SE: Kaltmayer Carries Painful Past as a Positive Light into Senior Season
Aug 22, 2019 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State right tackle Nick Kaltmayer has played for three different offensive line coaches at two different colleges on two different levels of football. A fifth-year senior, he sat behind an All-American and NFL Draft pick in Dalton Risner the last three seasons.
All the while, he waited and worked like the next day would be his time to start. He faced every challenge like it was nothing. Because, to him, they paled in comparison to the one that started on November 18, 2014, the date posted in his Twitter bio, the date his younger sister, Sara, died.
"I don't think anything can top that," Kaltmayer said. "That was the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my whole life."
Sara died of complications with Rett syndrome, a unique and rare genetic neurological disorder. She was 15 years old; Kaltmayer was in his senior year of high school in Edwardsville, Illinois. Because of her Rett syndrome, Sara was non-verbal, but her 6-foot-8 older brother said their bond was not weakened a bit by it.
"She was a great sister," Kaltmayer said. "I couldn't really communicate (with her), but I still had a great time spending time with her. She always loved to laugh, always had a smile on her face. I just always had a good time with her.
"She loved all those kids' shows, like Handy Manny. We would watch that, or she loved it when you would sing to her, so I'd be singing songs with her or dancing with her, just anything. And she'd always be in a great mood."
Sara's unexpected death shook Kaltmayer and his family. Truthfully, he said, it's not something you can ever fully recover from. Through faith and family, however, Kaltmayer said he learned to live a stronger life.
"I don't think you ever get back to normal. I think you have to start coping with it, but I don't think anything ever goes out of your mind about that," he said. "It was definitely hard at the time and still hard, at times, when I think about her. Now, it's just an extra boost of motivation to really show out for her, show out for my family, and keep going."
This played out after Kaltmayer's freshman season at Western Illinois, an FCS school where, ironically, he played against current K-State head coach Chris Klieman and offensive line coach Conor Riley when they were at North Dakota State.
Kaltmayer started six of the final seven games that season, but he decided to transfer somewhere with a strong college of engineering. K-State seemed like a perfect fit. Thanks to a connection between his offensive line coach at Western Illinois, A.J. Blazek, and K-State football's director of recruiting Taylor Braet, Kaltmayer said an opportunity came his way.
"It just kind of worked out from there," he said.
The jump from FCS to Power Five never intimidated him, either.
"I've always been pretty confident in my abilities. It was definitely a shock, at first," he said. "I think within the first few weeks I knew I could play at this level, play fast and be that guy who could step in at times."
Kaltmayer's time on the field has been limited.
He redshirted in 2016 and played primarily on field goal protection in 2017, patiently waiting for his turn. His first major opportunity arrived in the 2017 Cactus Bowl, which Risner missed because of an injury. Kaltmayer started and helped pave the way to a K-State bowl record 344 yards rushing in a 35-17 win against UCLA. Kaltmayer earned All-Bowl Team honors from ESPN for his play.
That game, he said, greatly boosted his confidence. It lowered his nervousness in some spot playing time last year. But his performance traced back to how he approached his time as a backup.
"You just have to wait for your number to be called if you're not the guy, but you always have to be ready," he said. "I took it upon myself to always be in that mindset to be ready whenever my number was called."
For some, the challenge of perseverance and patience can be too much. For Kaltmayer, both were daily tests after he lost his sister.
"There are hot days out here, especially right now during fall camp," he said. "It's a grind, but it can always be worse. That's what I always tell myself. It could always be harder than it is."
Each spring, Kaltmayer reminds himself of this at the annual St. Louis Strollathon that raises money for the International Rett Syndrome Foundation. One year, his team's name was "Que Será, Será," which translates to: "Whatever will be, will be." It is also in his Twitter bio.
Kaltmayer knows he cannot change the past, but he can choose how he lives with it. It's why, when he takes the field in K-State's season opener against Nicholls on August 31, he said Sara will be as close to him as any player on the field.
"I keep her in my thoughts all the time, especially in my prayers," he said. "When it's getting tough out here, practicing or in games, sometimes I think about her, think about my family back home, and I just get an extra boost of motivation with that."
K-State right tackle Nick Kaltmayer has played for three different offensive line coaches at two different colleges on two different levels of football. A fifth-year senior, he sat behind an All-American and NFL Draft pick in Dalton Risner the last three seasons.
All the while, he waited and worked like the next day would be his time to start. He faced every challenge like it was nothing. Because, to him, they paled in comparison to the one that started on November 18, 2014, the date posted in his Twitter bio, the date his younger sister, Sara, died.
"I don't think anything can top that," Kaltmayer said. "That was the hardest thing I've ever gone through in my whole life."
Sara died of complications with Rett syndrome, a unique and rare genetic neurological disorder. She was 15 years old; Kaltmayer was in his senior year of high school in Edwardsville, Illinois. Because of her Rett syndrome, Sara was non-verbal, but her 6-foot-8 older brother said their bond was not weakened a bit by it.
"She was a great sister," Kaltmayer said. "I couldn't really communicate (with her), but I still had a great time spending time with her. She always loved to laugh, always had a smile on her face. I just always had a good time with her.
"She loved all those kids' shows, like Handy Manny. We would watch that, or she loved it when you would sing to her, so I'd be singing songs with her or dancing with her, just anything. And she'd always be in a great mood."
Sara's unexpected death shook Kaltmayer and his family. Truthfully, he said, it's not something you can ever fully recover from. Through faith and family, however, Kaltmayer said he learned to live a stronger life.
"I don't think you ever get back to normal. I think you have to start coping with it, but I don't think anything ever goes out of your mind about that," he said. "It was definitely hard at the time and still hard, at times, when I think about her. Now, it's just an extra boost of motivation to really show out for her, show out for my family, and keep going."
This played out after Kaltmayer's freshman season at Western Illinois, an FCS school where, ironically, he played against current K-State head coach Chris Klieman and offensive line coach Conor Riley when they were at North Dakota State.
Kaltmayer started six of the final seven games that season, but he decided to transfer somewhere with a strong college of engineering. K-State seemed like a perfect fit. Thanks to a connection between his offensive line coach at Western Illinois, A.J. Blazek, and K-State football's director of recruiting Taylor Braet, Kaltmayer said an opportunity came his way.
"It just kind of worked out from there," he said.
The jump from FCS to Power Five never intimidated him, either.
"I've always been pretty confident in my abilities. It was definitely a shock, at first," he said. "I think within the first few weeks I knew I could play at this level, play fast and be that guy who could step in at times."
Kaltmayer's time on the field has been limited.
He redshirted in 2016 and played primarily on field goal protection in 2017, patiently waiting for his turn. His first major opportunity arrived in the 2017 Cactus Bowl, which Risner missed because of an injury. Kaltmayer started and helped pave the way to a K-State bowl record 344 yards rushing in a 35-17 win against UCLA. Kaltmayer earned All-Bowl Team honors from ESPN for his play.
That game, he said, greatly boosted his confidence. It lowered his nervousness in some spot playing time last year. But his performance traced back to how he approached his time as a backup.
"You just have to wait for your number to be called if you're not the guy, but you always have to be ready," he said. "I took it upon myself to always be in that mindset to be ready whenever my number was called."
For some, the challenge of perseverance and patience can be too much. For Kaltmayer, both were daily tests after he lost his sister.
"There are hot days out here, especially right now during fall camp," he said. "It's a grind, but it can always be worse. That's what I always tell myself. It could always be harder than it is."
Each spring, Kaltmayer reminds himself of this at the annual St. Louis Strollathon that raises money for the International Rett Syndrome Foundation. One year, his team's name was "Que Será, Será," which translates to: "Whatever will be, will be." It is also in his Twitter bio.
Kaltmayer knows he cannot change the past, but he can choose how he lives with it. It's why, when he takes the field in K-State's season opener against Nicholls on August 31, he said Sara will be as close to him as any player on the field.
"I keep her in my thoughts all the time, especially in my prayers," he said. "When it's getting tough out here, practicing or in games, sometimes I think about her, think about my family back home, and I just get an extra boost of motivation with that."
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