Conor Riley promises to put new spin on Kansas State Wildcats offense as coordinator
Some had reservations about Conor Riley taking over as Kansas State’s offensive coordinator after Collin Klein left for Texas A&M.
Why?
Well, it may sound silly but Riley has spent the vast majority of his coaching career at the line of scrimmage teaching offensive linemen how to block. You don’t see a ton of coaches at that position get promoted to coordinator, in part because there is at least some fear that if you give them a headset they will switch to a ground-and-pound scheme that prioritizes runs above all else.
Fans seem willing to put more trust into play-callers who used to play quarterback or coached a skill position.
Riley would love to prove just how flawed that line of thinking is now that K-State head coach Chris Klieman has placed him in charge of the Wildcats’ offense.
“The stigma that comes out,” Riley said, “and I think you guys are all well versed on what was said in early December when I was named interim, was that we were going to install the triple option. We were going to run four yards into a cloud of dust and and see what happens at the end. That’s not the case at all, and I hope that the bowl game proved that a little bit.”
Riley did, in fact, lean on K-State running back DJ Giddens as he called plays during a 28-19 victory over North Carolina State at the Pop-Tarts Bowl in December. The Junction City product rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
But K-State quarterback Avery Johnson also threw the ball 31 times and was named MVP of the game when he finished with 178 yards and two touchdowns as a passer.
He completed passes to six different receivers and also scrambled for 71 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
K-State ended the night with 435 yards on 71 plays, with 257 of them coming on the ground and 178 coming through the air.
The offense had balance. Not bad for Riley’s first game.
Next season, he wants to the offense to become even more versatile ... while also staying true to its identity as a run-first team.
“I am a firm believer that in order to be successful at this level you have to establish the run,” Riley said. “And vice versa, I think that you need to stop the run. But what establishing that run can ultimately do is expand some of the things within the pass game. In just a short period of time, evaluating this past season, those are the things that excite me. We need to be explosive on the perimeter and we need to be efficient in in the passing game and we need to continue to take advantage of the things that defenses are going to give us.”
If anyone still has doubts about an offensive line coach moving up to coordinator, Riley is quick to point out that current Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore started out coaching that position before he helped the Wolverines win the 2023 national championship.
Riley isn’t ready to explain all the ways that K-State will look different on offense next season now that he is at the controls. But he promises to put his own spin on things.
In his mind, the Wildcats have been running the same offense every single year since he arrived in Manhattan with Klieman in 2019. Courtney Messingham and Klein emphasized different things, and so will Riley. But their systems will all share the same DNA.
The biggest change has been to his daily routine.
He is now in charge of the entire offense instead of just the offensive line. He will also now spend game days up in the press box with a headset instead of down on the field with his players. That was a necessary move, in his mind, to remove himself from the intense emotions that flow on the sideline every Saturday during the fall.
But those are all positive changes that he thinks will help him mature as a coordinator.
This is something he has dreamed about doing for years. He’s ready to prove himself.
“There’s a lot more responsibility for me now,” Riley said. “Obviously, this is something that I’ve been preparing for my entire life and I’m excited about the new challenges that are ahead.”