They each ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 in tackles, while Kirby’s total included 76 unassisted tackles to rank sixth in school history and 12th in the nation.

Seiler helped the Wildcat defense rank fourth in the Big 12 in scoring defense (25.2 points per game) and third in rushing defense (117.7 yards per game), the latter ranking 13th in the nation and 10th in school history. The Wildcats also tied for second in the league in turnover margin at plus-10 thanks to 23 takeaways, a mark that ranked fourth in the league.

A former defensive lineman himself, Seiler made an impact from day one as an assistant coach, and one has to look no further than the work he did with defensive ends Jordan Willis and Ryan Mueller, both of whom tied the single-season sack records during their respective All-American seasons.

Under the direction of Seiler for his entire four-year career, Willis picked up Second Team All-America honors from Sporting News and Pro Football Focus thanks to his 11.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss in 2016. Willis also became the first Wildcat defensive lineman to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and was the league’s Defensive Lineman of the Year.

The Seiler product led the Big 12 and tied for 12th nationally in sacks, while he was second in the league and 21st nationally in TFLs. Willis left K-State ranked third in school history and tied for seventh in Big 12 history with 26.0 career sacks. On the midseason watch list for the 2016 Hendricks Award, Willis tallied 40.5 career TFLs ranked ninth in school history as he became the first Wildcat to enter the list since 2001.

Willis went on to be selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Mueller, a former walk-on just like Seiler, earned two-straight First Team All-Big 12 honors as a junior and senior, while he was the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2013 and a Second Team All-American that season. He was a two-time candidate for the Ted Hendricks Award, while, in 2014, he was a candidate for the Bednarik, Nagurski and Lombardi awards

Thanks to the teachings of Seiler, Mueller tied the school record with 11.5 sacks in 2013, a mark that ranked eighth nationally, and he left K-State tied for fifth in school history with 20.5 in his career.

Playing alongside Willis in 2016, Seiler quickly coached up redshirt freshman Reggie Walker, who went on to earn Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year accolades after totaling a league-freshman best 11.5 TFLs and 6.5 sacks.

Converted by Seiler from a high school linebacker, Walker earned multiple Freshman All-America honors, including one from the Football Writers Association of America as he finished fourth nationally in sacks among freshmen.

With Seiler leading the duo of Willis and Walker, the 2016 Wildcat defense finished 11th nationally in rushing defense and 25th in scoring defense. The Wildcats led the Big 12 in both categories in addition to total defense, the first Big 12 team to lead the conference in all three categories since 2008.

A letterman at K-State form 2004-06, Seiler returned to his alma mater in 2009 as a quality control assistant for defense for two years. He then spent two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant coach where he assisted with the secondary, ran the scout team offense and broke down film. Prior to coaching, Seiler spent two years working as a structural engineer at Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas.

Prior to the 2003 football season, Seiler transferred to K-State from Oklahoma State where he was a member of the Cowboys’ 2003 National Championship wrestling team. The Goddard, Kansas, product earned First Team Academic All-Big 12 honors during his final three years in Manhattan while becoming one of the biggest contributors on defense.

As a senior in 2006, Seiler was voted team captain and named the Kansas State Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He made 21 tackles that season, including four sacks, as he helped the Wildcats earn a trip to the 2006 Texas Bowl.

During an 11-game 2005 season, Seiler carded a career-best 34 tackles, including a season-high seven against Texas A&M. That season, Seiler was honored with the program’s Nancy Bennett Award, representing fight, spirit and a positive nature. Seiler saw action in all 11 games in 2004 as a sophomore, earning the Kansas State Purple Pride Award as the walk-on that displayed quality play, leadership and work ethic.

Seiler graduated from Kansas State in 2007 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from Wichita State University.

He is married to the former Inge Jorgensen, and the couple has two daughters, Elle and Brynn.