Jake Trotter, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Fresh off Hall of Fame election, Bill Snyder faces another major rebuild

Bill Snyder’s “Manhattan Miracle” remains one of the great accomplishments in college football history.

Yet while Kansas State might not require another miracle to remain a Big 12 title contender, Snyder faces another major rebuild in 2015.

The heart and soul of the 2014 squad is graduating after the Wildcats stuck around in the Big 12 title chase all the way to the final week of the season.

All-American Tyler Lockett, the all-time leading receiver at K-State, is gone.

Jake Waters, among the most efficient quarterbacks in the country this past season, is gone.

So is three-time All-Big 12 center B.J. Finney. The same with 1,000-yard receiver Curry Sexton. And All-Big 12 defensive end Ryan Mueller. And leading tackler Jonathan Truman. And All-Big 12 nickelback Randall Evans.

In many ways, the Wildcats will be a blank canvas next season.

That is exciting, but also scary.

What makes it less scary, though, is that Snyder, fresh off his election to the College Football Hall of Fame, has indicated that at age 75 he will coach again at least through next season. But to keep K-State on the heels of TCU and Baylor, he’ll have to win with a new cast in several areas on either side of the ball.

With Waters, Lockett and Sexton as well as tailback DeMarcus Robinson and tight end Zach Trujillo all out of eligibility, Snyder will have to lean offensively on a line that returns mostly intact. Replacing Finney, who has been the linchpin of the K-State line the last four seasons, won’t be a cinch. But the Wildcats do have an All-Big 12-caliber performer coming back in tackle Cody Whitehair, who should take over for Finney as the anchor of the unit. Whitehair will be flanked again by guards Boston Stiverson and Luke Hayes, who both started as juniors this past season.

“Our guards have really stepped up,” Whitehair said. “Boston and Luke both returning next season is going to be very helpful, but our younger guys like Will Ash, they are doing some nice things for us. Our young tackles – I guess not so young – have really been crucial to the mix. Aaron Bennett and Ajahne Brager are both stepping up and contributing to the mix. We are looking forward to seeing what they can do in the spring.”

The rest of the offense, however, will be a work in progress this spring. Former walk-on Joe Hubener will be the favorite to take over for Waters at quarterback. Hubener has good size (6-foot-4, 205 pounds), good speed (three rushing TDs in mop-up duty) and a good arm. But he has virtually no meaningful experience.

The receivers are largely untested, too. Lockett, Sexton and Trujillo made 75 percent of K-State’s receptions last season. The Wildcats will ask rising junior Deante Burton and sophomore Judah Jones to replenish much of that production. Fullback Glenn Gronkowski could assume a greater role in the offense, as could running back Charles Jones, who led the Wildcats with 540 rushing yards last season. Dalvin Warmack, one of the gems of the 2014 recruiting class who redshirted last year, could also be a factor at running back.

Defensively, the Wildcats have more experienced pieces to retool around. Dante Barnett was one of the top safeties in the Big 12 last season, and the returning cornerback tandem of Morgan Burns and Danzel McDaniel should be among the best in the league. K-State also brings back Travis Britz, who, assuming he makes a full recovery from a late-season ankle injury, should be among the top returning defensive tackles in the Big 12. Elijah Lee will also be back after breaking out in his true freshman campaign as a pass-rushing specialist.

After a brutal 2014 slate, the schedule flips back in K-State’s favor next season. The Wildcats have a light nonconference schedule this time around, and they get TCU, Oklahoma and Baylor in Manhattan. The key stretch will come in early October, when K-State will travel to Oklahoma State, then get the Horned Frogs and Sooners at home in back-to-back weeks. That three-game span will likely determine the Wildcats’ fate for 2015.

Of course, Snyder has accomplished more with less certainty before. That's why he's a Hall of Famer. And next season, the Wildcats will need their Hall of Fame coach to conquer another rebuild yet again.

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