Kansas State is still a month-plus from its 2026 opener, but the first real checkpoint of the Collin Klein era arrives this week when training camp opens Wednesday in Manhattan.
The Wildcats will spend August getting ready for Nicholls on Sept. 5 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, and there’s no shortage of questions to track once practices start. Here are the biggest ones.
Avery Johnson is back as the centerpiece of the offense, and this camp will tell us plenty about where his game is headed. The Wichita quarterback has already done enough to become the face of K-State football entering his senior season, piling up 5,576 passing yards and 48 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,378 yards and 22 scores.
He’s started 26 games and helped the Wildcats win a pair of bowl games, but Kansas State has not been in serious Big 12 title or playoff contention during his time on campus. Whether that changes may come down to Johnson himself.
Plenty around the program believe his reunion with Klein could help him tap into his full dual-threat ability, and training camp will offer the first real look at how he’s handling that opportunity. It’ll also be worth watching the backup race, with Blake Barnett, Dillon Duff and Jacob Knuth all in the mix for the No. 2 job.
The tone of camp is another major storyline. Spring practice under Klein and his staff was described by players as unusually intense, with veterans no longer getting the same kind of rest K-State had used in past springs.
Practices carried a game-day edge. Coaches chased players with megaphones, demanded more speed and encouraged hard contact.
That approach fit a coach who wants his team to live in physicality, not just visit it now and then. The question now is whether Klein keeps that same heat in August or eases off with the season close at hand.
Wide receiver is also wide open. Jayce Brown is gone, and K-State has spent the offseason reshaping the room around him.
Jaron Tibbs and Sterling Lockett are back, but the Wildcats are clearly looking for new answers in the passing game. Tibbs looks like Johnson’s likeliest top target, while Josh Manning - a transfer from Missouri - drew strong praise from Klein after reportedly catching as many balls as anyone in spring practice.
Izaiah Williams, who played for Klein at Texas A&M, has also turned heads, and Hawaii transfer Brandon White has flashed big-play ability in camp work. Throw in a group of freshmen, and there’s real competition ahead as the depth chart sorts itself out.
Transfers will matter across the roster, not just at receiver. Klein has made it clear he wants K-State to function as a “developmental program,” but that long-term model still requires immediate help from newcomers if the Wildcats are going to win right now.
The list to watch includes defensive end Wendell Gregory from Oklahoma State, defensive end Elijah Hill from Kennesaw State, linebacker Jacobi Oliphant from Oklahoma State, offensive lineman Tanner Morley from Colorado State and running back Rodney Fields from Oklahoma State. K-State coaches had positive things to say about most of those players in the spring, but camp will be a much tougher proving ground.
The Wildcats will need those transfers to deliver, especially on defense.
And then there’s Klein himself, now the clear center of gravity for the program. He arrives as a beloved former K-State quarterback, a Big 12 champion under Bill Snyder and a former offensive coordinator who thrived under Chris Klieman.
That made him the obvious choice to take over. For now, the feel-good part of the transition is still intact, and it probably won’t be tested until the Wildcats hit a rough patch.
For at least another month, though, Klein remains undefeated as K-State’s head coach, and training camp should be a relatively calm ride for him.
In Other News...
Brandon White Is Emerging As A Key Piece For Kansas State
Brandon White arrived at Kansas State with the sort of transfer profile that can quietly reshape a receiver room, and the Wildcats are already treating him like someone who should matter this fall. Avery Johnson gave White a notable endorsement during Big 12 Media Days, pointing to both his ability on the field and the presence he has brought into the locker room, a good sign for a program looking for reliable targets as it settles into a new season.
The timing is useful, too, with the program set to put its roster in front of fans at the upcoming Meet the Cats event, where coach Collin Klein and players will be on hand. For a team that wants to keep building around Johnson, White looks like one of the newcomers worth watching closely, even before the first real test arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Former Kansas State LB Austin Romaine Is Turning Heads In The Big 12
Austin Romaine did enough at Kansas State to leave a real impression, and now he is carrying that reputation into a new setting at Texas Tech. After recording 60 tackles and a half sack for the Wildcats before transferring, the former K-State linebacker has already been noticed again, with Pro Football Focus College naming him among the Big 12s best returning linebackers and teammates in Lubbock offering early praise for the way he has fit in.
For Kansas State fans, it is another reminder of how much production Romaine brought to the defense before moving on, and why his next step is worth watching. Texas Tech clearly believes it added a player who can help elevate the middle of the defense, and the buzz around him is only growing as he settles into his new program and tries to build on the foundation he established in Manhattan. [Read more 🡒]
Kansas State Freshman Garrick Dixon Could Help Sooner Than Expected
Garrick Dixon arrived in Manhattan with the kind of rsum that usually comes with a little more long-range planning, even for a freshman cornerback. The St. Louis product signed with Kansas State after being rated one of Missouris top prospects at the position and stacking up multiple high school football honors, which is part of why he entered the program with real buzz despite the expectation that he would take the slower developmental route.
Stanton Weber said Dixon is expected to redshirt, but the special teams coordinator also made it clear the rookie should have a role there right away, which can change a freshmans timeline in a hurry. For Kansas State, that makes Dixon one of those early-camp names worth tracking: not necessarily because he is being asked to jump into a full-time defensive role, but because special teams can become the quickest path from promising newcomer to useful contributor. [Read more 🡒]