K-State Q&A: Will Chris Klieman consider leaving Wildcats for any other coaching job?

The Kansas State football team has the weekend off, but everyone’s favorite mailbag dedicated to the Wildcats is chugging along like normal.

We have got plenty of great questions to tackle, so let’s dive right in. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

Chris Klieman made it very clear earlier this week that he won’t be a candidate for the open job at Michigan State, even though the Spartans could pay him more than the Wildcats and give him an opportunity to coach in the Big Ten.

I’m not sure he needed to say that a few months after signing a huge contract extension with K-State and pledging his loyalty to Gene Taylor and the Wildcats.

But you have to love it as a K-State fan. His name came up in connection with a coaching search and he isn’t even going to try to get a raise out of it.

Insiders have told me that Missouri, Nebraska and a few other teams reached out to him when they were looking for new coaches in recent years and Klieman stiff-armed them just as quickly.

I think he would turn down overtures from 95% of power conference schools.

So which jobs would he maybe think about leaving for?

The obvious one is Iowa. Klieman grew up in the Hawkeye State and he absolutely loves to recruit there. He could be a candidate to replace Kirk Ferentz whenever he retires. But his contract runs for almost as long as Klieman’s, and the Hawkeyes would have other options, too.

I’m not sure Klieman would leave K-State for Iowa, because he has such a good thing going with the Wildcats. He may legitimately want to coach here until he calls it quits. But Iowa is the one place that might make him think about his options.

Or maybe Alabama or Ohio State or the NFL comes calling at some point. Who knows what he would do if offered an opportunity like that.

Let’s just say it would take en extraordinary offer for him to consider leaving K-State. I don’t think the Wildcats have anything to worry about.

Before I answer this question, I feel compelled to point out how much things have changed at the quarterback position for K-State over the past year.

Last season, when Adrian Martinez got off to a slow start and K-State coaches were keeping Will Howard on the bench to try and protect his redshirt, one of the most popular questions for this mailbag revolved around when Chris Klieman was going to anoint Jake Rubley as the starter.

Some fans thought it was time to give up on both Martinez and Howard.

But then Martinez went out and played an incredible game at Oklahoma. Then Howard took over for an injured Martinez and he led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship.

Now Howard is the unquestioned starter at quarterback and freshman Avery Johnson is the backup.

It’s fair to wonder what the future holds for Rubley.

It seems unlikely that he will ever start a game for the Wildcats, but injuries are impossible to predict. Maybe he will get a shot at some point. If he takes advantage of that hypothetical opportunity and plays at a high level then maybe his outlook will change.

A transfer could be in the cards at some point. If Howard and Johnson come back next season, he won’t have much of a path to playing time.

Howard is the K-State QB of the present. Johnson is the K-State QB of the future. I’m not sure how Rubley fits into the equation, even though he is a talented player.

If he wants to be a starting quarterback in college, he may need to start fresh somewhere else.

But Rubley also strikes me as a player who is loyal to his school, values the importance of getting a degree from K-State and also realizes that switching teams may not solve every problem in his life.

So I’m not sure what to expect from him. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Last I checked, Jacob Knuth was serving as the scout team quarterback in practice and doing a nice job in that role.

I don’t see him changing positions. But he is 6-foot-3 and 217 pounds. Maybe K-State could give him a look at tight end.

Knuth is an excellent walk-on quarterback for the Wildcats. Depending on how things shake out over the next year or two he could end up competing for backup QB duties or even the starting job if he stays in college longer than Johnson.

For now, he’s only a developmental player but he could grow into much more. It would seem unwise to have switch positions until K-State can see just how good he is at QB.

A quick aside: It’s too bad no one submitted a question about Adryan Lara this week. We could have discussed every single reserve quarterback on the roster. Too bad.

Give me Joe Jackson on this one.

The freshman running back from Haines City, Florida could turn out to be an excellent playmaker for the Wildcats if he sticks around and develops behind DJ Giddens.

When I asked insiders about which young players shined during preseason camp, his name came up more than a few times.

For some crazy reason, K-State refuses to sell beer in general seating areas at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. So if I can pick any seat in the house, I’m not choosing to sit anywhere in the main bowl.

Sorry.

I would much rather watch with a $12 light beer in my hand from a suite on the West or South side of the stadium, where you have access to fine dining and any type of alcoholic beverage that you prefer.

A friend of mine scored tickets to the UCF game inside the Shamrock Zone and he hasn’t stopped talking about how great a time he had inside there. I would happily join him there one of these days if someone else wants to write about the game for me.

Now, if I had to pick a regular, old seat then I would got with the 50-yard line 20 or so rows back on the West side. That’s the best seat in the house.

This will probably make some of you think less of me, but I don’t drink coffee.

Never have liked the stuff.

My wife makes a pot every morning and takes a mug with her to work. I can tell you she likes a few different flavored creamers in her coffee.

But I drink water in the morning instead. When I need caffeine, I turn to iced tea or Dr Pepper.

As long as Deion Sanders is the football coach at Colorado the Buffaloes are probably the most valuable member in the conference.

Seriously, the TV ratings for Colorado games this season have been through the roof.

After that, I would guess Kansas would be near the top because of its basketball pedigree. You could also make a case for BYU and its huge Mormon following. Or you could say Houston or TCU or Arizona State or UCF because they are located in huge metro areas.

Then again, schools in small college towns like K-State and Texas Tech and Iowa State have tremendous fan support.

That is one of the great things about the new Big 12. Every team brings its own value, even if there isn’t a kingpin like Oklahoma or Texas.

Probably.

Unlike the football team, K-State likes to try new looks on the basketball court. As long as players and recruits like new uniforms, Jerome Tang will order them.

Jerome Tang is never, ever getting a higher celebrity rating than Taylor Swift.

The attention she received last weekend during the Chiefs game was so much that she left Tang in a lavender haze.

Sorry if that statement creates some bad blood or leaves you seeing red. You will just have to shake it off.

He probably can.

Most punters can kick. Most kicker can punt. They don’t have a whole lot to do during practice, so they tend to work on every part of special teams.

That being said, Blumer wouldn’t be my pick to replace Chris Tennant if Klieman decides to make another change at kicker this season. Tennant has missed two field goals and an extra point already. He needs to play better.

But the guess here is Leyton Simmering, a redshirt freshman from Rosemount, Minnesota, would get first crack at field goal duties if the Wildcats decide to look elsewhere.

The Wildcats are in big trouble if they don’t use the off week to improve their pass defense.

K-State currently ranks 11th in the Big 12 in passing percentage allowed (61.8%), 12th in passing yards allowed per attempt (7.8) and 13th in interceptions (two).

That’s ... not good.

Joe Klanderman’s unit has been great near the line of scrimmage and the Wildcats have piled up 36 tackles for loss in four games.

But the Wildcats are giving up way too many explosive plays. They struggled to account for Luther Burden against Missouri and they got completely fooled by a flea-flicker pass against UCF.

There is talent in the back end of K-State’s defense, so they can make big progress coming out of the bye week.

That should be their No. 1 priority. Winning games will be a challenge if they keep allowing teams to score long touchdowns.