Bill Snyder shares his advice for new Kansas State coach Collin Klein
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
MANHATTAN — Bill Snyder wore a smile on his face that didn’t go away as he watched his former quarterback step into a role that he held for 27 years.
Collin Klein, who led Snyder’s Wildcats to a Big 12 championship in 2012, was taking over as Kansas State football coach, the position that made Snyder one of the more legendary figures to walk a college sideline.
Whether it was on a FaceTime call with Klein after he accepted the position, watching him speak of elevating the program somewhere it’s never been during his introductory press conference or watching him fire up the crowd at halftime of a Wildcats’ men’s basketball game, Snyder watched with pride.
“He has handled this extremely well,” Snyder said. “We’ve had a number of conversations, and I think he’s got his feet on the ground and he’s moving in the right direction. He’s not letting all the hoopla get to him.”
Snyder couldn’t stay away from the week’s activities that ushered in the Klein era, as he replaced Chris Klieman, who retired on Dec. 3 after seven years as coach. The 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist will return to K-State after spending the last two seasons at Texas A&M.
Snyder wasn’t the one who initially recruited Klein to Kansas State, but the two built a quick connection after Snyder returned from retirement in 2009. After Klein led the Wildcats to a 21-5 record as Snyder’s starting quarterback, he left after 2012 and returned in 2014 and 2015 as a graduate assistant. Klein left to be the quarterbacks coach at Northern Iowa for a year before Snyder hired him to the same position in 2017.
“While he was a player for us, I realized that coaching would be a prominent career for him,” Snyder said.
Snyder’s hunch was correct, while Klein has been recognized as one of the best play-callers in the sport. He will continue to coach Texas A&M’s offense, which averages 454.4 yards and 36.3 points per game, during its College Football Playoff run.
It’s a résumé that’s helped him return home to a program he holds dear. Klein spoke during his introduction of continuing to build on the foundation that Snyder built, one that has a legacy of serving people and using Kansas State football to impact lives for the better.
As for any advice Snyder would give his star quarterback on taking on the new challenge, he didn’t think he needed to provide much.
“Collin has been around this program and this community; these people and these students, for a long period of time,” Snyder said. “There is nothing that I could tell him that he doesn’t know. I think the important thing for him is to know that good things are going to continue and come forward, and there will be some hiccups in the road, and don’t let those get you down.”
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Bill Snyder advice for Collin Klein, new Kansas State football coach
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos