K-State coach Chris Klieman adapting to new normal as football transfers climb
Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman didn’t know how to react when an unprecedented number of players decided to transfer from the Wildcats last season.
On one hand, losing 11 scholarship players to the NCAA transfer portal seemed like a troublesome development that revealed some potential fissures within the K-State locker room. On the other hand, seemingly every college football team is dealing with roster attrition at the moment. Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal.
In any event, that kind of sudden roster movement left him re-evaluating the way K-State recruited during the 2021 cycle and possibly beyond.
“I think it’s going to change everybody a little bit,” Klieman said last week. “We knew with the amount of kids we had lost that we had to fill some roles. I’ve talked to a lot of coaches across the country that were either in a similar boat as us or even potentially worse off losing more guys. We hope it’s not a sign of the new times, because you want to have guys retained and want to have guys remain in your program. The reality is that it’s out there. Kids are going to explore. We made sure we had enough scholarships left and available that we could fill some immediate needs and immediate roles.”
The result: K-State signed an unusually low number (16) of high school players and an unusually high number (five) of incoming transfers to its 2021 recruiting class. That leaves four more potential spots open for either type of recruit as the Wildcats prepare for the upcoming season.
Klieman is hopeful that transfers were up last season because of the coronavirus pandemic, and that the climate will cool as things return to normal in future seasons. But that seems like wishful thinking, particularly with relaxed transfer regulations expected in the near future.
Every team in the Big 12 said goodbye to at least seven scholarship transfers last season. Kansas (18), TCU (15), Texas Tech (14), West Virginia (14), Iowa State (11) and K-State (11) all were in double figures. Some teams lost major contributors, others lost young reserves and “super seniors.” Add them all up and you get a conference average just shy of 11, as of the beginning of this month.
Turns out the Wildcats are right in the middle.
The transfer market has become so prevalent that there is talk of adjusting yearly recruiting rules so that teams can target incoming transfers without sacrificing scholarships that would normally go to high school prospects and junior-college players. Teams are currently allowed to add 25 new players each cycle, including transfers. New legislation could allow for 25 incoming recruits, plus a to-be-determined number of transfers.
Klieman doesn’t have a strong opinion on that yet, either. For the time being, he is doing everything in his power to keep K-State players happy and reduce transfers in the future.
“I don’t know if it’s going to get a whole lot better,” Klieman said. “I think for the next few years, people are going to continue to get poor advice, enter the portal and then realize that maybe it’s not what they’re looking for as far as opportunities. Or, they leave and go somewhere else and, boy, it wasn’t as bad at school X or school Y, not just Kansas State, but anywhere you look. Maybe I didn’t have it as bad as someone told me I had it. That’s the challenge for all of us as coaches is to build relationships with these kids, build the trust with these guys. Be honest with them, but also help those guys. You can’t just leave and quit something in a job when you have to take care of a family when you’re 25 or 35 years old. Life is difficult. You have to be able to persevere through tough times.”
Nine of K-State’s transfers have announced new homes, but only one landed with another power-conference team — Joshua Youngblood at Rutgers.
Perhaps that will serve as a warning sign for future players who contemplate a transfer. But, for now, Klieman understands that transfers are necessary for every team, even his own.
The Wildcats added Illinois tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe, Iowa defensive back Julius Brents, Louisville defensive back Russ Yeast, Charlotte defensive tackle Timmy Horne and Utah State linebacker Eric Munoz.
Klieman says K-State “hit a home run on each guy,” but there was a time not long ago when it seemed like he would never sign five transfers in one cycle, let alone leave room open for the possibility of more.
Welcome to the new normal of transfers in college football.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State coach Chris Klieman adapting to new normal as football transfers climb."