The Journey Officially Begins
Sep 04, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The New Old School. Are you familiar? Collin Klein coined the appealing term as the 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist and one of the finest quarterbacks in the history of the Big 12 Conference stood upon a stage at his introductory news conference as Kansas State head coach on December 5, 2025, at Morgan Family Arena. Just hours prior, Klein, the second-year offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, boarded a private jet with his family, and peered out of a window as the Bill Snyder Family Stadium that he once dominated floated into view, and now he stood inside a packed arena in a dark suit about 20 yards from Bill Snyder, his mentor and the 86-year-old Hall of Famer wore a smile the size of Manhattan upon a face that suddenly seemed younger, as Klein, who helped deliver 10- and 11-win seasons and a Big 12 Championship during his college career, was back at the place he knew full well, the place he loved more than any other, with purple pouring through his veins, eager to lead the program that he's known for nearly two decades.
"What's our mission moving forward?" Klein said. "We're going to be the New Old School, and we're going to stay true to a value system that has been in place for a very, very long time, and we're going to move our program forward and take the steps necessary to chase excellence in everything we do."
Seven months later, Klein stands next to the legend after a preseason practice, and introduces Snyder to the current Wildcats, who listen as the master of the old-school ways rehashes many of those same old values featured in the 16 Wildcat Goals for Success, and he emphasizes the necessity to always strive to become better in all areas of life.
"To hear him talking to you as a team," K-State junior running back Joe Jackson says, "is just an unreal feeling."
Yes, there's a feeling that permeates the entirety of the Vanier Family Football Complex, as familiar words reverberate and echo through the hallways and inside the team meeting room, as one by one, night after night, the old school meets the new school. It's what met the K-State football team several evenings after training camp. One night it was Mitch Holthus, then Brooks Barta, then Paul Coffman, then Sean Snyder and Emmanuel Lamur — notable faces, some newer and some older, who accompanied the Wildcats through their journey at different periods since Snyder took over the losingest program in the history of college football in 1989 and then engineered the greatest turnaround in the history of college football.
"Emmanuel Lamur, who's from southern Florida, he was a linebacker at K-State, and he came in and spoke life into the team," says fifth-year player Mekhi Mason, a Louisiana Tech transfer who will be starting at middle linebacker for the Wildcats. "It was 9:00 p.m. and it had been a long day, and the whole room lit up when he was talking. He quoted the Bible and related it to his journey and to football, and that related to everybody in the room."
However, it was fiery, passionate speeches by Holthus and Barta that perhaps most fueled the Wildcats for the fall.
"They said a lot of things that we didn't already know, about the foundation of the program, and who laid the foundation for us to be here today," Jackson says. "Without that foundation, we wouldn't be here today. That's what I learned the most. That's what comes to mind when I think of Kansas State.
"Everybody on that foundation team, we can't let them down, because they poured in everything for us to be able to stand here today."
Today, K-State stands on the cusp of beginning its 131st football season, and the first season under Klein, who along with his coaching staff, have witnessed the growth of their team — names once only known by highlight videos that now adorn the back of purple K-State jerseys, their names literally embedded into the fabric of a program that Klein intends to guide to places that it's never been before. Namely the College Football Playoff.
The journey officially starts when K-State opens its season against Nicholls at 6:00 p.m. Saturday at a sold-out Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"I can't wait to run out of that tunnel," Klein says at his weekly radio show on Wednesday night. "It's about being able to watch our players go out and do what they've prepared really hard to do. They love competing and have competed every day. The harder you work and the more you invest up to these moments makes those moments that much more special. You can definitely feel that amongst the guys.
"Now we get to test ourselves against live bullets and see what we're really about and where we're really at with some things. It'll be really good for us to illuminate some areas we must improve on and build, and then there will be good things out there that we have to build and move forward with. That whole process-based mindset was what Coach Snyder was as good as anybody I've ever been around, and Coach Klieman was all about the process as well with this is how we do the work and this is how we move forward."
Klein overhauled the roster with 58 new players that will be in a Wildcat uniform on Saturday, 26 of which are Division I or Division II transfers. Those transfers have combined for 473 career games played and 176 starts. Of K-State's 111-man roster this season, 52.3% are made up of new players from last season. The work began as players filed through the Vanier doors under the watchful eye of energetic director of strength and conditioning Jeremy Jacobs, who along with Director of Sports Nutrition Scott Trausch and many others over the winter strength and conditioning period helped K-State players gain an average of 6.9 pounds of muscle — the all-time best in K-State history for a winter strength and conditioning period. K-State players lost an average of 2.6 pounds of fat — also the all-time best in K-State history for a winter strength and conditioning period. In a span of seven weeks of winter training, 27 players gained at least 10 pounds of muscle — again, the all-time best in K-State history for a winter strength and conditioning period.
The winter strength and conditioning program, paired with an intense and aggressive spring practice season before the start of training camp, served as bedrock upon which Klein has built a foundation for his first season.
"You still have to do the work and work that process and those processes on a daily basis, otherwise, it's not going to amount to much," Klein says. "I'm very grateful. It definitely gave us a head start. We have a really good, special group of people on our staff, and we've done a really good job gelling over time. These eight months have felt like three years with how fast everything has happened.
"The cool part with this group is we want to create the environment in practice that stimulates growth, applies pressure and heat in a controlled environment. As players mature and become who they are, if you don't go through those growth periods — if everything is going good, something is wrong. The mental strain, emotional strain and physical strain of these competition battles at multiple positions is growing our players up, and you're able to see the ups and downs, and as long as the trend line is in the right direction that's a really good thing. We had that on both sides of the ball. It's a really good thing if we can sustain that. I tell the guys we need to embrace that, the fact we're going through these things in August and not in October."
Yes sir, competition is fierce, and adrenaline spikes daily during morning practice, while excitement builds toward the season opener and the rest of the season.
"It's here," Jackson says. "It's been a long time coming, but it seems like just yesterday we came off the field playing Colorado in the final game of last season. The excitement level? I couldn't sleep last night. That should tell you how much excitement there is. I tell the guys once you run out of that tunnel it's an unreal feeling on Saturday.
"Saturday is a new opportunity to go out and do this with a new group of guys, and new group of staff members, and to do so in front of our fans — the same fans. This will be an unreal feeling, an exciting feeling."
It'll be a feeling unlike any other for fifth-year tight end Garrett Oakley, whose 13 career touchdown catches are most ever by a K-State tight end and who is on pace to also become the all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards by a K-State tight end this season. Oakley is one of a handful of skill position players who were a part of the Klein-led K-State offenses of 2022 and 2023 that set top-10 marks in school history — numbers that might only be further enhanced as Klein calls plays from the sideline this fall.
"It's really cool to see Klein come back," Oakley says. "The fans are super excited, and we're excited to showcase what he's done for us and put on a show for him in his first game as a head coach. I know the locker room is going to be pretty fun after the game, especially for Klein. It's a surreal moment for him coming back as head coach. It should be really fun.
"I really want to win and get back to the Big 12 Championship like we did my freshman year. I want to do whatever we can to get back there. We're ready to showcase what we're made of and it's exciting."
Excitement surrounds the K-State offense. Avery Johnson's first touchdown pass of 2026 will carry significance as he'll pass Will Howard for No. 1 all-time with 49 touchdown passes in his career. Johnson's 26 straight starts are tied with Klein and Jake Waters for second most in school history, training Josh Freeman's 32-straight starts. Johnson goes into his senior season with 5,576 passing yards and 1,378 rushing yards and is the fastest in K-State history to reach 5,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career.
Jackson, who ended the 2025 season as one of the hottest running backs in the FBS behind a K-State single-game record 293 rushing yards at No. 13 Utah, leads a loaded running back room that also includes a pair of transfers in sophomore Rodney Fields Jr. out of Oklahoma State and senior Jay Harris out of Oregon.
"The way Coach Klein runs his offense should excite anybody who plays running back," Jackson says. "He can make it very versatile for you to get out in space and do things out of the backfield. It's a running back's dream to play for him."
Oakley along with senior Will Anciaux and sophomore Linkon Cure have the makings of one of the best tight end rooms in the country.
"The Klein offense is explosive and dynamic," Oakley says. "He's really innovated this offense, especially from the first time he was here. It's really been fun, especially with the guys we have on this offense. Guys have stepped into their own roles, and everybody has a little different skillset. It's been fun to see everybody shine in their spot."
K-State brought in a largely new corps of wide receivers in the winter. Senior Jaron Tibbs is the most experienced returning wide receiver with 47 catches for 595 yards and three touchdowns while starting 11 games en route to All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. An impressive list of transfers includes Izaiah Williams (Texas A&M), Josh Manning (Missouri), Brandon White (Hawai'i) and Derrick Salley Jr. (Hutchinson Community College).
"Jaron's leadership and presence amongst those guys and his rapport with Avery has helped tremendously," Klein says. "Watching that group compete and in how they've worked through the entire process with the quarterbacks has shown. We're not a finished product by any stretch, but we've made some good strides, and we'll need to continue to do so in the future."
Defensively, the Wildcats will be led by coordinator Jordan Peterson, who served with Klein on the Texas A&M coaching staff the past two seasons.
Since the 2021 season (65 games), K-State is allowing just 22.7 points per game, which ranks third among current Big 12 teams and 20th among Power 4 teams. K-State's 88 takeaways since 2022 ranks 12th in the nation, while its 26 turnovers gained last season tied for fourth most by a K-State team in the Big 12 era and the most since 2011.
Excitement fills the defensive rooms for many reasons. Wendell Gregory came to K-State after earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year at Oklahoma State last season. Elijah Hill had one of the best freshman campaigns in the nation last year as well with 9.0 sacks at Kennesaw State. Mason came to K-State after two seasons at Louisiana Tech and two at Syracuse and needs four tackles and 1.5 tackle for loss to reach 100 tackles and 20.0 tackle for loss in his career. Another young, athletic player that will try to make his presence felt is sophomore Darien Whitaker Jr., who is a linebacker by trade but could see time as an edge defender.
Last season, cornerback Zashon Rich, a 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 pick by multiple publications, ranked third in the Big 12 and 15th nationally with 11 pass breakups, the most by a K-State player since Duke Shelley had 11 in 2017.
Special teams? At K-State, special teams has long had a reputation for being special — that added ingredient that opponents have feared through the years and that momentum-changing weapon that the Wildcats have utilized to win games for decades. At times, K-State's special teams, which for many years has been regarded as "Special Teams U," has dominated headlines.
Since 1999, K-State ranks No. 1 in the FBS with 139 kickoff and punt return touchdowns — 10 more than the next school on the list, Alabama (129).
Since 1999, K-State leads the FBS with 137 non-offensive touchdowns.
Since 2005, K-State's 63 total return touchdowns lead the FBS are 23 more than the next school on the list, Alabama (40).
Since 2005, K-State leads the FBS in total return yards (25,217), punt return average (12.5), kickoff return yards (19,605), and kickoff return average (23.7).
Since 2013, K-State hasn't allowed a kickoff return touchdown — a streak that spans 163 games and 465 returns, and that is an active streak that is twice as long as any other school in the Big 12.
Stanton Weber, the former K-State special teams standout who returned to Manhattan after emerging as one of the top special teams coordinators in the FBS at Toledo, appears to have two luxuries this fall with the return of junior kicker Luis Rodriguez and junior punter Simon McClannan, who each come off solid seasons.
Rodriguez connected on 13-of-15 field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder at Arizona, and he made all 42 extra-point attempts while finishing 22nd in the FBS and second in the Big 12 with an 86.7% conversion rate on field goals. His 81 total points ranked fourth in K-State history among sophomores. Rodriguez came to K-State prior to the 2025 season after putting together the third-best season by a community-college kicker at College of the Canyons in 2024.
McClannan is fifth all-time in K-State history with a career punting average of 42.43 yards. Last season, he averaged 42.5 yards on 48 punts with 13 punts of 50 or more yards and 18 that landed inside the opponent 20-yard line. He earned Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week after averaging 51.0 yards per punt on four punts against UCF — a game that included a career-long 65-yard punt. McClannan also averaged 62.6 yards on 70 kickoffs with 39 touchbacks.
Klein is pleased with what he's seen across the board with this squad.
"We're taking a step up a notch and really, really excited to go," Klein says. "It's been fun, and we still have competition at some spots. I'm excited about that and how that's going to look moving forward."
But there was a time not too long ago when Klein asked his players for a moment to peer backward, and into the eyes of those K-State players and dignitaries who came before them. The players watched, and they listened, and Klein says that "it becomes really important" given the trend of roster turnover nationally. K-State cannot lose its story. K-State cannot lose its specialness and uniqueness.
"Every day there's a new, different highlight showing from a different year from a different team telling our story," Klein says. "That's been very intentional to give a connection from the past to the future and to them and who they are so fortunate to follow in so many different ways. Like-minded people attract like-minded people, and we have a lot of really, really great guys in this locker room that are about the K-State value system, and we've been so fortunate to have a lot of players come back here to visit with them.
"One of my favorite times in training camp as a player was when old guys got to come back and share their story and their journey and talk about the hard times and the adversities that they overcame and went through. I tell the guys every time, 'You notice, he didn't talk about the game where everything went right and nothing bad happened.' That's not what they talk about. They talk about a workout when they're absolutely gutted and didn't think they had anything else, or they talk about being down and finding a way to come back. That type of mindset creates the competitive nature and the perspective for them to ultimately become the best they can be individually and for us to grow and become everything we can be collectively."
It's the New Old School. And there's more to it. Snyder had his 16 Wildcat Goals for Success. Klieman had his Four Core Principles. Now Klein has revealed The Seven Principles, which includes 1) Commitment, 2) Unselfishness, 3) Discipline, 4) Integrity, 5) Relentless Effort, 6) No Self Limitations, and 7) Expect to Win.
"Coach Snyder had 16 and the Good Lord only had 10, so I had to pare it down a little bit. I had to cut it down a little bit," Klein explains of choosing seven principles. "I'm not as smart as either one of them. These are kind of the things that are most important to me, things that I felt like really embody that Powercat, Kansas State football, and then it carried forward for a very long time. Commitment is the first for a very specific reason. You have to buy into whatever you're doing and whatever you want to be a part of first and foremost. Integrity is the center in the middle because that's who we are and the core of what we are. Expect to Win is the last one because if these steps are followed and we work our process the right way there's not a field that we step on that we don't expect to be successful. They're where they're at for a reason.
"We could talk a long time and have been for the last eight months about every one of them to our program."
The talk is about to be drowned out by 50,000 screaming fans on Saturday as Klein leads K-State onto the football field for the first time. The marquee at Rally House in Aggieville reads in big, bold, black letters, "IT'S KLEIN TIME" — words that very well could've been posted in 2012 when Klein demonstrated himself to be one of the best players in college football each week. Now he's not just a coach, he's the head coach, and the 36-year-old is the sixth-youngest head coach in the FBS.
"Definitely a lot of emotions, for sure," Klein says. "I remember running out of that tunnel for the first time against North Texas as a true freshman, and that's what I want for every one of our players, that this is their first time at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and this is not any part of it about me, it's about our players.
"That's what gets me so excited about that moment for them."
The New Old School. Are you familiar?
Shortly before 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Klein, like Klieman and like Snyder before him, will lead K-State onto the field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This is how the journey begins each year — with the jog out of the tunnel and onto the field. In a K-State football world where everything seems new, history wafts throughout the Vanier Family Football Complex. Klein won't let anyone forget the treasured past and how this story began. Not a chance. But Klein, who won 21 games in his two seasons as a full-time starting quarterback, directs these Wildcats to strive to reach even greater heights — to take K-State to a place it's never been before.
Klein, standing upon the stage at his introductory news conference on December 5 asked aloud, "What's our mission moving forward? We're going to be the New Old School."
Cue the chills.
This could be the start of an incredible story.
The New Old School. Are you familiar? Collin Klein coined the appealing term as the 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist and one of the finest quarterbacks in the history of the Big 12 Conference stood upon a stage at his introductory news conference as Kansas State head coach on December 5, 2025, at Morgan Family Arena. Just hours prior, Klein, the second-year offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, boarded a private jet with his family, and peered out of a window as the Bill Snyder Family Stadium that he once dominated floated into view, and now he stood inside a packed arena in a dark suit about 20 yards from Bill Snyder, his mentor and the 86-year-old Hall of Famer wore a smile the size of Manhattan upon a face that suddenly seemed younger, as Klein, who helped deliver 10- and 11-win seasons and a Big 12 Championship during his college career, was back at the place he knew full well, the place he loved more than any other, with purple pouring through his veins, eager to lead the program that he's known for nearly two decades.
"What's our mission moving forward?" Klein said. "We're going to be the New Old School, and we're going to stay true to a value system that has been in place for a very, very long time, and we're going to move our program forward and take the steps necessary to chase excellence in everything we do."
Seven months later, Klein stands next to the legend after a preseason practice, and introduces Snyder to the current Wildcats, who listen as the master of the old-school ways rehashes many of those same old values featured in the 16 Wildcat Goals for Success, and he emphasizes the necessity to always strive to become better in all areas of life.
"To hear him talking to you as a team," K-State junior running back Joe Jackson says, "is just an unreal feeling."
Yes, there's a feeling that permeates the entirety of the Vanier Family Football Complex, as familiar words reverberate and echo through the hallways and inside the team meeting room, as one by one, night after night, the old school meets the new school. It's what met the K-State football team several evenings after training camp. One night it was Mitch Holthus, then Brooks Barta, then Paul Coffman, then Sean Snyder and Emmanuel Lamur — notable faces, some newer and some older, who accompanied the Wildcats through their journey at different periods since Snyder took over the losingest program in the history of college football in 1989 and then engineered the greatest turnaround in the history of college football.
"Emmanuel Lamur, who's from southern Florida, he was a linebacker at K-State, and he came in and spoke life into the team," says fifth-year player Mekhi Mason, a Louisiana Tech transfer who will be starting at middle linebacker for the Wildcats. "It was 9:00 p.m. and it had been a long day, and the whole room lit up when he was talking. He quoted the Bible and related it to his journey and to football, and that related to everybody in the room."
However, it was fiery, passionate speeches by Holthus and Barta that perhaps most fueled the Wildcats for the fall.
"They said a lot of things that we didn't already know, about the foundation of the program, and who laid the foundation for us to be here today," Jackson says. "Without that foundation, we wouldn't be here today. That's what I learned the most. That's what comes to mind when I think of Kansas State.
"Everybody on that foundation team, we can't let them down, because they poured in everything for us to be able to stand here today."
Today, K-State stands on the cusp of beginning its 131st football season, and the first season under Klein, who along with his coaching staff, have witnessed the growth of their team — names once only known by highlight videos that now adorn the back of purple K-State jerseys, their names literally embedded into the fabric of a program that Klein intends to guide to places that it's never been before. Namely the College Football Playoff.
The journey officially starts when K-State opens its season against Nicholls at 6:00 p.m. Saturday at a sold-out Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"I can't wait to run out of that tunnel," Klein says at his weekly radio show on Wednesday night. "It's about being able to watch our players go out and do what they've prepared really hard to do. They love competing and have competed every day. The harder you work and the more you invest up to these moments makes those moments that much more special. You can definitely feel that amongst the guys.
"Now we get to test ourselves against live bullets and see what we're really about and where we're really at with some things. It'll be really good for us to illuminate some areas we must improve on and build, and then there will be good things out there that we have to build and move forward with. That whole process-based mindset was what Coach Snyder was as good as anybody I've ever been around, and Coach Klieman was all about the process as well with this is how we do the work and this is how we move forward."
Klein overhauled the roster with 58 new players that will be in a Wildcat uniform on Saturday, 26 of which are Division I or Division II transfers. Those transfers have combined for 473 career games played and 176 starts. Of K-State's 111-man roster this season, 52.3% are made up of new players from last season. The work began as players filed through the Vanier doors under the watchful eye of energetic director of strength and conditioning Jeremy Jacobs, who along with Director of Sports Nutrition Scott Trausch and many others over the winter strength and conditioning period helped K-State players gain an average of 6.9 pounds of muscle — the all-time best in K-State history for a winter strength and conditioning period. K-State players lost an average of 2.6 pounds of fat — also the all-time best in K-State history for a winter strength and conditioning period. In a span of seven weeks of winter training, 27 players gained at least 10 pounds of muscle — again, the all-time best in K-State history for a winter strength and conditioning period.
The winter strength and conditioning program, paired with an intense and aggressive spring practice season before the start of training camp, served as bedrock upon which Klein has built a foundation for his first season.
"You still have to do the work and work that process and those processes on a daily basis, otherwise, it's not going to amount to much," Klein says. "I'm very grateful. It definitely gave us a head start. We have a really good, special group of people on our staff, and we've done a really good job gelling over time. These eight months have felt like three years with how fast everything has happened.
"The cool part with this group is we want to create the environment in practice that stimulates growth, applies pressure and heat in a controlled environment. As players mature and become who they are, if you don't go through those growth periods — if everything is going good, something is wrong. The mental strain, emotional strain and physical strain of these competition battles at multiple positions is growing our players up, and you're able to see the ups and downs, and as long as the trend line is in the right direction that's a really good thing. We had that on both sides of the ball. It's a really good thing if we can sustain that. I tell the guys we need to embrace that, the fact we're going through these things in August and not in October."
Yes sir, competition is fierce, and adrenaline spikes daily during morning practice, while excitement builds toward the season opener and the rest of the season.
"It's here," Jackson says. "It's been a long time coming, but it seems like just yesterday we came off the field playing Colorado in the final game of last season. The excitement level? I couldn't sleep last night. That should tell you how much excitement there is. I tell the guys once you run out of that tunnel it's an unreal feeling on Saturday.
"Saturday is a new opportunity to go out and do this with a new group of guys, and new group of staff members, and to do so in front of our fans — the same fans. This will be an unreal feeling, an exciting feeling."
It'll be a feeling unlike any other for fifth-year tight end Garrett Oakley, whose 13 career touchdown catches are most ever by a K-State tight end and who is on pace to also become the all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards by a K-State tight end this season. Oakley is one of a handful of skill position players who were a part of the Klein-led K-State offenses of 2022 and 2023 that set top-10 marks in school history — numbers that might only be further enhanced as Klein calls plays from the sideline this fall.
"It's really cool to see Klein come back," Oakley says. "The fans are super excited, and we're excited to showcase what he's done for us and put on a show for him in his first game as a head coach. I know the locker room is going to be pretty fun after the game, especially for Klein. It's a surreal moment for him coming back as head coach. It should be really fun.
"I really want to win and get back to the Big 12 Championship like we did my freshman year. I want to do whatever we can to get back there. We're ready to showcase what we're made of and it's exciting."
Excitement surrounds the K-State offense. Avery Johnson's first touchdown pass of 2026 will carry significance as he'll pass Will Howard for No. 1 all-time with 49 touchdown passes in his career. Johnson's 26 straight starts are tied with Klein and Jake Waters for second most in school history, training Josh Freeman's 32-straight starts. Johnson goes into his senior season with 5,576 passing yards and 1,378 rushing yards and is the fastest in K-State history to reach 5,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career.
Jackson, who ended the 2025 season as one of the hottest running backs in the FBS behind a K-State single-game record 293 rushing yards at No. 13 Utah, leads a loaded running back room that also includes a pair of transfers in sophomore Rodney Fields Jr. out of Oklahoma State and senior Jay Harris out of Oregon.
"The way Coach Klein runs his offense should excite anybody who plays running back," Jackson says. "He can make it very versatile for you to get out in space and do things out of the backfield. It's a running back's dream to play for him."
Oakley along with senior Will Anciaux and sophomore Linkon Cure have the makings of one of the best tight end rooms in the country.
"The Klein offense is explosive and dynamic," Oakley says. "He's really innovated this offense, especially from the first time he was here. It's really been fun, especially with the guys we have on this offense. Guys have stepped into their own roles, and everybody has a little different skillset. It's been fun to see everybody shine in their spot."
K-State brought in a largely new corps of wide receivers in the winter. Senior Jaron Tibbs is the most experienced returning wide receiver with 47 catches for 595 yards and three touchdowns while starting 11 games en route to All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. An impressive list of transfers includes Izaiah Williams (Texas A&M), Josh Manning (Missouri), Brandon White (Hawai'i) and Derrick Salley Jr. (Hutchinson Community College).
"Jaron's leadership and presence amongst those guys and his rapport with Avery has helped tremendously," Klein says. "Watching that group compete and in how they've worked through the entire process with the quarterbacks has shown. We're not a finished product by any stretch, but we've made some good strides, and we'll need to continue to do so in the future."
Defensively, the Wildcats will be led by coordinator Jordan Peterson, who served with Klein on the Texas A&M coaching staff the past two seasons.
Since the 2021 season (65 games), K-State is allowing just 22.7 points per game, which ranks third among current Big 12 teams and 20th among Power 4 teams. K-State's 88 takeaways since 2022 ranks 12th in the nation, while its 26 turnovers gained last season tied for fourth most by a K-State team in the Big 12 era and the most since 2011.
Excitement fills the defensive rooms for many reasons. Wendell Gregory came to K-State after earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year at Oklahoma State last season. Elijah Hill had one of the best freshman campaigns in the nation last year as well with 9.0 sacks at Kennesaw State. Mason came to K-State after two seasons at Louisiana Tech and two at Syracuse and needs four tackles and 1.5 tackle for loss to reach 100 tackles and 20.0 tackle for loss in his career. Another young, athletic player that will try to make his presence felt is sophomore Darien Whitaker Jr., who is a linebacker by trade but could see time as an edge defender.
Last season, cornerback Zashon Rich, a 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 pick by multiple publications, ranked third in the Big 12 and 15th nationally with 11 pass breakups, the most by a K-State player since Duke Shelley had 11 in 2017.
Special teams? At K-State, special teams has long had a reputation for being special — that added ingredient that opponents have feared through the years and that momentum-changing weapon that the Wildcats have utilized to win games for decades. At times, K-State's special teams, which for many years has been regarded as "Special Teams U," has dominated headlines.
Since 1999, K-State ranks No. 1 in the FBS with 139 kickoff and punt return touchdowns — 10 more than the next school on the list, Alabama (129).
Since 1999, K-State leads the FBS with 137 non-offensive touchdowns.
Since 2005, K-State's 63 total return touchdowns lead the FBS are 23 more than the next school on the list, Alabama (40).
Since 2005, K-State leads the FBS in total return yards (25,217), punt return average (12.5), kickoff return yards (19,605), and kickoff return average (23.7).
Since 2013, K-State hasn't allowed a kickoff return touchdown — a streak that spans 163 games and 465 returns, and that is an active streak that is twice as long as any other school in the Big 12.
Stanton Weber, the former K-State special teams standout who returned to Manhattan after emerging as one of the top special teams coordinators in the FBS at Toledo, appears to have two luxuries this fall with the return of junior kicker Luis Rodriguez and junior punter Simon McClannan, who each come off solid seasons.
Rodriguez connected on 13-of-15 field goal attempts, including a 51-yarder at Arizona, and he made all 42 extra-point attempts while finishing 22nd in the FBS and second in the Big 12 with an 86.7% conversion rate on field goals. His 81 total points ranked fourth in K-State history among sophomores. Rodriguez came to K-State prior to the 2025 season after putting together the third-best season by a community-college kicker at College of the Canyons in 2024.
McClannan is fifth all-time in K-State history with a career punting average of 42.43 yards. Last season, he averaged 42.5 yards on 48 punts with 13 punts of 50 or more yards and 18 that landed inside the opponent 20-yard line. He earned Ray Guy Award National Punter of the Week after averaging 51.0 yards per punt on four punts against UCF — a game that included a career-long 65-yard punt. McClannan also averaged 62.6 yards on 70 kickoffs with 39 touchbacks.
Klein is pleased with what he's seen across the board with this squad.
"We're taking a step up a notch and really, really excited to go," Klein says. "It's been fun, and we still have competition at some spots. I'm excited about that and how that's going to look moving forward."
But there was a time not too long ago when Klein asked his players for a moment to peer backward, and into the eyes of those K-State players and dignitaries who came before them. The players watched, and they listened, and Klein says that "it becomes really important" given the trend of roster turnover nationally. K-State cannot lose its story. K-State cannot lose its specialness and uniqueness.
"Every day there's a new, different highlight showing from a different year from a different team telling our story," Klein says. "That's been very intentional to give a connection from the past to the future and to them and who they are so fortunate to follow in so many different ways. Like-minded people attract like-minded people, and we have a lot of really, really great guys in this locker room that are about the K-State value system, and we've been so fortunate to have a lot of players come back here to visit with them.
"One of my favorite times in training camp as a player was when old guys got to come back and share their story and their journey and talk about the hard times and the adversities that they overcame and went through. I tell the guys every time, 'You notice, he didn't talk about the game where everything went right and nothing bad happened.' That's not what they talk about. They talk about a workout when they're absolutely gutted and didn't think they had anything else, or they talk about being down and finding a way to come back. That type of mindset creates the competitive nature and the perspective for them to ultimately become the best they can be individually and for us to grow and become everything we can be collectively."
It's the New Old School. And there's more to it. Snyder had his 16 Wildcat Goals for Success. Klieman had his Four Core Principles. Now Klein has revealed The Seven Principles, which includes 1) Commitment, 2) Unselfishness, 3) Discipline, 4) Integrity, 5) Relentless Effort, 6) No Self Limitations, and 7) Expect to Win.
"Coach Snyder had 16 and the Good Lord only had 10, so I had to pare it down a little bit. I had to cut it down a little bit," Klein explains of choosing seven principles. "I'm not as smart as either one of them. These are kind of the things that are most important to me, things that I felt like really embody that Powercat, Kansas State football, and then it carried forward for a very long time. Commitment is the first for a very specific reason. You have to buy into whatever you're doing and whatever you want to be a part of first and foremost. Integrity is the center in the middle because that's who we are and the core of what we are. Expect to Win is the last one because if these steps are followed and we work our process the right way there's not a field that we step on that we don't expect to be successful. They're where they're at for a reason.
"We could talk a long time and have been for the last eight months about every one of them to our program."
The talk is about to be drowned out by 50,000 screaming fans on Saturday as Klein leads K-State onto the football field for the first time. The marquee at Rally House in Aggieville reads in big, bold, black letters, "IT'S KLEIN TIME" — words that very well could've been posted in 2012 when Klein demonstrated himself to be one of the best players in college football each week. Now he's not just a coach, he's the head coach, and the 36-year-old is the sixth-youngest head coach in the FBS.
"Definitely a lot of emotions, for sure," Klein says. "I remember running out of that tunnel for the first time against North Texas as a true freshman, and that's what I want for every one of our players, that this is their first time at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and this is not any part of it about me, it's about our players.
"That's what gets me so excited about that moment for them."
The New Old School. Are you familiar?
Shortly before 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Klein, like Klieman and like Snyder before him, will lead K-State onto the field at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This is how the journey begins each year — with the jog out of the tunnel and onto the field. In a K-State football world where everything seems new, history wafts throughout the Vanier Family Football Complex. Klein won't let anyone forget the treasured past and how this story began. Not a chance. But Klein, who won 21 games in his two seasons as a full-time starting quarterback, directs these Wildcats to strive to reach even greater heights — to take K-State to a place it's never been before.
Klein, standing upon the stage at his introductory news conference on December 5 asked aloud, "What's our mission moving forward? We're going to be the New Old School."
Cue the chills.
This could be the start of an incredible story.
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/ FootballSaturday, September 05
Friday, September 04
Friday, September 04
Friday, September 04
