Kansas State Football: Identity crisis plagues Wildcats
By John McCarty
At the conclusion of the 2005 season, the Wildcats hired Ron Prince, the offensive coordinator from Virginia. He assembled a great staff headlined by his two coordinators, Raheem Morris on defense and James Franklin on offense.
Morris would leave after one season to take a position with the Buccaneers in the NFL, and Franklin would stay through the 2007 season before leaving to take the same position at the University of Maryland. The Wildcats would reach the Texas Bowl that season before losing to Rutgers behind freshman quarterback Josh Freeman.
This was the high point of the Ron Prince era at Kansas State. Freeman failed to show development and the program stalled. Assistant coaches left him hard and fast, and in an effort to salvage his job, would sign a staggering 19 junior college players.
Among the junior college players that would contribute were running back Daniel Thomas and offensive lineman Zach Hanson. Also, a high school quarterback named Colin Klein was a part of this class. More on him and Hanson later.
Perhaps the lasting image that haunts Kansas State fans from the Ron Prince era are the purple pants. If you don’t understand the point about the purple pants, ask a fan of Kansas State football. Alternate uniforms are not a thing at Kansas State, almost specifically because of the pants.
The influx of junior college players failed to deliver much success, as Prince’s last season saw the Cats finish with five wins and Prince was relieved of his duties. After some speculation as to who could take over in Manhattan, it was announced Bill Snyder would resume the head coaching job in November of 2008.