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By: D. Scott Fritchen

Once a walk-on defensive end from Emporia, Kansas, who turned into a fan favorite and eventual star on some of the nation's most powerful defenses in history, Joe Bob Clements, after a journey south to coach, is back at Kansas State.

During Clements' 16 combined years as a player, staff member and full-time assistant coach at K-State, the Wildcats won two Big 12 Championships, four Big 12 North Division Championships, and won at least 10 games in nine different seasons.

Now Clements will serve as assistant to the head coach and forward scout for offense under first-year head coach Collin Klein and for a football program that is priding itself on the motto "Family Business."

"When I think of K-State football, I think of family," Clements says. "Definitely family. I've always stayed in touch with a bunch of my teammates. A group of us try to get together at least once a year, and if we're not together, we stay in touch through text messages or on the phone. It'll be nice to get back around them."

Clements played at K-State from 1994 through 1998 on K-State defenses that ranked No. 1, No. 16, No. 4 and No. 3 in total defense nationally in college football, and he earned All-Big 12 recognition his senior season. He was a member of five K-State bowl teams, including the 1997 Cotton Bowl and the 1997 Fiesta Bowl.

Clements served as K-State student assistant in 1999 and 2000, then he served as K-State graduate assistant in 2001 and 2002, then joined the full-time coaching staff as defensive ends coach from 2003 through 2005.

Following brief stints at San Diego State (2006-07) and Kansas (2008), Clements returned to K-State to coach the defensive line from 2009 through 2011. He served as K-State defensive ends coach and defensive run game coordinator in 2012 before heading to Oklahoma State, where he spent 12 seasons from 2013 through 2024. Clements served as defensive line coach from 2013 through 2021, then coached linebackers in 2022, and then coached linebackers and served as co-defensive coordinator in 2023 and 2024.

And now he's back in the Little Apple.

"It's very comfortable," Clements says. "There's a lot of newness, and obviously the stadium is completely different from when I left K-State the first time. The landscape of college football is astronomically different from when I was here, but the people are the same."

Clements spoke with K-State Sports Extra's D. Scott Fritchen about his journey back to K-State:

D. Scott Fritchen: How surreal is it to be in a K-State football staff meeting again?

Joe Bob Clements: It's pretty neat. It's real neat. Unexpected and very comfortable. It's just awesome to see Collin at the head of the table. It's an awesome hire, and he's very deserving. It's very good for him and very good for Kansas State.

Fritchen: It's been a while since you've coached at K-State during that 2012 Big 12 Championship season. Collin was a senior and a tremendous team leader. Have you noticed anything different about Collin since that time?

Clements: No, he's the same person. He just kind of has an inner-drive about him just like he did as a player. My perception of him as a head coach is he's extremely organized and driven to succeed. He has a plan and wants to instill toughness into the team. He's accomplishing that very well. That's all stuff that I believe in. If you want to be successful, you have to be disciplined and tough.

Fritchen: Is there anything about Collin as a head coach that might remind you of Bill Snyder as a head coach?

Clements: I'd say his attention to detail. He's very organized.

Fritchen: During your 16 combined years as a player, staff member and full-time assistant coach at K-State, the Wildcats won two Big 12 Championships, four Big 12 North Championships, and had nine seasons with 10 or more wins. When you hear the words "Kansas State," what first comes to mind?

Clements: When I think of K-State football I think of family. Definitely family. I've always stayed in touch with a bunch of my teammates. A group of us try to get together at least once a year, and if we're not together, we stay in tough through text messages or on the phone. It'll be nice to get back around them.

Fritchen: You're around these current K-State players every day. What's the vibe you get each morning?

Clements: They're very tough, very gritty, very positive, high energy, and you can tell from the players there's a lot of buy-in. They're hungry to be good. There are some good players on this football team. There's some development that needs to happen with some young guys, but the coaches and players are working extremely hard to get that accomplished.

Fritchen: What's life like for Joe Bob Clements waking up in Manhattan, Kansas, again?

Clements: It's very comfortable. There's a lot of newness and obviously the stadium is completely different from when I left K-State the first time. The landscape of college football is astronomically different from when I was here, but the people are the same.

Fritchen: Exactly how did this opportunity come about at K-State?

Clements: It was about two or three weeks ago. My days are all jumbled together. They had an opening for an analyst on the offensive side of the ball. A lot of coaching staffs these days employ defensive guys to the offense and offensive buys for the defense. Collin and I had a couple conversations about it and whether it'd be something I'd be interested in doing. It was a very easy answer: Absolutely.

Fritchen: What was your immediate response to hearing that familiar voice on the other end of the phone?

Clements: Gratitude. I was thankful. I was grateful for the opportunity. We discussed the expectations and my thoughts on it and how I'd see it working, and it's probably going to be a little fluid for a little while. I'm excited about the opportunity.

Fritchen: Where were you when you received the phone call from Collin?

Clements: I was at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis interviewing for a position with the Cleveland Browns. I came in second for the job, which has happened a bunch. Then I found out the next day and called Collin right away. I was intrigued about the opportunity to go to the NFL. I was kind of excited about getting out of my comfort zone and doing something a little bit different. I explored what that league was all about. That didn't work out, but at the same time, this opportunity accomplishes the same thing, looking at football differently, and trying to learn it as defensive through the eyes of an offense. It gets me out of my comfort zone.

Fritchen: You hung up the phone with Collin, what did you tell your wife, Pelusa?

Clements: I had dinner before I caught my flight, and I called her and said, "You won't believe who I just talked to." Once I got off the phone with Cleveland, I believe everything happens for a reason, and I just think this is where I'm meant to be. I came back to Manhattan last summer for Eric Wolford's No Stone Unturned Golf Tournament. It's very surreal to come back to the place where it all began. My wife pulled out an old picture of our kids and the boys both wearing the No. 7 jersey in front of the old Vanier Complex coming off the field. A very surreal moments. I came up from Stillwater and up through Junction City and to Manhattan and I was just thinking, "Gosh dang, this town is growing up."

Fritchen: What are the biggest differences in college football since you coached at K-State in 2012? As there been an adjustment for you at K-State and Manhattan?

Clements: The recruiting landscape with NIL and the transfer portal is astronomically different across everywhere. I wouldn't say there's an adjustment period. We were going through the same thing when we were at Oklahoma State. It's just the new way to navigate through this landscape and how it works now.

Fritchen: The title is "Assistant Head Coach" and "Forward Analyst for Offense." Were those the main roles you discussed with Collin?

Clements: I think it's going to come down to me being in a support role and basically however I can do best to serve the offensive staff and Collin, and it'll come down to their needs and what they want. I'm hanging out a lot with the offensive line learning their terminology and how they identify things, so right now I'm in the learning phase of figuring out offensive football from their perspective. It's still growing on me. It's fun to learn something new. I'm really enjoying that aspect. It'll take some time. The first thing I have to do is try to get a good grip on what they're doing and what they're trying to accomplish and what they're looking at and learning all their terminology. It's like learning a new language to speak on their turns. The biggest challenge is switching left and right. I've spent my entire life thinking left was one way and right was the other, and now those directions have flipped completely on me. And now I draw upside down now, and that's been a challenge.

Fritchen: What was your first order of business when you entered the Vanier Family Football Complex for the first time?'

Clements: Really, I just began learning their offensive install and learning their terminology.

Fritchen: You've been around a lot of coaching staffs. How would you describe this K-State coaching staff?

Clements: I've been very impressed. Collin has done an excellent job putting together a very quality staff. It's strange in this coaching profession, there are guys who I've never met before, but we have acquaintances in common. I received a bunch of phone calls right away congratulating me and saying they knew members of the staff. Offensively, I was more familiar with the guys than I realized. Gritty, tough and getting after guys. When we were let go at Oklahoma State, Cory Patterson, I'd never met him, but he went to Stillwater, and my youngest daughter helped coach the high school volleyball team, and Cory has a very talented daughter who's a volleyball player. So, I'd gotten to see her play a couple times. Thad Ward, I shook hands with him when I was on a tour at Illinois and spent a few days up there. Sean Gleeson and I worked together at Oklahoma State for a year. I've known Brian Lepak for a long time, crossing paths recruiting, and Scotty Ohara, I've known from way back when.

Fritchen: Not many coaches these days have the opportunity to spend 10 or more years at the same program. How grateful are you for your 12 years at Oklahoma State?

Clements: I'm very grateful for my time in Stillwater. It's very unusual to say you can graduate all your kids from one high school, especially when you have four. To stay in one place and work in one place for 12 consecutive years is rare. Stillwater is a great community and Oklahoma State treated me well with very good people down there. It was a nice ride. I really enjoyed it.

Fritchen: Your biography is stacked with achievements over your time at Oklahoma State. What are you proudest of?

Clements: The players I coached. I never had a year when I didn't enjoy being around my players. I always enjoyed my players, great people, high character. Sometimes they had an extra edge, maybe more so than needed, but they were always great young men who worked their tails off and football was important to them.

Fritchen: From that little boy growing up in Emporia, Kansas, to the man you are today, what has Joe Bob Clements learned most through his journey?

Clements: What I've learned most is that your personal connections are the most important things you can ever have. Making money and having things is nice, but when it all boils down, it's the circle of people who you surround yourself with, and who you truly trust.

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