Buddy Wyatt, a respected defensive line coach who has worked in the Big 12, SEC, Big Ten and American Athletic Conference during his more than 30 years in the profession, is in his seventh season as Kansas State’s defensive ends coach in 2025.
In his six seasons on staff, Wyatt has tutored defensive ends to eight All-Big 12 honors, including five first-team accolades. Wyatt’s ends have helped the Wildcats average 21.8 points allowed points per game over the last four seasons – a span of 53 games – to rank 24th nationally, 17th among Power 4 teams and third among current Big 12 programs. K-State has allowed fewer than 24.0 points per game each of the last four seasons, the first time doing so since 1991 through 2003.
Wyatt has guided K-State players to three Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year honors over his first six seasons in Manhattan. In fact, when adding in his time coaching Adam Carriker at Nebraska to the honor in 2006, Wyatt has tutored the most Big 12 Defensive Linemen of the Year in league history.
The latest recipient of the award was Brendan Mott in 2024, who also earned All-Big 12 First Team honors. Mott, who also earned votes from the league’s coaches for the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award, ranked 26th nationally and was tops in the Big 12 in sacks (0.65 sacks per game), while he tied for fourth in the Big 12 in tackles for loss. He led a defensive unit that finished with a No. 25 national ranking in sacks at 2.69 per game, which was its best ranking since 2015. Of the 35 total sacks on the year, 23 came from Wyatt’s ends.
In addition to sacks, Wyatt helped coach a K-State defensive unit that ranked in the top 30 nationally in two defensive categories as the Wildcats finished fourth in fourth down defense at 32.1% (first in Big 12) and 28th in rushing yards allowed per game at 118.7 (second in Big 12). K-State’s rushing defense ranking and average its best since 2007.
Wyatt tutored two players to All-Big 12 honors in 2023 with Khalid Duke earning second-team honors in addition to earning votes for the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year award, while Mott was an honorable mention pick. Wyatt’s defensive ends helped the Wildcats finish the season ranked in the top 30 nationally in eight defensive categories, placing 11th in third-down defense (30.2%), 16th in fumbles recovered (10), 18th in pass efficiency defense (118.63), 20th in turnovers gained (23), 25th in interceptions (13), 26th in scoring defense (21.0), 28th in first downs allowed (225) and 30th in red zone defense (89.2%). Although the Wildcats allowed points in nearly 90% of their opponents’ red zone attempts, only 39.4% of those resulted in touchdowns, which was the second-best mark in the nation.
Wyatt’s defensive ends in 2022 were headlined by Big 12 Player of the Year and Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year Felix Anudike-Uzomah, who earned All-Big 12 First Team honors each of the final two seasons of his career. Wyatt helped Anudike-Uzomah tie for fourth in K-State history in career forced fumbles (8) and sixth in career sacks (20.5). Anudike-Uzomah also picked up multiple All-American designations – including a first-team honor from USA TODAY – and was a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy. He was selected in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft by Kansas City, the Wildcats' first first-round draft pick since 2009. Along with Anudike-Uzomah, Wyatt tutored a breakout season for Mott, who ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 6.0 sacks.
The duo was part of a position group led by Wyatt that helped K-State rank in the top 30 nationally in five categories. One of those was scoring defense, as Wyatt assisted in K-State’s transition from a four-down alignment to a three-man front prior to the 2021 season.
In 2021, Wyatt and his defensive ends helped K-State rank 23rd in the nation and fourth in the Big 12 by allowing just 21.0 points per game – 11.2 less than the year prior – which was the Wildcats’ best effort since 2003. K-State also only permitted 344.7 total yards per game – its best mark since 2009 – to rank third in the Big 12 and 29th in the nation. That effort included just 129.5 yards allowed on the ground, the fewest by the Wildcats in four seasons.
The Wildcat defensive ends helped K-State rack up 90 tackles for loss on the year – the most since 2006 – to rank 10th in school history.
Wyatt coached Anudike-Uzomah, then a sophomore, to All-America honors, while he was the co-Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team honoree. Anudike-Uzomah, who also earned votes for the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award, tied for the national lead in forced fumbles per game (0.46), while he ranked 11th nationally and second in the Big 12 in sacks per game (0.85). His 11.0 total sacks tied for fifth in school history, and his six forced fumbles tied the school record. Opposite Anudike-Uzomah, Wyatt tutored Nate Matlack, who earned votes for the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year award as he played in every game with starts in the final three contests and totaled 3.5 sacks.
Wyatt tutored Wyatt Hubert in 2020 to another All-Big 12 First Team honor from the league’s coaches – and was the only unanimous choice on defense – as he tied for third in the Big 12 and 16th in the nation in sacks. Hubert again earned votes for the Big 12 Defensive Player and Defensive Lineman of the Year awards in 2020. Thanks to Wyatt’s teachings, Hubert finished his career tied for eighth in school history with 20.0 career sacks, while he left ranking seventh in the nation among active players in sacks per game (0.59) and 10th in tackles for loss per game (1.00). Hubert went on to be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft by Cincinnati.
Arriving at K-State for the 2019 season, Wyatt went right to work with two dynamic ends, coaching senior Reggie Walker to All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades and Hubert to All-Big 12 First Team honors. Under Wyatt, Hubert also earned votes for the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year awards. Hubert tied for second in the Big 12 in sacks and ranked 10th in tackles for loss.
Wyatt’s tutelage of the ends in 2019 was a major factor in the Wildcats leading the nation in third-down defense at 28.0%, the best mark by K-State since at least 2003. Kansas State also allowed just 21.4 points per game, the second-best mark in the Big 12 and the program’s best figure since 2003.
As a team, the Wildcats ranked 27th in the nation and third in the Big 12 with 2.80 sacks per game. The Wildcats’ national ranking was their best in five seasons.
Wyatt came to Manhattan after serving as a senior analyst at Kansas in 2018. His previous full-time assistant coaching job was tutoring the SMU defensive line from 2015 to 2017 under then-Mustang defensive coordinator and now K-State assistant head coach Van Malone.
SMU’s defense was stout with Wyatt’s help as the 2016 Mustangs were statistically one of the 10 most improved in college football. SMU forced 26 turnovers overall that season, one of two Mustang defenses during that three-year stretch to finish in the top 20 in turnovers. SMU also ranked 38th nationally with 31 sacks in 2017 – including eight in one game – and 30th nationally with 90 tackles for loss.
Wyatt coached a pair of all-conference players in three years at SMU, headlined by defensive end Justin Lawler. Lawler tallied 9.5 sacks in 2017 and tied for the team lead with 15.5 tackles for loss as the Mustangs had 19 different players make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage en route to their first bowl appearance in five seasons.
Wyatt’s tenure in Manhattan is his seventh tour of duty in the Big 12 having coached at Oklahoma State (1996), Colorado (1999), Texas A&M (2000-02, 2008-09), Nebraska (2007) and Kansas (2010-14, 2018).
During his second stint with the Aggies – one in which he also worked with Malone – Wyatt helped Texas A&M rank 15th in the country with 35 sacks and 34th nationally with 82 tackles for loss. The group was headlined by a Wyatt protégé in defensive end/linebacker Von Miller, who had 17.0 sacks that season. Miller, a two-time All-American, went on to become an NFL All-Pro player and MVP of Super Bowl 50.
In addition to Miller, Wyatt also has worked with NFL players such as Ndamukong Suh (five-time Pro Bowl selection who was the No. 2 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft), Michael Bennett (three-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl champion), Jamal Williams (two-time All-Pro player), Carriker (first-round draft pick in 2007), Tyler Brayton (first-round pick in 2003), Rocky Bernard (Super Bowl champion), Ty Warren (two-time Super Bowl champion), Justin Bannon, Ronald Edwards and Ronald Flemons.
Helping teams advance to 13 bowls during his career, Wyatt has also worked at a pair of Big Ten schools in Minnesota (1992-95) and Northwestern (1997-98), in addition to SEC school Alabama (2003-06).
During his career, Wyatt has been selected to the NCAA Expert Coaches Academy, a program that addresses the shortage of ethnic minorities in college football head coaching positions and raises awareness regarding the deep pool of talented, qualified coaching candidates.
A native of Victoria, Texas, Wyatt was a defensive lineman at TCU from 1986 to 1989. He earned his bachelor’s degree in education from TCU in 1990 and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Horned Frogs working with the defensive line in 1991.
Wyatt and his wife, Andrea, have two children, Fredrick and Ariel. Fred played collegiately at Northwestern and is the current defensive line coach at the Air Force Academy.
