With the seasons and sports exchanging from in-season to out, the Kansas State football team prepares for spring practices. As Collin Klein enters his first year as the Wildcats’ head football coach, K-State held a press conference on Wednesday where Klein discussed the team’s development for the fall season.
“We are really excited to be able to hit the field, hit the grass with these guys,” Klein said. “I think we’ve had a really, really good winter. I’ve been very, very proud of how the entire program — players and staff — have kind of embraced some of the new things that we’re doing and really attacked it.”
The hiring of a new head coach came with a revamped coaching staff as well. Only two supporting staff members were retained with Klein’s hire. Now moved to defensive line coach, Buddy Wyatt came to K-State in 2019, where he served as defensive end coach from then until 2025. Klein also trusted Brian Lepak to stay on the Wildcats’ staff and serve as the tight ends coach. Lepak first started his time with K-State in 2021 as a senior offensive quality control.
With a refreshed era of K-State football, Klein noted that during the winter, he made it a priority to get to know the roster.
“I think our receiver room is very, very long,” Klein said. “I think we have some good length up front, at O line, in the secondary as well. So I think we do have good length as a team.”
Klein also mentioned how the staff was being “extremely detail-oriented and concise” when it came to expectations and setting the tone for the upcoming season.
“They embraced it,” Klein said. “And I think we all made good progress there.”
As anticipation for the upcoming season already begins for players, focus in the locker room has been a point of emphasis, along with excelling in the weight room.
“Derek Sally, a wide receiver, squatted 505, Jet Dineen squad at 510, Keiton Jones at O line 605, Jacob Knuth, 495 and Andrew Johnson, a specialist at 505,” Klein said. “So that’s a lot of weight.”
As the grind has been indoors, getting reps on the grass has been highly anticipated for everyone.
“We will elongate practices a little bit to try to get some more reps and get them distributed through the roster this spring,” Klein said.
When it comes to training — specifically for four-year returner Avery Johnson — the majority of practice time will be given to Johnson. But with Klein’s new coaching style, other quarterbacks will be mixed in as well to maintain competition and further develop all players.
“I think initially he’ll [Johnson] probably take the majority [of reps],” Klein said. “Then, as we go through the spring, being able to develop the depth at that position will be important as well. And so being able to massage that down the stretch is probably the plan.”
While modifications have happened throughout the K-State coaching staff and program, Wildcat fans have still shown their passion and acceptance of Klein and the “old school” approach to the game of football.
“Man, oh, it’s absolutely incredible,” Klein said. “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, as a coach and just so excited for what we’re going to be able to do together these next few years. And we’re going to need every single one of them more than ever. So, so excited, and it’s a tremendous honor.”
