Kansas State safety Wesley Fair is heading into his senior season with one clear goal: turn a promising start into a complete year.
Fair opened last season in the starting lineup for the first six games and described it as his first real taste of Big 12 football. But the back half of the year didn’t go nearly as smoothly, and he knows it.
"Last year was definitely a learning year for me," Fair said during spring football practices. "It was disappointing that I started the year off pretty good and I kind of hit a slump and kind of didn't bounce back.
I definitely had my mind on it all offseason. I'm just going to continue to work on it so I can really have a breakout season."
He finished with 36 tackles and three pass breakups, and the Wildcats’ staff clearly values what he brings. Fair is one of the team’s representatives for conference Media Day in the coming weeks.
This spring has also brought a fresh start in the building. After coach Chris Klieman abruptly resigned following last season, Kansas State hired Collin Klein, and Fair said the transition has been smooth.
"This whole spring training has just been about getting better in the weight room, stronger, faster," Fair said. "Obviously, with a new coaches, just learning as much ball as I can from them. We've got some really good."
Fair said the energy from the new staff has stood out right away, and he believes that tone can carry through the roster.
"I loved the old coaching staff," Fair said. "This coaching staff has so much energy and they bring that every day.
I love that. Just the change is going to be great for the team, great for the future.
I'm excited."
In Other News...
K-State Legend Michael Bishop Just Landed A Fascinating New Big 12 Role
Michael Bishops post-playing career has taken another turn in the Big 12, with the former Kansas State quarterback joining Houston as an assistant coach on the offensive side of the ball. For Wildcats fans who still remember Bishops run as one of the defining figures of the program, it is a notable next stop for a player who has stayed tied to football and kept building his coaching rsum.
Houston coach Willie Fritz is a familiar face in the story, and not just because of the new job. Fritz said he has known Bishop for a long time, dating back to Bishops days playing for him at Blinn Junior College, and he pointed to that history as part of why the fit makes sense. Bishop also arrives with recent high school coaching experience, adding another layer to a move that gives Houston a respected former star in the room and leaves plenty of intrigue about how his role will grow from here. [Read more 🡒]
Big 12's Latest Money Move Could Change How Kansas State Looks
The Big 12 is making another aggressive commercial push, this time through a multiyear agreement with Monster Energy that reaches well beyond a simple logo swap. The deal is reportedly worth $20 million annually and will bring the brand into football and basketball media days, broadcasts, jerseys, courts and fields, giving the league a much more visible corporate presence as college sports keeps leaning harder into sponsorship revenue.
For Kansas State, the broader significance is hard to miss. Once the conference starts normalizing that kind of branding at the league level, it becomes easier to imagine individual schools exploring their own ways to tap into the same market, especially as programs look for new revenue streams without changing the product on the field. The next question is how far that trend goes inside Manhattan and whether the Wildcats decide they want a piece of it too. [Read more 🡒]
Big 12 Preseason Respect Puts Kansas State Defense In The Spotlight
The Big 12s preseason honors gave Kansas State a little early validation on the defensive side, with John Pastore and Wendell Gregory landing on the conferences All-Conference preseason team. It was also a reminder that the Wildcats defensive profile is getting noticed beyond Manhattan, especially with former linebacker Austin Romaine now at Texas Tech also earning a spot on the list.
For Collin Klein, the bigger takeaway is what those nods say about the group as a whole. He has pointed to the defensive lines depth and improvement heading into next season, and hes also seen more edge options emerge, with several players flashing enough to make the rotation feel deeper than it did a year ago. The one area still waiting for a clear answer is the rush attack, where Kansas State did not have a preseason name break through the Big 12 conversation. [Read more 🡒]