interview with Big 12 Today this spring<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re going to work extremely hard. We\u2019re going to have a very, very high level of preparation. We\u2019re going to be a disciplined, tough, physical ball club.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to embody the values that have made this place very, very successful for a very, very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
K-State declined to participate in a bowl game last year but has been bowl eligible in 14 of the past 16 seasons In that time, the Wildcats have three 10-win seasons (including 11-2 in Klein\u2019s senior year, 2012) and have won at least eight games 11 times.<\/p>\n
To get back to that level, Klein will lean on a senior quarterback who is a bit like himself. Avery Johnson is a dual threat going into his third season as a starter. He accounted for 2,862 yards and 26 touchdowns a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Avery is an elite competitor,\u201d Klein said. \u201cI think that made us click pretty much right off the bat. I think his passion for the game, his football IQ, I think a lot of times that probably doesn\u2019t get the credit that he deserves just because he is so talented.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson had a better season in 2024 than he did in 2025, and he\u2019ll get opportunities to be even better this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur ability to package things for him, get on the same page and think the same way and then allow him to be able to cut it loose and play fast, and just let that competitive nature loose is something that I\u2019m really excited about,\u201d Klein said.<\/p>\n
In addition to Johnson, K-State returns top rusher Joe Jackson, receiver Jaron Tibbs (team-high 47 catches in 2025) and one of the best tight ends in the Big 12, Garrett Oakley (38 catches for 389 yards and six TDs last year).<\/p>\n
Erie High School graduate John Pastore is the lone returning starter on the offensive line. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound left tackle was second-team All-Big 12 last year. Another Colorado product, Tanner Morley, is projected to start at left guard. A Valor Christian graduate, Morley played the past three years at Colorado State, starting 14 games.<\/p>\n
Several other transfers will compete for starting spots up front.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, really excited about the guys we were able to bring into that room to build and create that kind of depth,\u201d Klein said of the line.<\/p>\n
A bigger struggle for K-State could come on defense. The Wildcats gave up 26.2 points per game (11th in the Big 12) last year and return just two starters \u2014 cornerbacks Zashon Rich and Donovan McIntosh. They\u2019ll need several transfers to step up for new defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson.<\/p>\n
K-State may not be a preseason favorite to compete for the Big 12 title, but with Klein at the helm and Johnson directing the offense, it\u2019s not out of the question. As they were when Klein was a player, the Wildcats won\u2019t be easy to beat.<\/p>\n
![\"MANHATTAN,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DCC-Z-CUvsKSU2112925.jpg\")
MANHATTAN, KS – NOVEMBER 29: Quarterback Avery Johnson #2 of the Kansas State Wildcats hands the ball off to running back Joe Jackson #4 during pre-game before a game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter Aiken\/Getty Images)
\nKansas State Wildcats<\/p>\n
Head coach: Collin Klein, 1st season<\/p>\n
2025 season: 6-6, 5-4 Big 12<\/p>\n
Series with CU: Buffs lead 45-22-1<\/p>\n
Matchup with the Buffs: Saturday, Oct. 31, time TBD, at Folsom Field in Boulder<\/p>\n
3 Guys to Watch<\/p>\n
RB Joe Jackson: Finished fifth in the Big 12 with 75.9 rushing yards per game last year, racking up 911 yards and eight touchdowns, along with 22 catches for 119 yards and a touchdown.<\/p>\n
QB Avery Johnson: During the past two seasons, he has thrown for 5,097 yards and 43 touchdowns with just 16 interceptions, while rushing for 1,082 yards and 15 touchdowns.<\/p>\n
DE Wendell Gregory: While playing for Oklahoma State in 2025, he was named the Big 12 defensive freshman of the year. Started just four games for the Cowboys last year, but finished with 27 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and four sacks.<\/p>\n
Notables<\/p>\n
Since rejoining the Big 12, CU is 0-2 against the Wildcats, losing 31-28 at Folsom Field in 2024 and falling 24-14 in Manhattan, Kansas, last year. \u2026 In addition to Klein being a Loveland High graduate, K-State has six players from Colorado high schools on the roster, including Pastore and Morley. Erie graduate Blake Barnett is Johnson\u2019s backup at quarterback, and there are three Cherry Creek grads: receiver Max Lovett and offensive linemen George Fitzpatrick and Oliver Miller. \u2026 The Wildcats lost 32 players to the transfer portal, including top receiver Jayce Brown to LSU and dynamic running back (and former Buff) Dylan Edwards going to Kansas. K-State also lost several key defenders, including linebacker Austin Romaine (Texas Tech), safeties Qua Moss (Tennessee) and Daniel Cobbs (Baylor) and pass rushers Chiddi Obiazor (Indiana), Tobi Osunsanmi (Indiana) and Ryan Davis (Baylor). \u2026 K-State added 27 transfers, several of which could be starters. Receivers Josh Manning (Missouri) and Izaiah Williams (Texas A&M) could be top targets, while nose tackle Kamari Burns (Cincinnati), defensive end Elijah Hill (Kennesaw State), linebacker Mekhi Mason (Louisiana Tech) and defensive backs Ja\u2019Son Prevard (Virginia) and Adrian Maddox (Georgia) are among the top transfers on defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Collin Klein was a senior at Loveland High School in 2007 and he committed to Kansas State,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[22521,22522,30417,11590,11496,5341,30418,7673,85,267,75,84,83,9,24,12,63,319],"class_list":["post-286415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-boulder","tag-boulder-county","tag-buffzone","tag-college-football","tag-college-sports","tag-colorado","tag-colorado-news","tag-front-range","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-news","tag-nyc","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"MANHATTAN,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DCC-Z-CUvsKSU8112925_ff8d98.jpg\")
MANHATTAN, KS – NOVEMBER 29: Quarterback Avery Johnson #2 of the Kansas State Wildcats throws a pass against defensive end London Merritt #44 of the Colorado Buffaloes in the first half at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter Aiken\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n