Bill Snyder not expecting ‘wholesale changes’ on offense, even with a new coordinator

With Dana Dimel out and Andre Coleman in as Kansas State’s new offensive coordinator it’s only natural to wonder how much different the Wildcats will look when they run and throw the football this season.

But it seems like K-State fans can give up the dream of radical change.

If you thought the Wildcats might switch to a spread offense or abandon quarterback keepers under a new play-caller, well, Bill Snyder has some bad news.

“We’re not making wholesale changes,” Snyder said earlier this week at Big 12 Media Days.

Will there be some small changes. Yes, of course. But that happens every season. Snyder went on to say fans will “recognize the offense when you see it.” Maybe it won’t be a carbon copy of the system K-State used last year when the Wildcats averaged 32.3 points and 372.5 yards on their way to eight victories, but it should be similar.

Think of it this way: New coordinator, same playbook.

“We have a system in place, been in place for a long time. There’s a lot to it,” Snyder said. “We’ve got a notebook, a playbook that’s about (six inches) thick. So there’s not much in there that (doesn’t) exist in the game of football. It’s all in there, let me put it that way.”

K-State had its ups and downs on offense last year under Dimel, who is now the coach at Texas-El Paso. The Wildcats ranked second in the Big 12 in rushing (198.8 yards) and last in passing (173.8 yards).

At their best, they won shootouts against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. At their worst, they lost a 14-7 snoozer to Vanderbilt.

Snyder could have hired a new coordinator eager to overhaul the playbook. Instead, he promoted Coleman, a former K-State receiver with a demanding coaching approach, and now hopes that small adjustments will make a big difference.

“The important thing is going to be what our players can do,” Snyder said. “We can’t do all of it, but we can pull from our collection of offense, those things that our players are most capable of doing. We’ve experienced a good deal of it during the course of the spring and the fall, preseason, 25 workouts. We’ll define for sure what our players are most capable of.”

For now, it seems K-State’s offense remains geared around its running attack. Dual-threat quarterbacks Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson are both capable of topping 100 rushing yards in any game. And the Wildcats also have a deep stable of running backs that features Alex Barnes, Justin Silmon, Mike McCoy and Dalvin Warmack.

With all five starters returning on the offensive line, including star right tackle Dalton Risner, the Wildcats appear poised to run the ball as effectively as any team in the Big 12.

Barnes has mentioned using multiple running backs in the same formation as a possible change, which makes sense given the departure of fullback Winston Dimel, Dana’s son.

Coleman might also be able to get creative in the passing department. There are question marks at receiver without Byron Pringle or Dominique Heath, and it remains unclear who will start the first game at quarterback.

He seems open to new ideas.

“Coach Coleman literally just the other day asked my input on some things,” Delton said. “He asked for my opinion. He is very eager to learn and he wants what is best for the team. He is an easy guy to work with and play for. He’s your coach, but you look at him like you’re in this together. I am very excited about this year.”

Delton isn’t the only one that likes what Coleman brings to the offense, even if he’s not planning wholesale changes.

“It’s awesome to have a coach who has your back 110 percent and wants to win,” Risner said. “That guy wants to win and he is super competitive. I think that is going to be our edge this year.”

This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Bill Snyder not expecting ‘wholesale changes’ on offense, even with a new coordinator."