Kansas State Football: Wildcats go with Chris Klieman as next head coach

09 JAN 2016: North Dakota State Bison head coach Chris Klieman holds up the championship trophy after the game between the North Dakota State Bison and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at the FCS Championship at Toyota Stadium in Frisco,Texas. North Dakota beats Jacksonville State for it's fifth straight championship 37-10. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire) (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

There are legitimate concerns about Klieman, both short and long-term.

Klieman’s only experience coaching at the FBS level is the one season in 1997 he spent at Kansas. This is a massive jump for a coach no matter how good they are.

Recruiting will be a concern for Klieman, and for good reason, and on multiple levels. The Bison have five total players on the roster combined from Kansas and Missouri and none from vital recruiting territories of Oklahoma and Texas. Kleiman will have to make a good impression and do so in a hurry (National Signing day is December 19th, so, nine days from when he was announced).

Also FCS level schools have only 63 scholarships available to the 85 currently allowed by at the FBS level. Simply filling that number is a lot of extra work, which is important because the Cats have A LOT of work to do. Already greatly under the limit coming into the season, the Cats appear from a distance to be roughly 20 scholarships under the limit counting in their commitments.

Also, the 2020 recruiting class will be VITAL for this program to succeed. Matt Hall of KStateOnline.com did a roster breakdown of current Wildcats combined with verbal commitments and where the team stands. As of current, Kansas State has 65 of their 85 allotment.

https://twitter.com/LoLoWil12/status/1072314031946522629

The list of 2018 starters set to be seniors in 2019 is a lengthy one. It includes Scott Frantz, Adom Holtorf, Tyler Mitchell, Isaiah Zuber, Dalton Schoen, Alex Barnes, Reggie Walker, Trey Dishon, Jordan Mittie, Kyle Ball, Daquan Pattonn, Elijah Sullivan, and Denzel Goolsby. There are some big names in that group.

Yes, this is a list of starters that will graduate after the 2019 season. For a new coach stepping into a less than ideal situation, finding talent, and in a hurry, will be very important. Combined with roster depth issues (roughly 27 players with eligibility have left the program in the past two seasons, not counting Alex Delton, who has announced his departure and the program awaits word on running back Alex Barnes).

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