FRISCO, Texas (AP) 鈥� The largest turnover of Big 12 head coaches in seven seasons includes two first-timers at their alma maters, a national championship winner and another who last season almost got a Group of Five team into the College Football Playoff.
鈥淚 grew up a Big 12 kid,” new Kansas State coach Collin Klein said Wednesday. 鈥淎nd being able to be part of this conference as a fan, as a player, as a coach, and now being part of helping move our game and our conference forward is absolutely tremendous.鈥�
Klein, part of Big 12 titles at K-State as a Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterback in 2012 and then an assistant coach a decade later, returned to Manhattan after unexpectedly decided to step away last December. Klieman was among the , when the league last had four new coaches at the same time.
The this time are Utah alumnus Morgan Scalley, who nearly two decades ago recruited Klein as a quarterback, at Iowa State and at Oklahoma State.
Scalley has been part of Utah’s staff since being a graduate assistant in 2007, three years after his last game as a defensive back for the Utes. He was their defensive coordinator for 10 seasons before his debut as head coach in a last New Year’s Eve, following Kyle Whittingham’s surprise departure after 21 seasons and then becoming Michigan’s coach.
Klein’s recruiting visit to Utah
It was while recruiting the Colorado area as a graduate assistant that Scalley saw 鈥渢his quarterback that I absolutely loved.鈥� But since GAs can’t do off-campus recruiting, he couldn’t go see Klein in person.
鈥淪o I had him come to us, and on his own dime he flew out, showed up on campus in a suit and tie and left without an offer,” Scalley recalled Wednesday. “But you know who offered him? Kansas State. It was Collin Klein. Isn鈥檛 that crazy?鈥�
Klein still remembers the visit, including lunch at a burger joint in downtown Salt Lake City with Brian Johnson, then going into his senior season as the Utes QB.
鈥淐oach Scalley was tremendous. I mean, he was an unbelievable relationship builder, energy, detailed,” Klein said. 鈥淚 knew he was going to be an unbelievable coach. I had no idea we鈥檇 end up coaching against each other in the same league as head coaches.鈥�
Klein鈥檚 coaching career began as a GA at his alma mater in 2014, and he has since remained at Kansas State, except in 2016 as Northern Iowa’s QBs coach, and the past two seasons as offensive coordinator at Texas A&M, which made the 12-team playoff last year.
Close to where Rogers won FCS title
After last season at Washington State, Rogers made his debut at Big 12 football media days 18 months after leading South Dakota State, his alma mater, to the . That title game was played only about four miles from the headquarters of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, where the conference’s annual two-day event wrapped up Wednesday.
鈥淭his is a perfect fit for me. I鈥檓 a big people person. I鈥檝e recruited the state for seven years when I was at my prior tenure at South Dakota State, had a prior relationship with (athletic director) Jamie Pollard and felt really confident about the leadership that was in place here,鈥� Rogers said. 鈥�(Another) portion of that is the opportunity to compete at a Power 4 school and to compete in the Big 12. … You win this conference, you punch your ticket into the College Football Playoff, you have an opportunity to compete for a national championship. That is the goal.鈥�
Rogers replaced Matt Campbell, who left Iowa State after 10 seasons for Penn State.
From Denton to Stillwater
Morris took 21 players with him from North Texas, including quarterback , the national passing leader last season as a freshman with 4,379 yards. The Mean Green were ranked for the only time since 1959 and missed out on a CFP berth after losing to Tulane in the . The Green Wave made the playoff.
Before Mestemaker, Morris had coached quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes, Cam Ward and Baker Mayfield in college. The coach now takes over an Oklahoma State team that has lost 19 Big 12 games in a row 鈥� a streak that began with a in the 2023 championship game before the Cowboys went 0-9 in Big 12 play each of the past seasons.
鈥淪uper-excited for Stillwater. It was a big draw for me and my family to come to Stillwater,鈥� Morris said. “I鈥檓 from a small town in west Texas, and that鈥檚 how I wanted raise my family. So Stillwater has been nothing short of amazing. Super genuine people, hard-working, blue-collar organization.鈥�
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