K-State Q&A: Sorting through the Nae’Qwan Tomlin saga and Collin Klein’s departure

Kellis Robinett
·12 min read
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Please allow me to start off this week’s Kansas State mailbag with a question of my own.

Did we just experience one of the most chaotic days in the history of K-State sports?

I am inclined to say yes. It’s rare for that much news to happen over the course of 24 hours. The only thing that compares to it, at least during my time on the beat, is the time that Frank Martin left for South Carolina and a bunch of bizarre details about Jamar Samuels’ suspension from the 2012 NCAA Tournament came out on the same day.

But this may have topped that. Consider all that happened between 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 6 p.m. on Wednesday:

By the end, most of us had forgotten all about Tylor Perry’s step-back three to beat Villanova.

That gives us quite a bit to discuss this week. So let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.

Is Avery still our QB or are there rumors he may leave? - @superksufan via X

Let’s start out with a positive answer.

I totally get why fans would jump to the worst-possible conclusion with Avery Johnson.

Collin Klein is the coach who recruited him and Johnson has already shown that he can be a future star in his offensive system. So it makes sense to wonder if the freshman QB will consider following his former OC to Texas A&M or if he might explore his options elsewhere else.

But I can say with confidence that Johnson remains firmly committed to K-State. He more or less confirmed that he isn’t going anywhere on Thursday when he announced a football number change with the Wildcats.

Chris Klieman is no dummy. He met with Johnson after Klein departed for Texas A&M and made sure to take care of his QB1. The Wildcats will bring in a new coordinator that he wants to play for. They might even seek Johnson’s input before they make a final decision.

Furthermore, Johnson likes it at K-State.

He has built a strong connection with other young players on the team, particularly freshman receiver Jayce Brown, and he wants to stay and push for more. The entire QB room cleared out because he is the guy moving forward. He is more or less promised as much playing time as he can handle moving forward. He can’t get there anywhere else.

His family also moved from Wichita to Manhattan to support him after he enrolled at K-State. They put down roots here.

Nothing is permanent in college athletics. Johnson could ultimately decide to transfer away from K-State at some point. But that is not going to happen right now.

Are they going to look outside the program for an OC? Are they looking for a QB coach? Is there a timeline? Would love to see a young, creative play caller come into the program that the players respect like they did CK. - @obrien_tracey via X

Klieman will consider all of his options.

The best internal candidate seems to be offensive line coach Conor Riley. He has a smart football mind and is well-respected in the locker room. It’s rare fro an O-line coach to make the jump to coordinator, but he might be able to do it. If he can galvanize the roster before the Pop-Tarts Bowl he might be worth a long look.

Tight ends coach Brian Lepak could also be an option, as he has served as Klein’s right-hand man in the press box.

If Klieman looks for an external hire I would keep my eyes on former Texas Tech coach Matt Wells and Liberty offensive coordinator Willy Korn.

I’m not sure if they can be lured away from their current jobs, but I would also suggest UNLV play-caller Brennan Marion and Texas State head coach GJ Kinne.

This can be a dual ? For @shre98 too: Both Kansas teams had their OCs poached with some big ol bags of SEC and B1G cash. Is it worrying for BXII programs that the revenue difference between this leagues may prevent BXII teams from being able to keep their best coordinators? - @JAndrew_Cochran via X

Little did we know this year’s Sunflower Showdown was really the These Offensive Coordinators are About to get Paid Bowl.

Andy Kotelnicki is off to Penn State. Collin Klein is off to Texas A&M.

Unfortunately, retaining quality coaches is always going to be a challenge for Big 12 teams because programs in the Big Ten and the SEC are always going to be able to offer more money.

With donors now spending money on players via NIL collectives, it can be difficult for athletic directors to match every offer that one of their coordinators receive.

Big 12 ADs will simply have to get creative. Maybe stop devoting so much money to facilities?

What’s the best news that comes with KSU football’s new OC? - @KansasSnotCom via X

Let’s say Klieman decides to promote from within and gives the offensive coordinator job to Conor Riley.

That may not be the most exciting hire for casual fans. It’s rare for an offensive line coach to make the jump to play-caller. But Riley is a smart coach and players on the team like him. He could be a good choice.

If that’s how it plays it and he turns out to be even better than Klein that would mean that Klieman has been letting the wrong people call plays throughout his time with the Wildcats. Klein was better than Courtney Messingham. It would be wild if Riley turned out to be better than Klein.

I’m not saying that will happen, by any means. But that does feel like a best-case scenario. It would prove that Klieman is excellent at hiring assistant coaches.

Think there’s any chance K-State would go back to a 4-3 defense some day instead of the 3-3-5? - JaredHutchins10 via X

Not unless offenses across the Big 12 turn back the clock and switch to run-heavy schemes at the exact same time.

What led Nate Matlack to hit the transfer portal? That’s a head scratcher. - Kirk Z. via e-mail

That one caught the K-State coaching staff by surprise.

Matlack has been a good defensive end for the Wildcats and an even better representative for the program. He isn’t the type of player you want to lose to the transfer portal.

At the same time, he has been at K-State for four years. Maybe he just wants to experience something new with his final year of college football. The Wildcats were playing a 4-3 defense when he arrive on campus. The switch to a 3-3-5 never seemed to fit him perfectly. I wouldn’t be surprised if that had something to do with it.

If Bill Snyder were still coach in this same situation, how many times in press conferences would he have suggested that you are his backup quarterback? - @DougAmbush7 via X

Much like Collin Klein, I have moved onto coaching.

And now that I have three seasons of experience as a youth flag football coach under my belt, I hope he would joke about me taking over as offensive coordinator. Some of my plays work really well against fourth graders. It’s long past time to see if they work in the Big 12.

What’s the real story with the Tomlin situation? What haven’t we been told? - @purplesage70 via X

I promise I’m not hiding anything from my loyal readers.

We have published close to a dozen stories about Nae’Qwan Tomlin since he was arrested for “disorderly conduct” and “brawling or fighting” in October. When he was initially suspended, Jerome Tang made it clear there was no guarantee he would ever return to the team. It looked like Tomlin was close to coming back when he was granted diversion and the charges against him went away, but things ultimately didn’t work out in his favor.

To me, that last part is the biggest mystery here.

How did his punishment go from a mere suspension to a full-blown dismissal when his situation seemed to be improving over time? The simplest explanation is the one that fans all across the region have latched on to in recent days.

University president Richard Linton appears to have stepped in and overruled both athletic director Gene Taylor and Tang on this issue. He thought that the circumstances surrounding Tomlin’s arrest were bad enough that he didn’t deserve to return to the team. Why? I have no idea.

If local prosecutors reviewed the evidence and decided the incident was so minor that he could enter the diversion program, why did the school president feel differently?

I’m sure he has his reasons, but he ignored an interview request from me to discuss the topic. And if everyone else on campus was ready for Tomlin to get a second chance, he picked an unpopular hill to metaphorically die on.

Taylor may have been the one who took credit for dismissing Tomlin from the team this week. But you can tell by the language used, and the lack of a single quote from Tang, that task was forced upon him from above.

No one wants to talk about any of this publicly, which has led to way too much speculation. That is probably why this whole thing mushroomed into chants at games and on-campus protests.

Fans will blame Linton. At the moment, he seems more unpopular than former president Kirk Schulz and former athletic director John Currie ever were ... combined.

The only thing I would like to point out here is that Tomlin put himself in this situation. Some will argue he deserved a second chance and that anyone denying him that opportunity is wrong. It’s a fair point. But this all could have been avoided.

I’ll go with the obvious one…. Is there really a massive disagreement between the hoops coach / AD and the University President re Tomlin? And is it enough for one or both to leave or is it a “normal” disagreement between employees and bosses? - @SAC_74 via X

Everyone is mad right now.

Tang is angry that he wasn’t allowed to reinstate Tomlin. Linton is mad that he has become a pariah on campus. Taylor is not happy that he is stuck in the middle of all this.

K-State fans will understandably worry about this turning into another John Currie/Frank Martin situation, where a popular coach leaves for another job to get away from his boss.

But this basketball season is still young. There is plenty of time for cooler heads to prevail.

If Nae’Qwan doesn’t go pro is he eligible to play at other schools this season as far as we know? - @MikeMurrayKS

Yes. As if this situation couldn’t get any weirder, Tomlin can transfer away from K-State and play next semester if he finds a new home.

Tomlin will be a graduate transfer at the end of this month, so that would make him eligible to enter the portal at any time. Because he hasn’t played in a single game for the Wildcats this season he can suit up for a new team in January.

I have a friend who is paranoid he will transfer within the Big 12 and end up playing against K-State later on this season. It’s not impossible.

He will probably be highly sought-after if he goes the transfer route. I imagine plenty of coaches would like to add him. It’s just a question if their administrations will give them a green light.

But he may also look to turn pro. He tested the NBA Draft waters last summer and could probably find an overseas team to play for even easier than a new college.

With the change in Tomlin’s status, are we able to go find a grad transfer at the end of the semester to immediately join the team to replace him? - @KStateSportsETH via X

I doubt it.

As outlined above, only graduate transfers who haven’t played in a single game all season are eligible to start fresh with a new team during the spring semester.

How many of those players are out there? K-State would need to find a player going through the same exact situation as Tomlin, just without the baggage.

On the bright side, the Wildcats are supposed to get injured guard Ques Glover back later this month. Perhaps his return to the roster can serve as a mid-season boost.

How badly are we over reacting to the different news drops this week? - @thebsan via X

The student protest outside of Richard Linton’s office was a bit much. If anything, that expedited Tomlin’s dismissal.

But everything else falls within the normal window of fan meltdowns.

Losing a beloved former quarterback and offensive coordinator like Collin Klein is not fun. Neither is learning that the best basketball player on campus has been dismissed from the team.

I would remind everyone to take a deep breath. Nothing is ever as bad as it may seem on the Internet.

K-State won football games before Klein started calling plays. K-State is off to a 7-2 start without a single minute of action from Tomlin. Life will go on.