Five reasons why K-State football is eager for spring practice with Collin Klein
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Klein broadens scope beyond offense as he steps into head coach role.
- Team will hold 15 spring practices March 26–April 25 without long breaks.
- Running back depth helps, and Fitzpatrick may be cleared to practice soon.
Jeremy Jacobs has spent more time with Kansas State football players than anyone since he was hired as the team’s new strength and conditioning coach three months ago.
He has led winter workouts, he has pushed the Wildcats in the weight room and he has prepared them to hit the ground running under first-year head coach Collin Klein.
“We are laying a foundation,” Jacobs said. “What I’m teaching them and what they have done in the past is different. So there is a lot of teaching. Everything we’re doing right now is for the future. If I can teach them everything we want to do now, then we can build upon it in the future.”
It will soon be time for K-State players to show their progress.
The Wildcats will complete their winter workout schedule in the next few weeks and hold their first spring practice on March 26 after students return to campus from spring break.
That will be an exciting day for Klein and his team.
Here are five reasons why the Wildcats are eager to start preparing for the 2026 season:
Collin Klein will get to coach defense for the first time in his career
Collin Klein has spent his entire football career on offense.
As a player, he was a star quarterback for the Wildcats. As an assistant coach, he was an offensive coordinator for K-State and Texas A&M. Now that he is a head coach, he will need to broaden his scope and pay attention to both sides of the ball.
He is looking forward to the change.
“I’m really excited,” Klein said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I have spent the past seven years working for defensive head coaches. That has prepared me very uniquely. I think that’s helped me on the offensive side of things to look at the game upside down. Everything that Chris Klieman and Mike Elko have done for me have prepared me to be able to move in this direction on defense.”
K-State players should benefit from a new spring schedule
The plan is for K-State to hold 15 practices between March 26 and April 25.
But the Wildcats aren’t expected to hold a spring game, or any other type of event that is open to fans, this year, for myriad reasons.
The practice schedule will be easy for K-State players to understand. In the past, former coach Chris Klieman liked to hold some practices before spring break and some practices after spring break. That made for a clunky spring, at times, for the Wildcats. Last season, K-State opted to only hold 10 practices and spend extra time in the weight room.
Klein has simplified things. The Wildcats will hold 15 practices over the course of one month without any long breaks in the action.
George Fitzpatrick could return this spring
Much was expected from George Fitzpatrick when the 6-foot-6 and 294-pound offensive lineman decided to transfer to K-State from Ohio State. He was a projected starter on the front five last summer.
But then he experienced a medical emergency and missed the entire 2025 season as he recovered.
He returned to K-State after the coaching change. It is possible that he will be cleared to practice in a few weeks.
“We’re still sorting through that,” K-State offensive line coach Mike Schmidt said. “But he’s gone through winter workouts, and he is doing one heck of a job. I’m very excited about his future here at Kansas State.”
Joe Jackson is getting help at running back
No one on the K-State football roster finished last season stronger than Joe Jackson. The talented running back rushed for 504 yards and seven touchdowns in his final three games.
That hot streak featured a school-record 293 yards on the ground against Utah.
Many are excited to see how he builds off that impressive run. But he will have plenty of help in the backfield next season.
K-State added Jay Harris (Oregon), Rodney Fields (Oklahoma State) and Makari Bodiford (Memphis) out of the transfer portal.
New K-State running backs coach Cory Patterson can envision all of them playing next season.
“I like to have three guys that can go,” he said. “If one guy gets hot, it will be his show. But I like to have multiple guys. You have got to have some options in this world. These guys can get banged up. You just never know. So I like to have three guys ready to go.”
The Wildcats can prove how strong they have become
As mentioned above, Scott has pushed the K-State football team hard over the past few months.
He has tried to give them challenging workouts, and he has promised that they are “only going to get harder” from here on out.
It will be interesting to see if those workouts lead to impressive results at the start of spring practice. If the team is bigger, faster and stronger than last season, this will be a great time to prove it.