Kansas State Football Preview 2026: The Collin Klein Era Begins

It would’ve been new head coach hiring malpractice if Kansas State didn’t place the call to Collin Klein.

These types of hires don’t always work as scripted when the favorite son comes back to coach his alma mater, and it’ll be way too obvious and easy to sound the Scott Frost Nebraska alarm the moment something goes wrong, but there’s a different comp that leans more towards the hopeful side.

Kenny Dillingham at Arizona State.

Or to take this to an even dreamier level … Steve Spurrier returning to Florida.

Kansas State can and should be that good right away with Klein.

Why Collin Klein Was the Only Choice For the Wildcats

Okay – a few things first.

Frost and Spurrier were each proven head coaches, and this is Klein’s first time running his own show. 

Klein is 36, and so is Dillingham, who also didn’t have any head coaching experience when he made the offensive coordinator to big gig move. But Dillingham didn’t play football at Arizona State.

Here’s the other big difference. Frost, Spurrier, and Dillingham had the pressure of having to save their respective programs. Klein’s job is to take a great situation and make it even better.

Yes, Kansas State had a wildly disappointing 6-6 season in Chris Klieman’s final year, but that was more like a blip than a sign of a slide.

Klieman won 28 games with a Big 12 Championship in his previous three seasons. The pieces were there last season, but the team seemed to lose its mojo in a tough loss to Iowa State early in the season and didn’t get it back until it was too late.

Don’t dismiss that the Wildcats went 5-2 to close, with the only losses coming to Texas Tech and Utah – the team never quit.

And now, Klein is the refresh hire.

Kansas State is getting a top head coaching prospect who knows the program from top to bottom – he was a key assistant up until 2024 when he took over the Texas A&M offensive coordinator gig – and even if he doesn’t have any head coaching experience, it’s a chance worth taking.

The guy with his name on Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium didn’t have any head coaching experience, either.

– 2026 Kansas State Schedule Analysis

Kansas State Quick Hits

• Head Coach: Collin Klein (1st year)
• Best Case / Worst Case: Play for the Big 12 Championship/Struggle to get bowl eligible
• Key Player: Wendell Gregory, EDGE Soph.
• 2025 Record: 6-6
• Biggest Question: Can all of the new players and coaches mesh and get far sharper on both sides of the ball?

Kansas State Key 2025 Stats

• 3rd Quarter Scoring: Kansas State 113, Opponents 68
• Red Zone Scores: Kansas State 34-of-37 (92%), Opponents 36-of-45 (80%) 
• Fumbles: Opponents 16 (lost 13), Kansas State 15 (lost 8)

Offense

Sean Gleeson spent last year as Missouri’s quarterbacks coach, and now he’ll be Collin Klein’s offensive coordinator.

The offensive style won’t change that much – it wasn’t all that long ago when Klein was Kansas State’s OC – but there’s a lot to like to be far more productive. 

Last year’s offense only averaged 370 yards per game and was brutally inconsistent. There’s plenty in place from last year, a slew of transfers are coming in, and it should all start to work a little more smoothly.

What’s Working

Avery Johnson is way overdue to be amazing. The veteran quarterback has had moments when he looked and played like a dominant all-around force, and other times he’s been just okay.

He’s got the size, mobility, athleticism, and now, he has the experience with close to 5,600 career yards and 48 touchdowns. And …

The running game should be fantastic. Johnson was second on the team with 477 rushing yards and eight scores, and Joe Jackson is back after averaging over five yards per carry with 911 yards and eight scores.

He won’t be alone, with Rodney Fields a quick option coming in from Oklahoma State with 713 yards and 30 catches of experience.

The pass catchers will work. They might not be high-powered volume receivers, but they’re good.

Top deep threat Jayce Brown left for LSU, but Joshua Manning is a 6-3 veteran from Missouri, Izaiah Williams comes over with Klein from Texas A&M, and leading K-State receiver Jaron Tibbs is back after making 47 catches for close to 600 yards.

The tight ends should be terrific, too. Garrett Oakley was third on the team with 38 catches and a team-high six scores, and there’s great depth for a rotation.

What Needs Work

Avery Johnson’s accuracy. The passing game has to be crisper. It has to be better on third downs. There has to be more down the field, and Johnson has to get above the 60% mark.

He failed to hit that mark in any of his last four games

Here’s the weird quirk that has to be changed. Kansas State was 5-1 when Johnson didn’t run for a touchdown – that one loss was the gaffe against Army – and was 1-5 when he did. 

The offensive line needs to come together fast. It’s Kansas State – it always replaces old good linemen with new good linemen.

John Pastore is a good one at left tackle, and the transfer portal needs to help, with center Delvin Morris coming in from Akron and likely starting guard Tanner Morley being brought over from Colorado State.

Player to Watch

John Pastore, OT Sr.
The 6-6, 302-pounder might not be a big blaster, but he’s long, is solid in pass protection, and showed last year that he could handle the tackle gig on the left side with an All-Big 12 season. Now he has to be the veteran anchor up front.

Defense

Defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson followed Collin Klein over from Texas A&M.

He might not have the talent to work with up front that the Aggies enjoyed, but the Wildcats went and got a whole slew of transfers to improve right away.

Kansas State was 83rd in the nation in total defense, allowing 386.2 yards per game, but it was good at getting into the backfield and great at taking the ball away.

What’s Working

The new pass rushers are amazing. The Wildcats lost edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi to Indiana, and fellow pass rusher Chiddi Obiazor went along with him to Bloomington. Kansas State needed new guys to get to the quarterback, and it got them.

Wendell Gregory was one of the best pass rushing prospects in the portal – coming off a four-sack, 12 tackle-for-loss season at Oklahoma State – and Elijah Hill was a force last year for Kennesaw State, with a Conference USA-high nine sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.

The takeaways. There were lots of forced turnovers, and they were steady.

With all of the inconsistencies with the offense, the defense did its job with two or more takeaways in eight games, and finished with 13 fumble recoveries and 13 interceptions overall.

The Wildcats were 4-0 when the defense came up with three or more takeaways.

The cornerback situation will be terrific. Zashon Rich broke up 11 passes, picked off a pass, and made 57 tackles – he’s a keeper on one side. 

Ja’Son Prevard (Virginia) and Kaleb Patterson (Illinois) are two big-time signings to fill in on the other side, and/or work into the nickel job.

True freshman Josiah Vilmael should be too good to keep out of the mix.

What Needs Work

The defensive back signings are great, but there’s a likely adjustment period needed to find the right combination.

The Wildcats don’t get too many high-powered offenses to deal with right away, but it’ll still be an adjustment period with four transfers likely getting the starting call.

The run defense has to hold up. It has to be better for the Wildcats to make any sort of move back up to Big 12 Championship-level status.

The Wildcats were second in the Big 12 against the run in 2024. Fifth in 2021 through 2023, and … tenth last year and 89th in the nation.

They went 0-3 when allowing more than 205 yards and 1-4 when giving up more than 155.

The lost defensive pieces through the portal hurt. Again, Kansas State did a great job overall in the portal.

However, you don’t get better after losing second-leading tackler Austin Romaine (Texas Tech) at linebacker, safeties Qua Moss (Tennessee) and Daniel Cobbs (Baylor), ends Tobi Osunsanmi and Chiddi Obiazor (both Indiana), and tackle Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder (SMU).

Player to Watch

Zashon Rich, CB Jr.
Not to put too much pressure on him, but considering he’s the only starter back to a secondary loaded with transfers, he needs to be a force on one side.

The 6-1, 206-pounder came into his own last season with 57 tackles, a pick, and 11 broken-up passes.

Keys to the Season

• Collin Klein and his staff have to hit the ground running.
• The offense has to be far better at keeping things moving – be better on third downs.
• Get positive early momentum going into the Big 12 season.

Player Who Needs To Shine

Kamari Burns, DT Jr.
Travis Bates is a good-sized combination of tackle and end who mostly works on the inside, but it’s Burns and Kentucky’s Austin Ramsey who bring the bulk.

The 6-3, 302-pound Burns only made 16 tackles over the last two years at Cincinnati, but Kansas State needs him to be a disruptive star on the nose.

Biggest Concern

Keeping the chains moving
Kansas State isn’t supposed to be 92nd in the nation in third down conversion percentage. 

Grind out drives, dominate the time of possession battle, repeat. That should be the Wildcat offense, but with Avery Johnson’s hit-or-miss accuracy, and too many third-and-mediums, the offense bogged down.

Kansas State converted just 37% of its chances, and was under that mark in six of its last ten games.

Biggest Game

at Arizona State, October 24
The Wildcats only leave Manhattan once before October 24th, and it’s a tough trip to Tempe. Making things even worse, this is the first road game in a run of three in four weeks, and four in the final six games.

And with some due respect to TCU, this is the toughest game on the K-State slate. Win this, and look out.

Transfer Portal

Again, the big production losses on defense matter, but the coaching staff appears to make up for by mass talent coming in through the portal.

The defensive line gets six new options, the offensive line also has six good transfers coming in, the receiving corps got an upgrade, and the secondary is loaded with new, good signings.

Best Signing

Mekhi Mason, LB (Louisiana Tech)
Leading tackler Des Purnell is done after making 72 tackles in the middle of the linebacking corps.

Now it’s up to the 6-2, 233-pound Mason to take over after making 68 stops last season for Louisiana Tech, along with 3.5 sacks and a Conference USA-best 14.5 tackles for loss. 

Biggest Loss

Austin Romaine, LB (Texas Tech)
One of the team’s top tacklers over the last few years, he followed up a 96-tackle 2024 season with just 66 last year, but he missed a bulk of the campaign banged up.

He’s off to Texas Tech after making 184 stops with 3.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss over three years.

Other Names to Know

• Ja’Son Prevard, CB (Virginia)
• Delvin Morris, C (Akron)
• Josh Manning, WR (Missouri)

CFN Season Prediction

Let’s just go there.

This is a program that, before last year, won nine, nine, and ten games from 2022 to 2024. And, remember, Texas and Oklahoma were still part of the mix for two of those three seasons.

Getting to nine or ten wins in Manhattan shouldn’t be any sort of a shocker …

And it helps when you don’t have to play BYU, Texas Tech, or Utah – likely the three best teams in the conference.

CFN Prediction: 10-2

There’s a problem with three road games in four late in the season, going to Arizona State, Colorado, and TCU, but Arizona State and Houston are home games.

There’s work to do on both sides of the ball to get up to speed, but this coaching staff is familiar enough with how Kansas State works to shine right away.

Related: Big 12 Football Win Totals 2026: Spring Predictions for All 16 Teams

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