2013 Spring Recap: Kansas State
KansasState,likemostofitscounterpartsintheBig12,entersthesummer
offseasonwithaquestionmarkatquarterback.CollinKleinledtheteamto21
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wins,twopremierbowlgamesandaconferencechampionshipinhistwoseasonsas
astarterbuthiseligibilityhasbeenexhausted,leavingahugevoidforthe
Wildcatsandlegendaryheadcoach
BillSnydertofill.
KANSASSTATEAT-A-GLANCE
KansasStatehasfinishedthelasttwoseasonsrankedinthetop15oftheAP
Poll.
THEBASICS
Coach: Bill SnyderClick Here to view this Link.
Last season: 11-2 overall, 8-1 in
the Big 12. Lost 35-17 to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.
RETURNING STARTERS
(minimum of seven starts in 2012)
Offense (7):OC B.J. Finney,
RB John Hubert,
WR Tyler Lockett,
OT Cornelius Lucas,
OT Tavon Rooks,
OG Keenan Taylor,
Defense
(2): DB Randall Evans,
DB Ty Zimmerman,
Special teams (1):
LS Marcus Heit
Finding a replacement for Klein will get most of the attention, but K-State's
defense also took a huge hit from graduation and returns just two players who
started seven or more games in 2012.
We caught up with GoPowerCat.com's
Tim Fitzgerald for the latest on the Wildcats.
THE SPRING LEAD
"The headline grabbing story is the fact K-State needs to replace Collin Klein,"
Fitzgerald said. "They have some pretty good candidates. Daniel Sams
was his backup last year and will be a sophomore and then they signed the
national junior college player of the year, Jake Waters, out of Iowa
Western who was here for the spring too.
"They had their first true quarterback duel in a long, long time. They have kind
of contrasting styles. Sams is a little bit of a runner and Waters completed
more than 70 percent of his passes at the JUCO level. They're advertised to be
different, but they're really a little more similar than people maybe realize.
Sams has improved his passing and Waters can run the ball."
While it's likely all in good fun, there is a noticeable division among the
K-State fanbase between fans of Sams and Waters.
"You'll see K-Staters hashtagging 'TeamWaters' or 'TeamSams,'" Fitzgerald said.
"It's something more just for fun. They're pretty good friends. It's intriguing.
It's a throwback to many years ago when Ell Roberson was a sophomore -- a junior
college kid came in and pushed him.
"So it's really meant for competition. It seems like Daniel Sams has responded
by working out some of the things some of the coaches maybe had some doubts
about him -- leadership, decision making with the throwing game. I think it was
a tie at the end of the spring and it will pick up in the fall just the way Bill
Snyder would like it after competing all summer."
Quarterback should be okay, aside from the usual first-year issues, regardless
of who Snyder chooses between the two.
The more pressing issue is replacing six players of the Wildcats' front seven
from last season.
"The one player who returns out of that group is Tre Walker and he's
recovering from a knee injury so he wasn't even available for full contact,"
Fitzgerald said. "That really is a rebuilding process of a defense that was
pretty productive last year.
"I'd say to two big stories had different types of results. I think they left
the spring pretty pleased with quarterbacks and there are a lot of questions on
defense."
BIGGEST SURPRISE
The Wildcats are almost the opposite of Texas Tech on defense -- lots of
questions about the front seven, but feeling good about the defensive backfield.
"They turned out to have some pretty good depth at cornerback," Fitzgerald said.
"That was another position they were a little bit worried about. They had some
young guys really learn at that spot and some guys that we thought might move
into starting roles really found themselves in competitive environments.
"They haven't sorted out who the starters will be, but they've got five or six
guys at corner they feel pretty good about. I think that was a big surprise so
many players emerged all at one spot."
KEY CONCERN
With just two players returning that started seven or more games, KSU's biggest
concern at this point is obviously the defense.
As Fitzgerald said, Snyder and company aren't convinced their defensive front is
ready for the Big 12's best.
"They have some high school kids that they might be counting on for depth along
the defense," Fitzgerald said. "They have some more junior college kids coming
in. Those guys are going to have to do an incredible job of getting themselves
ready to play in the fall. If they're not ready, K-State's defense won't be
ready."
QUICK HITS
• Missed Significant Time: LB Tre Walker (knee), RB
John Hubert (knee), RB
B.J. Finney (undisclosed).
• Position Switches: Glenn Gronkowski, brother of
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, was at one point expected to play tight end
but will likely end up as the starting fullback.
•
Schedule Note: Kansas State will only leave the state of Kansas
three times during the regular season. ... The Wildcats open up Big 12 play with
back-to-back road games at Texas and Oklahoma State. ... KSU will end the season
with the Sunflower Showdown. In
Bill Snyder's 21 seasons as head coach,
Kansas State is 17-4 against Kansas -- only one loss since 1992 -- and has
outscored the Jayhawks 754-276.