Kansas State's hire of program legend Collin Klein has been largely noted as a grand slam by most.
There are still some who have their questions, though, including college sports analyst Josh Pate. Pate recognizes Kansas State's structure but wonders if that will sustain with Collin Klein being a first-year head coach.
"Collin doesn't have an established track record as a coach. I’m asking more about Kansas State as a program," Pate said on the Apr. 2 episode of his online show. "For a long time, the Big 12 was such that if you ran the kind of program that they had run, you could win the thing. If everything fell right, if you got the bounce of balls, if you were plus turnovers, and if you had a junior-senior laden team, you could win the league."
Which...is a very fair point. Putting all this on someone who has no head coaching experience may be a lot off rip. He's also returning to a conference that has changed over the past few years. The analyst lauded Texas Tech's outsourcing as a reason Kansas State could falter with its traditional methods of program success.
"Texas Tech has turned that thing on its ear now," Pate said. "Their spending is having a ripple effect that places like Oklahoma State. The more you get that infused into your conference, the more it makes me wonder: Is the window for Kansas State to do what they were capable of doing closed a little bit? Collin Klein's gotta come in and change the way people think about looking at Kansas State in what I would call the 'new world of the Big 12.'"
Still, there's a lot to be excited about. Klein's winning history with the Wildcats as an offensive coordinator and player gives him experience on both sides for onlookers to be optimistic.
"The mindset and mantra throughout the whole winter was 'strain and finish,'" Klein said. "Just learning how to give more every single rep and with everything you do, while finishing every single rep of everything that we do. They've embraced that. Excited to get on the grass. I think we've got a lot of positions that are gonna be very competitive, which we're excited about."
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