Chris Klieman turns focus to recruiting as K-State football waits on bowl destination
While the Kansas State football team waits to learn its bowl destination, Chris Klieman and his assistant coaches will be on the road recruiting.
For them, this week is all about building for the future.
“We obviously hit the road recruiting as coaches,” Klieman said following K-State’s 27-17 victory over Iowa State on Saturday, “and (players) will work with (strength and conditioning) coach (Chris) Dawson throughout the week. Then, on the weekends, we will get back together until we find out what the plan is as far as who we are playing and where we are going.”
Klieman wasted little time on his journey and began showing up in photos with recruits Monday morning.
Xavier Bell, a 6-foot-3 athlete from Andover Central, reported that Klieman, during a face-to-face meeting at his high school, invited him to join the Wildcats’ roster as a preferred walk-on.
Receivers coach Jason Ray accompanied Klieman on the visit. K-State’s other assistant coaches were spread out at other schools across the region.
Unlike previous seasons, when former coach Bill Snyder and some of his veteran assistants stayed in Manhattan, the main focus for the week following the conclusion of the regular season is recruiting.
K-State is off to a good start in regards to its 2020 recruiting class. The Wildcats have lined up 21 pledges for a group that currently ranks 42nd nationally and sixth in the Big 12. But they still have work to do before early signing day arrives later this month.
Holding onto those commitments and adding a handful more prospects will be as important as anything that happens during the bowl season.
Speaking of which, the Wildcats will find out where they’re headed on Sunday afternoon. The Alamo, Camping World and Texas bowls all seem like realistic options for them coming off an 8-4 season in which they tied for third in the Big 12 standings.
K-State will try to end the year with another victory, but Klieman also wants to take advantage of an extra month of practice that could help the entire roster prepare for 2020.
“We have 27 seniors that need some rest that don’t need to practice a ton,” Klieman said, “but we have all these freshmen and sophomores that we need to give a great look to and focus on. We want to focus on those guys and get these extra practices and time to develop those guys.”