Kansas State's 2025 season was a rollercoaster for a multitude of reasons.
One of the biggest was the lack of cohesion upfront. The offensive line was one of the worst in the conference to begin the season. Despite keeping quarterback Avery Johnson off the ground most of the year, they failed to create holes in the run game. The rushing attack was dead last in the Big 12 in the first half of the year, something Wildcats fans are not accustomed to.
Luckily, help is on the way. Kansas State coach Collin Klein hired Mike Schmidt as the new offensive line coach in an effort to revamp the unit. For the former San Diego State assistant, it was a relatively easy decision.
"Coach [Klein] reached out to me and asked if I had interest, and it was gonna take an opportunity like this one to get me back out there," Schmidt said in his Tuesday press conference. "That transition has been very smooth. It's everything I expected. I made the decision professionally based on a couple of things. The rich tradition here at Kansas State was very important to me. The importance of football at this university and in this state. The great player development has been offered here."
And Schmidt has the track record fans should be excited about. He spent most of his career with San Diego State since 2009, including last season. As the Aztecs' offensive line coach/run game coordinator, Schmidt helped lead a unit that rushed for just under 200 yards/game, the second-best in the Mountain West Conference.
Leading the pact was Lucky Sutton, who rushed 254 times for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the conference in ground yardage. Behind Sutton was Christian Washington, who added 563 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Schmidt lauded Sam Hecht as an example of the caliber of players Kansas State can produce.
"Seeing guys like Sam Hecht, a walk-on player, come into this place. That’s been my M.O. throughout my whole career: developing players and having the resources," Schmidt said. "I’ve never had the resources that Kansas State offers for player development. The reason I took this job is that we have all the resources. But being here two months now and really seeing how all that works together, we get instant feedback on player performance, and take that feedback to give to the players and to move them along in their development."
With a revamped rushing attack and plenty of resources, hopefully Schmidt will be able to develop some more stars upfront.
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