Coach: Bill Snyder
105-49-1, 13 years
2001 Record: 6-6
at Southern Cal
WON 10-6
NEW MEXICO STATE WON 64-0
at Oklahoma LOST 37-38
COLORADO LOST 6-16
at Texas Tech LOST 19-38
TEXAS A&M LOST 24-31
KANSAS WON 40-6
at Iowa State WON 42-3
at Nebraska LOST 21-31
LOUISIANA TECH WON 40-7
MISSOURI WON 24-3
INSIGHT.COM BOWL
Syracuse LOST 3-26


2001 Final Rankings
AP-UR, Coaches-UR, BCS-UR

Cornerback Terence Newman is one of the best cover men in all of college football, breaking up numerous passes and blocking multiple kicks a season ago.
2002 Outlook

The Cats managed to sneak into a bowl at 6-5 last fall, keeping the bowl streak alive for the ninth straight season. But 2001 also saw a Bill Snyder coached Kansas State team step back from their usual 11-victory performance. A top program garnishing some recent pride took a step back. As NationalChamps.net predicted the fall off last year, the purple clad fans argued otherwise. Injuries riddled the team, making the reassembling job even more difficult. Don't underestimate this team from Manhattan. They are just as strong as years past in many aspects. But no way does this team show up and surprise opponents anymore. Ell Roberson needs to stay healthy first and foremost with his running ability becoming a huge factor as the passing game has fallen off the map. The signal caller will have a great bunch up front blocking, but they as well need to swat the injury bug. Getting to the Big XII Championship Game would be huge. That conquest can be well within reach as the North Division is open for the taking. Other than a home game with Southern Cal, the schedule is full of its usual non-conference patsies. The first three weeks will get the Wildcats to 3-0 easily, which may be just the right recipe for giving the offense time to gel with all of the new faces at the skill positions. The bottom line is that a defensive mind set must exist. The offensive just isn't going to be explosive enough to consume some of the more skilled conference opponents such as Texas and Colorado. Kansas State is obviously not the Top 10 team of year's past. The Cat's recent tradition of cruising through the season while floating amongst the nation's elite has to take a back seat to clawing it out with the big dogs with some unproven talent and steady defense. A New Year's Day bowl can be reached, but seems unlikely with the toughness of the league.

Projected 2002 record: 8-5

KANSAS STATE
*POWER RATINGS
Offense
Defense
QB - 3.5 DL - 4
RB - 3 LB - 4
WR - 2 DB - 3.5
OL - 4.5 ..
RETURNING LEADERS

Passing: Ell Roberson, 54-136-8, 855 Yards, 4 TD's

Rushing: Ell Roberson, 142 att., 643 yds., 9 TD's

Receiving: Derrick Evans, 2 rec., 79 yds., 1 TD

Scoring: Ell Roberson, 9 TD's, 56 pts.

Punting: Jared Brite, 18 punts, 40.7 avg.

Kicking: Joe Rheem, 4-6 FG, 20-22 PAT, 32 pts.

Tackles: Terry Pierce, 68 tot., 49 solo

Sacks: Henry Bryant, 3 sacks

Interceptions: Terence Newman, 3 for 0 yds.

Kickoff returns: Terence Newman, 9 ret., 23.4 avg.

Punt returns: Derrick Evans, 2 ret., 11.0 avg.

 

KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
OFFENSE - 6
----RETURNING STARTERS----
DEFENSE - 7
KEY LOSSES
OFFENSE: Rock Cartwright-FB, Joe Hall-FB, Josh Scobey-RB, Aaron Lockett-WR, Brandon Clark-WR, Ricky Lloyd-WR, Nick Warren-TE, Matt Martin-OT, Andy Eby-OG, Oshin Honarchian-OT
DEFENSE: Jerry Togiai-DT, Ben Leber-LB, DeMarcus Faggins-CB, DeRon Tyler-CB, Milton Proctor-SS, Jon McGraw-FS, Derrick Yates-FS, Mike Ronsick-P
2002 OFFENSE

The offensive line looks steady as a rock, but where have all of the skill positions gone? The front wall was ridiculed by injuries in 2001, however depth for 2002 seems to be fairly luxurious. Center Steve Washington is the big cat in the trenches and guard Nick Leckey is one of the few to make it through last season unscathed. They will need to pull some heavy weight as every single skill position outside of quarterback needs revamped. The running backs have some speed to burn, but the loss of Josh Scobey is not replaceable by the first game. The names will be new to most viewers outside of the Wildcat circle. The receivers more or less fit the same fresh faces mold as six letter winners have departed from this group. Is that a good thing? Last year's performance was definitely sub par, contributing to the reality that KSU ranked dead last in the conference's passing statistics. Senior Taco Wallace and junior Derrick Evans should at least have the talent to duplicate the 2001 numbers, but experience certainly will not be a luxury. Contributing to the lacking flat plain's passing game plan last fall was a coaching indecision on who to start at quarterback between Marc Dunn and Ell Roberson. The situation seemed to be one of the worst handled rotations in the country. Neither player showed ability to light up the Cat's aerial assault. The two will do battle once again heading into summer workouts. Roberson led the team in total offense and has the elite feet edge while demonstrating super elusive running skills. Dunn is the better passer, but to be fair lacks/lacked quality wide outs. Media and fans seem to feel that if healthy, Roberson is the man. With unproven players at key spots and the receivers missing a ton of letter winners, it is hard to envision an explosive offense taking the field in 2002 unless one of the quarterbacks elevates his game. The offensive line needs to stay healthy and help carry the newcomers through the early season.

 

KANSAS STATE 2002 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters in Bold
OFFENSE
QB Ell Roberson-Jr Marc Dunn-Sr
FB Travis Wilson-Jr Nick Hoheisel-Sr
RB Darren Sproles-So Danny Morris-Jr
WR Derrick Evans-Jr Davin Dennis-Fr / Jerry McCloud-Sr
WR Taco Wallace-Sr Antoine Polite-So / LaRoy Bias-Jr
TE Brian Lamone-Sr Thomas Hill-Jr
OT Thomas Barnett-Sr Jon Doty-So
OG Nick Leckey-Jr Mike Johnson-So
C Steve Washington-Sr Ryan Schmuecker-So
OG Billy Miller-Sr Jesse Keaulana-Kamakea-Jr
OT Dralinn Burks-Sr Peni Holakeituai-Jr
K Joe Rheem-So Wade Waltman-Jr

 

2002 DEFENSE

Much like the offense, Kansas State will excel up front. Although a concern last year, the defensive line brings back ten letter winners and four starters. Loading the artillery will be small tackle package Tank Reese while his partner in the middle, Justin Montgomery, brings a nasty pass rush to the table. The boys up front in the trenches do not exactly reek of big names and superstars, but certainly has enough wide spread talent to become one of the Big XII's most productive. At linebacker, the team's leading tackler of a year ago has moved on in Ben Leber. Two of his partners in tackling crime have returned to the scene. Terry Pierce is a force in the middle and Josh Buhl is a sure fire tackler. Some steady backups are in line to fill the shoes of Leber, but replacing his leadership will be the most important. Several key performers have departed in the secondary. One who decided to stick around is All-American cornerback Terence Newman, one of the best cover men in all of college football breaking up numerous passes and blocking multiple kicks a season ago. Coaches seem to be impressed with the amount of talent to choose from on the defensive back plate. Don't look for much of a drop off even with some of the regulars leaving the program. At this point, a diagnosis for 2002 shows the Wildcats to be a defensive team with great players and ability up front and at linebacker and loads of talent in an unproven backfield.

 

KANSAS STATE 2002 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters in Bold
DEFENSE
DE Andrew Shull-Jr Henry Bryant-Sr
DT Tank Reese-Sr Corey White-Sr
NT Justin Montgomery-Jr Eric Everley-Sr
DE Melvin Williams-Sr Thomas Houchin-Jr
LB Andy Klocke-Sr Bryan Hickman-Jr
LB Terry Pierce-Jr Drew Thon-Sr
LB Josh Buhl-Jr Maurice Thurmond-So
CB James Dunnigan-Jr David Rose-So
CB Terence Newman-Sr Travis Horchem-Jr
SS Rashad Washington-Jr Marcus Patton-So
FS Bobby Walker-Sr Brandon Solt-Sr
P Travis Brown-Sr Jared Brite-Jr
..
Ell Roberson led the team in total offense and has the elite feet edge while demonstrating super elusive running skills. - (Kansas State Collegian/Matt Stamey)