Why high school recruits remain paramount for Collin Klein and K-State football
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Klein prioritizes high school recruiting while still using transfers to finish rosters.
- K-State will recruit a seven‑hour regional loop to target local talent.
- Expanded staff adds roles for recruiting, scouting, personnel and high‑school relations.
Collin Klein has added nearly 30 incoming transfers to the Kansas State football roster since he was he hired as head coach in December, but he doesn’t want that to become a yearly occurrence for the Wildcats.
“We’re going to be a developmental program,” Klein said in an exclusive interview. “We’re going to have to stay true and consistent to our high school roots and development. I think you can still do that in this world.”
Klein backed up those words shortly after the spring semester began at K-State.
As soon as dozens of new football players arrived on campus and began working out with the team, Klein and his assistant coaches began traveling to high schools across the region to visit with prominent coaches and recruits. They have also spoken at coaching clinics within the Sunflower State and beyond.
Klein wants to find the right balance between traditional recruiting and new age transfers.
The plan is for K-State to prioritize high school recruiting throughout the year and then focus on transfers for a brief few weeks when the portal is open.
“When we have to go in the portal,” Klein said, “to build and finish out our team each year, we’re going to be aggressive and make sure that we get who we need to win. But I do think there’s a year-to-year development that we can compound and rely on.”
That process starts by winning on the recruiting trail.
To Klein, that means emphasizing a certain recruiting area ... and then dominating it.
“We’re going to have a seven-hour radius,” Klein said. “We will recruit Denver, up through Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City, St. Louis and down through Tulsa and Oklahoma City. That’s our loop.”
K-State has already lined up a pair of commitment for its 2027 class. Dawayne Jones is a three-star defensive lineman from Tulsa. Nazir Pitchford is a three-star defensive back from Florida.
Klein has hired a large support staff to help him land more recruits during this offseason.
Greg Svarczkopf was brought in from KU to take over as K-State’s director of recruiting. Taylor Braet was shifted into a new role which allows him to oversee player personnel and high school relations.
K-State also employs two assistant directors of scouting (Zac Cox and Dimitri Donald) and an assistant director of recruiting (Hank Jacobs) and an assistant director of on-campus recruiting (Aubrey Schneider). They all work with general manager Trey Scott.
In the age of the transfer portal, Klein sees more value than ever in traditional recruiting.