‘We’re Attacking It Day By Day’
Mar 26, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Here we are, Day No. 110 since Collin Klein was formally introduced as Kansas State head coach for a football program that has been so dear to him for nearly two decades. The 36-year-old former 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist, who returned "home" after two ultra-successful seasons as Texas A&M offensive coordinator, sweeps into the team theater room on the third floor of the Vanier Family Football Complex on Wednesday wearing a lavender hoodie, greets sports writers by name, and slides into the head coach's chair for his first 30-minute news conference on the eve of the Wildcats' first spring practice.
"I'm really excited to be able to hit the field and hit the grass with these guys," Klein begins. "We had a really, really good winter."
Klein's office is squeaky clean, absent of any awards or trophies, nothing to suggest that 14 years ago he was one of the finest players in college football, or that he remains one of the best players in the history of K-State football. About the only piece of memorabilia rests on a shelf by his office door — the "FAMILY" block of wood from the 2011 season that the Wildcats so proudly carried onto the field prior to games when the preseason-picked ninth-place team in the Big 12 Conference finished No. 15 in the final Associated Press Poll.
Klein, a two-time team captain in 2011 and 2012, understands all-too well the process and riches of laying a solid foundation.
He learned it from the best.
"I've been extremely blessed to be around some of the best to ever do it, really, from Coach Snyder to Coach Klieman and Coach Elko," Klein says. "I'm so grateful to each one of them, and I learned different things from each one of them. We have to get this program from A to B, and we have to get it done the fastest, most efficient way, and provide the best opportunities for our players and staff.
"That's the mindset to how I approach every day. We're attacking it day by day."
And, yes, for the past 110 days, Klein has done exactly that each day for a 2026 K-State squad that entered winter conditioning as a melting pot of returners and newcomers, but has grown into a band of brothers under the watchful eye of strength coach Jeremy Jacobs — a squad that on Thursday morning will finally hit the indoor practice facility adjacent to Bill Snyder Family Stadium to do battle.
"The mindset and mantra throughout the whole winter was 'strain and finish,' and learning how to give more with every single rep and with everything you do while finishing every single rep of everything that we do," Klein says. "They've embraced that."
"Through the winter, it was really just being extremely detail-oriented and concise with the expectations we have for them as a staff with everything they do so we can measure and hold them accountable in everything that we do throughout the entirety of the program," Klein continues. "Then through those out-of-season workouts, hey, there's more in every one of us, and trying to draw that out of each and every one of them to make sure that they realize and open their horizon and potential of, 'I'm capable of so much more. The more I give the more I have to give,' which is so counterintuitive of human nature. That was the messaging, they embraced it and we all made good progress there."
In a span of three months, a total of 27 players added more than 10 pounds of lean muscle mass. Five players broke all-time K-State football position group squat records. Wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr., squatted 505 pounds, safety Jet Dineen squatted 510 pounds, offensive lineman Keiton Jones squatted 605 pounds, quarterback Jacob Knuth squatted 495 pounds, and long snapper Andrew Johnson squatted 505 pounds.
"That's a lot of weight," Klein says. "There's not one thing that goes into that. Those guys went out, put their nose down, and got it done. I'm very proud of them. Coach Jacobs and his staff have done a great job, and our players have done a really, really good job of attacking that out-of-season program, and it's positioned us very well for spring."
On the practice field, Klein has his plan, his way of doing things, a tweak here, a tweak there, from the days of Klieman and Snyder.
"Some of it will be a little bit to where the changing of roster and things in college football and how that's changed, we will elongate practices a little bit to get more reps and get them distributed through the roster," Klein says. "This spring, we've got 97 guys on roster right now, which is a really, really good number for spring. It gives us a lot of flexibility in what we can do. We're going to be very aggressive. We're going to have 12 of the 15 practices fully padded. You can really dive into and emphasize the fundamental components of the game and be very, very aggressive from that standpoint. That's something we're going to do. We're going to have a lot of competitive periods and let the guys play and try to develop that depth and competition that bodes well for the fall.
"I'm excited to get on the grass. We have a lot of positions that are going to be very competitive, which we're excited about. We're positioning things in a way to get everybody on the roster a lot of reps, and for us to get to know them and them to know us, and for them to get physical repetitions on offense, defense and teams, and for us as a staff to get good evaluations and build depth and position flexibility to position us for the fall."
What stands out so far?
"We do have good length at a lot of positions," Klein says. "Our receiver room is very, very long. We have good length up front at offensive line and in the secondary as well. We do have good length as a team."
As for position battles?
"It's across the board," Klein says. "There's going to be room and competition at every spot for sure. Offensive line, we have a lot of good pieces. I'm really, really excited about what a very good group of individuals have done in that room to position themselves to compete. To see that come together with the right fits is going to be very important for us. In the secondary, at safety and nickel, it's seeing some of those pieces come together and seeing how that competition sorts itself out and who's best where and complementing who will be really good. We have really good depth at linebacker to see who rises out of that group. And then defensive tackle and interior wise, I'm really excited about those guys and what they've done. It'll be interesting to see how those positions take shape."
Klein and his coaching staff have player leadership en tow. And it begins with senior quarterback Avery Johnson.
"Avery sticks out," Klein says. "He's done a tremendous job. Him and Joe Jackson both have been a very, very vocal piece of driving energy and driving spirit. Rex Van Wyhe and Jordan Allen on defense and Zashon Rich, all those guys have really done a great job of facilitating those things relationally on both sides of the ball."
The 6-foot-3, 196-pound Johnson enters his senior season tied for the K-State all-time record with 48 touchdown passes, ranks sixth all-time with 5,576 passing yards, fourth among all K-State quarterbacks with 1,378 rushing yards, third all-time in being responsible for 70 touchdowns, and fifth all-time with 6,954 total offensive yards.
Johnson will remain active throughout spring practice.
"Initially, he'll get a bulk of those No. 1 reps just to make sure — even though there's a great history and familiarity, it's, 'Hey, this is who we are now moving forward,' — that he's very comfortable in that, and that all of us are very used to working with each other, and he's very used to working with the guys around him to make sure we know very much who he is as a player," Klein says. "Initially, he'll probably take a majority, and then as we go through the spring, we'll be able to develop the depth at that position, which will be important as well. So, massaging that down the stretch will be the plan."
Jackson enters his junior season carrying gobs of potential after the 6-foot, 207-pound All-Big 12 Third Team selection rushed for 911 yards and eight touchdowns and added 119 receiving yards and one touchdown last season. He captured national attention when he broke Darren Sproles' 21-year-old school record with 293 rushing yards at Utah and finished fifth in the Big 12 with 75.9 rushing yards per game. His 5.09 yards per rushing attempt ranked fifth in school history.
Jackson will be joined by five other running backs, including senior transfer Jay Harris from Oregon and sophomore Rodney Fields Jr. from Oklahoma State.
"We're probably as good as an offense to play running back as there is in the country," Klein says. "We're going to be able to threaten people at the point of attack and run the ball effectively, and we're going to get them one-on-one matchups in the secondary and a lot of space to do something with it when they get it in their hands. We've shown the ability for a long time to be able to get it into their hands in the passing game and to provide opportunities to make plays in a lot of different ways, and it's going to take a group.
"We'll be able to tell those guys that however many opportunities they get in a game, they have to go 1,000 miles-per-hour, and then when they get a little tired the next guy is going to go in and get his chances. All those factors, it's fun to recruit running backs here."
There was a time, of course, when things were extremely hectic. That was 110 days ago. Shortly after Klein became head coach, he hired a few assistant coaches immediately, and the video watching and phone calls began, and as the coaching staff continued to grow, the phone calls to potential talents to join the Wildcats continued long into the night.
"It was one of the craziest two weeks of my coaching career for dang sure," Klein says, "just with how fast everything happens in a matter of hours at times. I'm really proud of our staff. We shored up where we needed to for sure. Time will tell (how well K-State addressed its needs) and you can probably answer that question this fall after the work and preparation are done."
For now, Manhattan continues to buzz. Klein No. 7 K-State football jerseys fly off the hangers at Rally House. The videoboards at Bill Snyder Family Stadium read in large white writing; "Manhappiness" above a green, manicured football field inside a 50,000-capacity stadium that last season ranked ninth in college football in stadium capacity rate.
Thoughts about the potential capacity for K-State's home opener against Nicholls on September 5 to witness the official start of the Collin Klein era as head coach spurs chills in March.
The response from K-State fans so far?
"Absolutely incredible," Klein says. "They've been special and have been special for a very, very long time, and being able to experience that at every level of the program as a player, a coach, I'm so excited for what we're going to be able to do together these next few years. We're going to need every single one of them more than ever. I'm so excited. It's a tremendous honor."
This is just the beginning, and Klein and his coaching staff are pouring the foundation for 2026 — and beyond.
They're taking it old school.
"It's that mindset of it's a fundamental game and it's a mindset game and being able to dominate those little things and put an extreme value on those things," Klein says, "and it sounds old school, but it's those same old fundamentals that went in, and that continues to show over time."
For now, it's all systems go for the first spring practice of the Klein era.
"I've been really excited with all the steps we've taken," he says. "It gets real tomorrow."
Here we are, Day No. 110 since Collin Klein was formally introduced as Kansas State head coach for a football program that has been so dear to him for nearly two decades. The 36-year-old former 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist, who returned "home" after two ultra-successful seasons as Texas A&M offensive coordinator, sweeps into the team theater room on the third floor of the Vanier Family Football Complex on Wednesday wearing a lavender hoodie, greets sports writers by name, and slides into the head coach's chair for his first 30-minute news conference on the eve of the Wildcats' first spring practice.
"I'm really excited to be able to hit the field and hit the grass with these guys," Klein begins. "We had a really, really good winter."
Klein's office is squeaky clean, absent of any awards or trophies, nothing to suggest that 14 years ago he was one of the finest players in college football, or that he remains one of the best players in the history of K-State football. About the only piece of memorabilia rests on a shelf by his office door — the "FAMILY" block of wood from the 2011 season that the Wildcats so proudly carried onto the field prior to games when the preseason-picked ninth-place team in the Big 12 Conference finished No. 15 in the final Associated Press Poll.
Klein, a two-time team captain in 2011 and 2012, understands all-too well the process and riches of laying a solid foundation.
He learned it from the best.
"I've been extremely blessed to be around some of the best to ever do it, really, from Coach Snyder to Coach Klieman and Coach Elko," Klein says. "I'm so grateful to each one of them, and I learned different things from each one of them. We have to get this program from A to B, and we have to get it done the fastest, most efficient way, and provide the best opportunities for our players and staff.
"That's the mindset to how I approach every day. We're attacking it day by day."
And, yes, for the past 110 days, Klein has done exactly that each day for a 2026 K-State squad that entered winter conditioning as a melting pot of returners and newcomers, but has grown into a band of brothers under the watchful eye of strength coach Jeremy Jacobs — a squad that on Thursday morning will finally hit the indoor practice facility adjacent to Bill Snyder Family Stadium to do battle.
"The mindset and mantra throughout the whole winter was 'strain and finish,' and learning how to give more with every single rep and with everything you do while finishing every single rep of everything that we do," Klein says. "They've embraced that."
"Through the winter, it was really just being extremely detail-oriented and concise with the expectations we have for them as a staff with everything they do so we can measure and hold them accountable in everything that we do throughout the entirety of the program," Klein continues. "Then through those out-of-season workouts, hey, there's more in every one of us, and trying to draw that out of each and every one of them to make sure that they realize and open their horizon and potential of, 'I'm capable of so much more. The more I give the more I have to give,' which is so counterintuitive of human nature. That was the messaging, they embraced it and we all made good progress there."
In a span of three months, a total of 27 players added more than 10 pounds of lean muscle mass. Five players broke all-time K-State football position group squat records. Wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr., squatted 505 pounds, safety Jet Dineen squatted 510 pounds, offensive lineman Keiton Jones squatted 605 pounds, quarterback Jacob Knuth squatted 495 pounds, and long snapper Andrew Johnson squatted 505 pounds.
"That's a lot of weight," Klein says. "There's not one thing that goes into that. Those guys went out, put their nose down, and got it done. I'm very proud of them. Coach Jacobs and his staff have done a great job, and our players have done a really, really good job of attacking that out-of-season program, and it's positioned us very well for spring."
On the practice field, Klein has his plan, his way of doing things, a tweak here, a tweak there, from the days of Klieman and Snyder.
"Some of it will be a little bit to where the changing of roster and things in college football and how that's changed, we will elongate practices a little bit to get more reps and get them distributed through the roster," Klein says. "This spring, we've got 97 guys on roster right now, which is a really, really good number for spring. It gives us a lot of flexibility in what we can do. We're going to be very aggressive. We're going to have 12 of the 15 practices fully padded. You can really dive into and emphasize the fundamental components of the game and be very, very aggressive from that standpoint. That's something we're going to do. We're going to have a lot of competitive periods and let the guys play and try to develop that depth and competition that bodes well for the fall.
"I'm excited to get on the grass. We have a lot of positions that are going to be very competitive, which we're excited about. We're positioning things in a way to get everybody on the roster a lot of reps, and for us to get to know them and them to know us, and for them to get physical repetitions on offense, defense and teams, and for us as a staff to get good evaluations and build depth and position flexibility to position us for the fall."
What stands out so far?
"We do have good length at a lot of positions," Klein says. "Our receiver room is very, very long. We have good length up front at offensive line and in the secondary as well. We do have good length as a team."
As for position battles?
"It's across the board," Klein says. "There's going to be room and competition at every spot for sure. Offensive line, we have a lot of good pieces. I'm really, really excited about what a very good group of individuals have done in that room to position themselves to compete. To see that come together with the right fits is going to be very important for us. In the secondary, at safety and nickel, it's seeing some of those pieces come together and seeing how that competition sorts itself out and who's best where and complementing who will be really good. We have really good depth at linebacker to see who rises out of that group. And then defensive tackle and interior wise, I'm really excited about those guys and what they've done. It'll be interesting to see how those positions take shape."
Klein and his coaching staff have player leadership en tow. And it begins with senior quarterback Avery Johnson.
"Avery sticks out," Klein says. "He's done a tremendous job. Him and Joe Jackson both have been a very, very vocal piece of driving energy and driving spirit. Rex Van Wyhe and Jordan Allen on defense and Zashon Rich, all those guys have really done a great job of facilitating those things relationally on both sides of the ball."
The 6-foot-3, 196-pound Johnson enters his senior season tied for the K-State all-time record with 48 touchdown passes, ranks sixth all-time with 5,576 passing yards, fourth among all K-State quarterbacks with 1,378 rushing yards, third all-time in being responsible for 70 touchdowns, and fifth all-time with 6,954 total offensive yards.
Johnson will remain active throughout spring practice.
"Initially, he'll get a bulk of those No. 1 reps just to make sure — even though there's a great history and familiarity, it's, 'Hey, this is who we are now moving forward,' — that he's very comfortable in that, and that all of us are very used to working with each other, and he's very used to working with the guys around him to make sure we know very much who he is as a player," Klein says. "Initially, he'll probably take a majority, and then as we go through the spring, we'll be able to develop the depth at that position, which will be important as well. So, massaging that down the stretch will be the plan."
Jackson enters his junior season carrying gobs of potential after the 6-foot, 207-pound All-Big 12 Third Team selection rushed for 911 yards and eight touchdowns and added 119 receiving yards and one touchdown last season. He captured national attention when he broke Darren Sproles' 21-year-old school record with 293 rushing yards at Utah and finished fifth in the Big 12 with 75.9 rushing yards per game. His 5.09 yards per rushing attempt ranked fifth in school history.
Jackson will be joined by five other running backs, including senior transfer Jay Harris from Oregon and sophomore Rodney Fields Jr. from Oklahoma State.
"We're probably as good as an offense to play running back as there is in the country," Klein says. "We're going to be able to threaten people at the point of attack and run the ball effectively, and we're going to get them one-on-one matchups in the secondary and a lot of space to do something with it when they get it in their hands. We've shown the ability for a long time to be able to get it into their hands in the passing game and to provide opportunities to make plays in a lot of different ways, and it's going to take a group.
"We'll be able to tell those guys that however many opportunities they get in a game, they have to go 1,000 miles-per-hour, and then when they get a little tired the next guy is going to go in and get his chances. All those factors, it's fun to recruit running backs here."
There was a time, of course, when things were extremely hectic. That was 110 days ago. Shortly after Klein became head coach, he hired a few assistant coaches immediately, and the video watching and phone calls began, and as the coaching staff continued to grow, the phone calls to potential talents to join the Wildcats continued long into the night.
"It was one of the craziest two weeks of my coaching career for dang sure," Klein says, "just with how fast everything happens in a matter of hours at times. I'm really proud of our staff. We shored up where we needed to for sure. Time will tell (how well K-State addressed its needs) and you can probably answer that question this fall after the work and preparation are done."
For now, Manhattan continues to buzz. Klein No. 7 K-State football jerseys fly off the hangers at Rally House. The videoboards at Bill Snyder Family Stadium read in large white writing; "Manhappiness" above a green, manicured football field inside a 50,000-capacity stadium that last season ranked ninth in college football in stadium capacity rate.
Thoughts about the potential capacity for K-State's home opener against Nicholls on September 5 to witness the official start of the Collin Klein era as head coach spurs chills in March.
The response from K-State fans so far?
"Absolutely incredible," Klein says. "They've been special and have been special for a very, very long time, and being able to experience that at every level of the program as a player, a coach, I'm so excited for what we're going to be able to do together these next few years. We're going to need every single one of them more than ever. I'm so excited. It's a tremendous honor."
This is just the beginning, and Klein and his coaching staff are pouring the foundation for 2026 — and beyond.
They're taking it old school.
"It's that mindset of it's a fundamental game and it's a mindset game and being able to dominate those little things and put an extreme value on those things," Klein says, "and it sounds old school, but it's those same old fundamentals that went in, and that continues to show over time."
For now, it's all systems go for the first spring practice of the Klein era.
"I've been really excited with all the steps we've taken," he says. "It gets real tomorrow."
Players Mentioned
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/ FootballK-State Football | Collin Klein Spring Press Conference - March 25, 2026
Wednesday, March 25
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