Can Bill Snyder Return The Kansas State Wildcats To Glory?

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This article is dedicated to my brother Bill Klimek, a long suffering, rabid Kansas State Wildcat fan who is going through some trying times. This one is for you Bill, and it wasn’t easy.

Okay, let’s start with the good news:

Bill Snyder is back.

The strict disciplinarian, who took over for the run out of town Ron Prince, is back to try to return the Wildcats to the former glory of his first regime, which ran from 1989 to 2005.

In that time, Snyder won 136 games, as many games that had been won from 1935 to 1988. During that stretch, Snyder took his team to eleven consecutive bowl games (1993 to 2003), was 44-7 from 1997-2000 and was named AP coach of the year 1998.

Now Bill Snyder returns to recreate a miracle. The 2009 Kansas State Wildcats are a far cry from those Darren Sproles and Michael Bishop led teams that handed Pete Carroll and the mighty Trojans two of the fifteen losses in the Carroll era.

When asked how close this 2009 Wildcat team is to returning to Big 12 dominance, Snyder said, “I can’t see there from here.”

When pressed for elaboration, Snyder explained, "We have some deficiencies, and they're very recognizable, they will be corrected." But, Snyder warned, “That's not going to happen overnight."                     

The Wildcats went 5-7 last year and most publications have them tabbed to finish fifth in this years Big 12 north division.

Gone from last year is Josh Freeman, the talented quarterback who was drafted in the first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneer’s and who is pushing for the starting job there.

While the cupboard is not completely bare, a trip to the Market is definitely needed and the grocery list will be predicated on these facts:

Offense:       

It is going to take a small wonder for K-State to become a prolific offense and “small” is the operative word. Probably the most noticeable attribute of the Kansas State Offense is their lack of size.

Their best player is senior wide receiver Brandon Banks, who is all of 5’7” and 170 lbs. Banks, who also returns both punts and kickoffs can stretch defenses with his speed but can also be counted on to make that tough first down grab in traffic. 6’3” wide receiver, LaMark Brown returns to the receiver corp after leading the Wildcats in rushing last year.

The starting tight end will be Jeron Mastrud who has started 29 games in his career and caught 38 balls for 435 yards last season.

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