Can Bill Snyder Return The Kansas State Wildcats To Glory?

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.

Speaking of rushing and continuing with the vertically challenged theme, projected starting tailback Keith Valentine is listed at 5’8” and he will be backed up by 5’9” John Hubert. The running game will have to find itself early to help take pressure off the passing game if the Wildcats hope for any offensive success.

As mentioned before, Josh Freeman is gone and to replace him at quarterback, Snyder will most likely tab Carson Coffman as his successor. Coffman won’t make anyone forget Michael Bishop but he is agile and the most experienced signal caller that Snyder has to choose from.

Coffman’s back-ups will be Collin Klein and Joseph Kassanavoid, both of whom can run. Keep an eye on Daniel Thomas, a JUCO transfer who arrives in the fall and possesses the attributes that Snyder craves in a quarterback.

Recent Oregon transfer Chris Harper may wind up as Snyder’s quarterback when all is said and done but he won’t see the field until 2010. Also eligible in 2010, is Grant Gregory who transferred from South Florida.

The offensive line, led by Colton Freeze, is experienced and should be a steadying influence as Coffman and the offense tries to find its way.

Defense:

One of the hallmarks of Kansas State football in the first Bill Snyder era was a staunch defense.

Not recently however. Last year, the Wildcat defense ranked 117 out of 119 division one programs, allowing an average of 35.8 points per game to go along with a horrific average of 479 yards per contest. Snyder cringes at these numbers, so expect this group to be the focus of Snyder’s efforts going into the fall.

The Wildcat defense has been an enigma of late. When their run defense has been good, the pass defense fell apart. Same goes with the pass defense. When it has been tough, the run defense wasn’t. What hasn’t happened with much regularity since Snyder left is a complete defensive effort by all of its units in the same game.

There is talent on defense however, especially at both defensive end spots where Brandon Harold continues to develop as a pass rusher.

At the other end is Virginia transfer Jeffrey Fitzgerald who will wreak terror in Snyder’s newly installed 4-2-5 defense. Look for Fitzgerald to gain national recognition as he feasts on slower defensive tackles, especially in the early going as K-State is served up its annual patsy collection of opponents, such as Tennessee Tech and Massachusetts.

In the defensive secondary, Courtney Herndon, Joshua Moore and Tysyn Hartman offer the best hope for any Wildcat success against the pass. It will be critical for the corners to be effective to keep opposing offenses honest in the running game.

The linebackers, Alex Hrebec, John Houlik and Ulla Pomele, were the best defensive unit in the spring according to Snyder and will be counted on if the defense has any chance to be good.

Special Teams:

Long snapping and the return game should be fine.

Corey Adams returns for his third season as center in the special teams unit where he has never botched a snap.

As mentioned above, Brandon Banks will probably handle most of the returns and he is a homerun threat every time he touches the ball.

However, the kicking game is in transition with Josh Cherry the leading candidate to replace Brooks Rossman.

Ryan Doerr, who transferred last year from South Carolina, could win the punting job.

Conclusion:

The Ron Prince era has left an ugly taste in many Kansas State fans mouths. One of Bill Snyder’s primary missions will be to return confidence in Widlcat football with the fan base. Snyder considers this of primary importance as he seeks to restore the environment that contributed so much to his prior success.

Next on Snyder’s list will be to attract high school talent back to Manhattan, Kansas. One of the hallmarks of the Ron Prince era was his reliance on junior college players. Snyder will have to re-establish ties with high school coaches that were neglected in the prior regime.

Bill Snyder has been through this before so he knows what it takes to revive football at Kansas State. He has climbed that mountain; he has seen the other side. However, this isn’t 1985 and Bill Snyder is 69 years old. Of course, if Bill Snyder chooses to go the Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno route, he might be able to see this revival all the way through.

If Bill Snyder can even come close to recreating the success he experienced in his first stint as the Kansas State coach, the Wildcat faithful should call the Vatican and nominate Snyder for sainthood. In the meantime, Snyder will be satisfied knowing he will do all he can for his beloved Wildcats.

There you go Bill, As your loving brother, I hope this article points out some reasons for hope and offers temperence for high expectations. My promise to write about your Kansas State Wildcats has been fulfilled.

Along the way, I learned something about myself

As a devoted USC football fan (all of my other articles at this site have been about the Trojans), I have only reported on the varying degrees of excellence in Pete Carroll’s program.

What I learned is that I have been spoiled by this success and now becoming more familiar with and reporting on Wildcat football, I understand that love for Kansas State and its football program is a true measure of fan loyalty.

I hope that Kansas State football finds resurgence under Bill Snyder.

It would do my brother good.