Kansas State’s new era under Collin Klein is starting with a familiar blueprint: no shortcuts, no hand-holding, and no apologies for it.
That mindset comes straight from the coach Klein grew up under. As a quarterback for Bill Snyder from 2009 to 2012, Klein was part of a program built on accountability and hard edges, the kind of environment where respect had to be earned and nothing was softened for the sake of comfort. Snyder’s influence still hangs over Manhattan, and Klein is clearly leaning into that same standard as he takes over the Wildcats for the first time.
“I think from the jump, it's really the only way I know,” Klein said last week during Big 12 Media Days in Frisco, Texas. “I've been very fortunate to be around coaches and mentors that have lived that out.
I think there's a level of investment, there's a level of sacrifice, there's a level of toughness, there's a level of grit that sometimes can be unpopular. Sometimes, people don't like it because it's uncomfortable.”
That’s not just nostalgia talking. Snyder’s track record gives the approach real weight.
He turned Kansas State from a national punchline into a contender, and Klein was there for the second act of that turnaround. Snyder had retired in 2005, then returned four years later to lift the program back up in Manhattan.
Klein’s own playing career came during that stretch, and it ended with him as a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012. Kansas State finished 11-2 in his final season, a reminder of how far the program had come under Snyder’s demanding style.
Now Klein is trying to bring that same edge back in a college football landscape that looks very different. NIL has changed the balance of power, and players can transfer freely under the current rules. Even so, Klein isn’t interested in softening the message.
“That's a place that we're going to live,” Klein said. “If there's people that don't like that or make them uncomfortable, there's people that will embrace it. When they put on that Powercat, they will represent it and be willing to make those sacrifices.”
In Other News...
Kansas States 2026 Hopes May Ride On One Familiar Concern
Kansas States optimism for 2026 starts and ends, for now, with Avery Johnson. CBS Sports pointed to the quarterbacks volatility as the familiar concern hanging over the Wildcats, but also the reason the ceiling feels so high if he takes the expected next step. Johnson has the talent to change the shape of the season, and coach Collin Klein has made clear he believes the breakthrough is there to be had.
For a program that wants to move from promising to dangerous, the margin is simple: Johnson has to be more consistent and cut down the mistakes that have kept the conversation from getting bigger. If he does, Kansas States path suddenly looks a lot more interesting, with the kind of conference contention that can turn a good year into something much more. [Read more 🡒]