That was once again the case this spring when the transfer window opened on April 16 and closed on April 25 with only one significant K-State player (former four star recruit Noah King) bolting for greener pastures.
It is becoming more and more rare for a Big 12 team to hold onto its best players for the long haul. So how is K-State pulling it off?
“It’s relationships, it’s development and it’s growth,” Klieman said at a Friday news conference. “There are opportunities for everybody to go and do something else. That’s not going to change …
“I believe that the relationships and the development and what we’re doing on the first floor with nutrition, with strength, with athletic training, with recovery is as good as there is in college football. Our guys know that and believe that.”
There are currently 107 players on the K-State football roster, and Klieman feels good about the group he has retained as the Wildcats head into the 2025 season with hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff.
Klieman thinks K-State is in a good place because of the culture it has built in the locker room and the conversations coaches have recently had with players.
It also helps that the Wildcats devote much of their NIL money to returning players. When Avery Johnson, Dylan Edwards, VJ Payne and other K-State football players show out in games and practices, K-State rewards them. Klieman would much rather develop his own guys than enter a bidding war for a high-profile transfer.
Clint Brown, who has settled in nicely to his role as director of roster management, has helped the Wildcats manage their money and prioritize the right players and transfers.
