As Casey Alexander still ushers his way toward Kansas State's top position, he is reportedly getting some more help from familiar faces along the way.
Colby head coach Sean Rutigliano, who worked under Alexander for several years, is rumored to be headed to Manhattan, KS, to work under his former confidant again. Rutigliano served as an assistant/associate coach under Alexander for six years at Belmont and for four seasons when the two were at Lipscomb.
"Sean Rutigliano is the total package," Alexander said about Rutigliano upon his Colby hiring. "He has a creative basketball mind and is committed to excellence on both ends of the floor. He's a gifted teacher, expressive communicator, and genuine relationship builder."
Alexander's goal is to build familiarity and chemistry to shift the culture at Kansas State. The program's roster has been a revolving door each season, with Alexander wanting to create some player retention to build a more competent program.
"It’ll be a mixture of the guys that were with me at Belmont, but several new faces as well," Alexander said in his opening radio interview. "I think we need to broaden. We gotta have some more experience at this level, and that’s a given. We’ll have a really good staff, and one thing they’ll be is like-minded. We'll all be on the same page and pulling in the same direction, and all about the same thing. So they'll love everything I’ve already seen about K-State when they get here."
KANSAS STATE FOOTBALL USHERS IN CORNERBACKS COACH
After losing co-defensive coordinator Marcus Woodson to Ole Miss, Kansas State is adding another defensive staffer to the program. The Wildcats added Marcel Yates as the new cornerback coach.
"I am grateful to join the staff at Kansas State and be a part of a program with so much history and success," Yates said in his statement upon hiring. "I am excited to work with Coach Klein and the staff of great coaches he has assembled."
Yates has a decorated resume, with his most prominent stops at Boise State and Arizona. He was most recently the passing game coordinator/secondary coach at Texas Tech.
"Marcel brings a lot of experience developing players at a high level," coach Collin Klein said in a statement. "He was a character and integrity fit, and I am very excited to have him join our staff. He is a great relationship builder and teammate."
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