Kansas State Wildcats coordinator Collin Klein promises aggressive changes on offense
The 2022 college football season is too far away for Collin Klein to make any concrete promises about what he will add to Kansas State’s offense now that he is calling plays for the Wildcats.
But, make no mistake, changes are on the horizon.
K-State players have said they are moving at a much brisker pace during spring practice than they ever did under former coordinator Courtney Messingham. At times, they have even gone without a huddle. Controlling the clock with a methodical, ground-oriented attack is no longer the priority. Running as many plays as possible and keeping defenses off balance is the new focus.
If you had to describe Klein’s offense with one word, “aggressive” might be a perfect fit.
“Having more of an attack mentality is the biggest thing that I hope that we go to the practice field with every day,” Klein said during a news conference on Wednesday. “Hopefully that ends up on the game field.”
Klein gave K-State fans a preview of what to expect from his offenses when he called plays at the Texas Bowl and helped guide the Wildcats to a 42-20 victory over LSU. K-State uncharacteristically opted to receive the opening kickoff and then piled up six touchdowns and 442 yards on the Tigers.
The offense did so many things well that Chris Klieman removed the interim tag next to Klein’s name and promoted him to coordinator full time.
Klein, a former star quarterback for the Wildcats, hasn’t taken his foot off the pedal since then.
“He wants to score 50 points every day we go out there,” K-State running backs coach Brian Anderson said. “He has a lot of confidence in what we are doing and the kids have a lot of confidence in him. I think he has us on the right track ... I’m really, really pleased with where we are at offensively. He has done a great job of getting the kids to really buy into what we’re doing.”
Klein seems open to any and all strategies, so long as they help the Wildcats win games. Klein isn’t afraid to call trick plays or lean into an unbalanced game plan if K-State starts having success in certain areas. One of the things Klein says he enjoys most about his new position is the extra leadership responsibilities that come along with it.
So far, the Wildcats like his vision.
“He likes to get the ball to his playmakers,” K-State receiver Phillip Brooks said. “That is what I like. We are trying to attack the defense rather than set the tempo and control the ball. I enjoy his aggressive approach.”
This opportunity means a lot to Klein.
He was in tears on the field at NRG Stadium in Houston as fellow K-State coaches congratulated him for all the hard work he put in leading up to the Texas Bowl.
In a perfect world, Klein would be playing quarterback for a NFL team at the moment. That is what he wanted most when he graduated from K-State nearly a decade ago. But he quickly turned his focus to coaching after he went undrafted. Someday calling plays for the Wildcats immediately became one of his career aspirations.
Now that he’s here, he wants to take advantage.
“Of course this has been a dream of mine,” Klein said. “It’s been a goal of mine. For the lord to work it out where my first opportunity is here at a place that I love and care about so much is amazing. But we’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s there in front of us, so I haven’t spent much time thinking too much about that big picture.”