Hitting the Field After a Successful First Phase

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman, in his pre-spring news conference on Wednesday, said that "we had a really good first phase," as the Wildcats come off an elongated strength and conditioning program that began on January 22 and now prepare for their first of 10 on-field practices on Friday.

K-State comes off a 9-4 season capped by a 44-41 win over Rutgers in the Rate Bowl and brings back 51 letterwinners, including 13 players that started at least five games and seven that earned All-Big 12 recognition.

The Wildcats during the offseason appeared to hammer on enhancing players' mass and speed.

It worked.

K-State reports that 700 pounds of muscle was gained between January and April among its team.

Four players were timed over 23 miles per hour, six players ran over 22 miles per hour, 33 players ran over 21 miles per hour, 27 players back squatted over 500 pounds, 35 players cleaned over 300 pounds, and 60 players bench pressed over 300 pounds.

"We had talked about this with our strength staff coaches and support staff that we were going to have a longer first phase this year to try and put on more weight, more mass, more strength, more change of direction and more speed work, so we added a few more weeks," said Klieman, who enters his seventh season with a 48-28 record. "We added probably three more weeks than what we've done in the previous six years. It was really beneficial."

It certainly paid off for senior safety VJ Payne. He emerged as the fastest player in running 23.37 miles per hour during March testing.

"It's really good to see when you put in all that work during the winter and are able to show off on speed day," he said.

"The way they structured winter was a great way to put on weight and to put on lean muscle, it translates to the field tremendously because guys are getting stronger and faster," Payne said. "It's going to help us in the long run. I'm really excited about that and the way they structured our winter and the way they're structuring spring ball."

In addition to its returning lettermen, K-State brought in 14 Division I or Division II transfers for spring practice, which includes nine from Power 4 schools in Jerand Bradley (Boston College/Texas Tech), running back Gabe Ervin Jr. (Nebraska), offensive lineman George Fitzpatrick (Ohio State), safety Gunner Maldonado (Arizona/Northwestern), linebacker Gabe Powers (Ohio State), defensive end Jayshawn Ross (Alabama), cornerback Jayden Rowe (Oklahoma), offensive lineman Amos Talalele (USC) and wide receiver Jaron Tibbs (Purdue). K-State also has 14 players among its 25-member 2025 signing class on campus for spring practice.

"With our strength and conditioning program, they've had their first chance to make a first impression," Klieman said. "When you're with Coach Tru, you're not hiding. I think that phase is more important for them to get acclimated to the way we do things in the weight room and how we do things conditioning, how they relate with the older kids and how those older kids help those guys but hold them to that standard of what that expectation is on the field and off the field. Those kids have gotten off to a great start. Now they just go onto the next phase."

As for specific players who have stood out so far?

"There have been so many of them that have taken that extra step," Klieman said. "That was the challenge. If we were going to extend this time from the previous years, we'd better see marked improvement, and not just the amount of weight or muscle mass they can put on, but how much faster somebody can get, and how much more lean mass someone can put on. That was the challenge every week with our leadership council."

Klieman applauded the leadership of his squad.

"We have a leadership council 20-22 guys who Coach Tru and I meet with a couple times a week early and then late in the week and we talk about leadership roles and how they can impact young guys and how things are going and how they need to go from an expectation and doing this the Kansas State way," Klieman said. "We've been doing this a long time, having a leadership council, and this is the best collective group we have, offensive guys, defensive guys, younger guys, older guys, who all want a voice and all believe in each other and trust each other.

"In the past, we had a couple dominant voices and a bunch of quiet guys. This year, we have everybody that wants to be a part of it and impact the guys."

Eight players have returned to use an extra year of eligibility to play a second senior season, including cornerback Justice James, transfer safety Gunner Maldonado, transfer wide receiver Caleb Medford, linebacker Beau Palmer, offensive lineman Taylor Poitier, defensive tackle Uso Seumalo, defensive and Cody Stufflebean and tight end Will Swanson.

Poitier is the oldest of the group as he was a member of Klieman's first recruiting class in 2019. After redshirting the 2019 season and seeing time in four games in 2020, the native of Kansas City, Kansas, suffered a season-ending injury during the 2021 fall camp and again in the first game of the 2022 season.

"Playing those games, it never really felt like it was my last time. That's pretty much why I decided to come back," Poitier said. "I want to go out with a bang, honestly. This is probably the best I've felt in a while, honestly. I'm really excited for this year. My end goal is always a championship."

K-State will strive to do so with some shifting among its offensive staff, as associate head coach/quarterbacks coach Matt Wells was promoted to offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach Brian Lepak moved to offensive line coach, and Klieman hired Luke Wells as tight ends coach.

"It was the natural fit for me to have Matt step up," Klieman said. "Everybody knows Matt's pedigree as an offensive coach, and he's a colleague and a close friend. It was a no-brainer for me. He was excited to have this opportunity to try and step up and advance our offense further than it's been. We've had some up and down moments offensively, but we've been pretty good the last few years and have won a lot of ballgames.

"We still have more in us, and I'm excited for Matt to draw the rest of it out of us."

That begins on the practice field on Friday for K-State, which comes off a third-straight season with at least nine wins and is one of only 10 Power 4 teams to win at least nine games each of the last three seasons.

Meanwhile, it's 149 days until K-State opens its 2025 season against Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland.

"It's a new year and a new team," Payne said. "That team from last year is gone. Going overseas and playing over there in Dublin, we're excited for it."

Players Mentioned

Jerand Bradley

Justice Clemons

George Fitzpatrick

Gunner Maldonado

Caleb Medford

Beau Palmer

VJ Payne

Taylor Poitier

Gabe Powers

Jayden Rowe

Uso Seumalo

Cody Stufflebean

Will Swanson

Amos Talalele

Jaron Tibbs

Kansas State University Athletics