Kansas State University Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
A 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist and one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever don a Kansas State uniform, Collin Klein enters his seventh season coaching the K-State quarterbacks in 2023 and his second as the offensive coordinator.
His first full season as offensive coordinator was a success as he guided an offense that helped the Wildcats win the 2022 Big 12 title. In the process, Klein’s unit ranked in the top 10 in school history in 11 categories, including ranking second in offensive yards (5,863) and plays (958), fourth in rushing yards (2,916) and fifth in yards per game (418.8).
The Wildcats ranked 15th in the country in rushing yards per game (208.3), their highest national ranking since placing ninth in 2003. Additionally, K-State’s 210.5 passing yards per game and 421.6 total yards per game were the most since the 2014 season, while its 32.3 points per game was the most by Wildcat squad since 2017. K-State also ranked 12th nationally and tops in the Big 12 in both fewest interceptions thrown (6) and turnovers lost (12).
Klein directed an offense that hit those marks despite starting two different quarterbacks throughout the season in Adrian Martinez and Will Howard. The duo helped K-State set the school record for lowest interception percentage (1.54%), rank fourth in completions (242), sixth in passing yards (2,947) and seventh in passing touchdowns (21). Martinez set the school record for lowest interception percentage by a player in school history (0.54%), while Howard had the seventh-best season passing efficiency ever by a Wildcat (149.6).
The low interceptions in 2022 is the reoccurring theme of Klein’s time tutoring the Wildcat quarterbacks. Since he took over coaching the position prior to the 2017 season, K-State has thrown only 43 interceptions (7.16 per season and 0.57 per game). That mark is the lowest in the Big 12 (second is Oklahoma with 47) and tied for 12th in the nation.
With Klein at the controls, running back Deuce Vaughn became the second player in school history to twice earn Consensus All-America honors, while offensive lineman Cooper Beebe also earned First Team All-America accolades. The pair were two of eight Wildcat offensive players that earned All-Big 12 honors. Klein guided Martinez to honorable mention accolades, while he also picked up votes for the Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year award.
Klein, who is in his ninth season overall on the coaching staff, was named the offensive coordinator after conducting one of the best offensive output in school bowl history as the interim offensive coordinator in the Texas Bowl win over LSU to conclude the 2021 season. The Wildcats produced 42 points, their highest output of the season and the third-highest scoring mark in K-State bowl history, while their 442 yards of total offense was the second-highest showing of the year and ranked fifth in school bowl history.
The Texas Bowl victory was the final chapter in the career of Skylar Thompson, who left as one of the best quarterbacks in school history. Under Klein’s guidance, Thompson earned 24 career wins as a starting quarterback – the most among all K-State signal callers since at least 1990 – while he was the only player in school history with 6,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a career. Thompson also set the school record for lowest career interception percentage (1.81%), ranked second in passing touchdowns (42), passing yards (7,134), completions (552) and total offense (8,221), while he ranked in the top 10 in 10 other categories.
Battling through a pair of injuries that saw him miss three games in 2021, Thompson was still able to set K-State’s single-season record for completion percentage (69.53%), rank second in passing efficiency (159.3), third in passing yards per attempt (9.07) and eighth in passing yards per game (211.3). His performance in the Texas Bowl earned him MVP honors as he threw for 259 yards and a career-high tying three touchdowns on 21-of-28 aim, tying for second in K-State bowl history in completions and completion percentage (75.0), tying for third in touchdown passes and ranking sixth in passing yards.
After the season, Thompson was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Draft and played in eight games with three starts, including a start in the Wild Card Round of the AFC Playoffs.
In 2019, Klein’s first year under head coach Chris Klieman, he was able to help implement a new offense and work with Thompson as the Wildcats were one of the top offensive units in the Big 12. Under Klein, Thompson earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades as he finished 10th in K-State history in single-season completions (177) and touchdowns responsible for (23). Taking a page out of Klein’s playbook when he was a player, Thompson rushed for 11 touchdowns on the year to tie for eighth nationally among quarterbacks, including seven over a two-game stretch in wins over No. 5 Oklahoma and Kansas.
Thanks in part to Klein’s teachings, the Wildcats led the nation in red zone offense (96.2%), ranked ninth in the country and first in the Big 12 in time of possession (33:27), and 10th nationally in fewest passes intercepted (5). K-State’s red-zone percentage was its best since at least 2001 and the best by a Big 12 team since at least 2004, while the five picks tied for the fewest in school history in a 13-game season.
The 2020 season saw some hardship as Thompson started the year under center but only lasted three games prior to a season-ending injury. One of Thompson’s starts was in K-State’s win at No. 3 Oklahoma, the Wildcats’ first ever road win over a top-five team. In that game, Thompson threw for a career-high 334 passing yards and accounted for four touchdowns as he became the first Big 12 quarterback with consecutive wins over Oklahoma since 2013 and 2014.
However, the next week saw Thompson go down for the year, and Klein inserted a true freshman in Howard, who went on to start seven games, one of four true freshmen quarterbacks in the nation to make at least seven starts. The Wildcats won Howard’s first two starts, the first K-State true freshman signal caller to accomplish the feat. Howard went on to set the K-State freshman record for passing touchdowns (8) and finish third in passing yards (1,178).
In his first season as a K-State assistant coach in 2017, Klein helped the Wildcats earn their eighth-straight bowl berth despite being forced the start three different quarterbacks due to injury. K-State finished the year ranked 13th in the nation in passing yards per completion (14.48), while the Wildcats’ 141.7 passing efficiency mark ranked eighth in school history.
Under Klein’s tutelage, Jesse Ertz put together the fifth-best pass efficiency mark in a season (150.22) while his 129.5 career mark ranked ninth in K-State history. He also set the then-school record for lowest interception percentage (1.92).
Klein also helped develop Thompson – then a redshirt freshman – who started the final four games of the season and passed for 689 yards, the fourth most by a freshman in school history. Thompson’s season was highlighted by a victory at 10th-ranked Oklahoma State where he threw for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-13 aim, good for a 274.89 pass efficiency rating to rank fifth in school history.
Additionally, Alex Delton helped lead the Wildcats to victories against Kansas and Texas Tech in 2017, while he came off the bench against UCLA in the Cactus Bowl to rush for 158 yards and three touchdowns to earn Offensive MVP honors.
Klein was the co-offensive coordinator in 2018, and for a the second-straight year he was forced to play multiple quarterbacks due to injury. A majority of the starts in 2018 went to Thompson, who threw for 1,391 yards and nine touchdowns in 10 starts.
Klein entered the coaching profession as an assistant director of recruiting operations and quality control coach at K-State in 2014 before taking over as an offensive graduate assistant the following year. He helped guide Jake Waters to a school-record 3,501 passing yards in 2014 and assisted Joe Hubener and Kody Cook in leading the Wildcats to a bowl in 2015 by splitting time at quarterback.
The 2012 Johnny Unitas Award winner, Klein finished his Wildcat career ranking in the school’s top 10 in 34 different game, season and career record categories. He was the first quarterback from a Power 5 school since 1998 to rush for at least 20 touchdowns and pass for 10 scores in consecutive seasons by doing so in 2011 and 2012.
Klein led the Wildcats to a combined 21-5 record as the starting quarterback in 2011 and 2012, which culminated with a No. 1 national ranking, Big 12 Championship and Fiesta Bowl berth in 2012. He is a member of K-State Football’s Ring of Honor as part of the Class of 2022.
Klein’s first job as an assistant coach came when he served as the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa in 2016. During his lone season in Cedar Falls, Klein tutored a pair of quarterbacks that split reps in Eli Dunne and Aaron Bailey. Dunne finished the year throwing for 1,175 yards and seven touchdowns, which was highlighted by a 418-yard, two-touchdown outing against Missouri State en route to FCS National Performer of the Week honors. Bailey totaled 882 yards and six touchdowns through the air, while he rushed for six scores.
Klein obtained his undergraduate degree from K-State in December 2011 in business financial services and controllership, while he received his master's degree in academic advising in December 2019. He is married to the former Shalin Spani, a former Wildcat women’s basketball player. The couple has three sons, Beric, Rhett and Trek, and one daughter, Briar.
The Klein File
| PERSONAL INFORMATION |
|---|
| Year in Coaching: 10th |
| Year at K-State: Nine |
| Hometown: Loveland, Colorado |
| Spouse: Shalin |
| Children: Beric, Rhett, Trek, Briar |
| EDUCATION |
|---|
| Kansas State (2011) Bachelor's Degree Business Financial Services and Controllership Kansas State (2019) Master's Degree Academic Advising |
| PLAYING EXPERIENCE |
|---|
| Kansas State, Quarterback (2009-12) |
| PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE |
|---|
| 2014 K-State (Asst. Director of Recruiting/Def. QC) |
| 2015 K-State (Offensive Graduate Assistant) |
| 2016 Northern Iowa (Quarterbacks) |
| 2017 K-State (Quarterbacks) |
| 2018 K-State (Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB) |
| 2019-21 K-State (Quarterbacks) |
| 2022-23 K-State (Offensive Coordinator/QB) |
