Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas, Matt Campbell Penn St Rumors & Collin Klein at K-State | How Big 12 Coaching Moves Impact KU

Starting point is 00:00:00 Penn State might lure Matt Campbell away from Iowa State. Colin Klein is returning to Kansas State as the head coach. All sorts of crazy rumors, moves that have and haven't happened in the Big 12 coaching. I'm going to tell you how it affects Kansas in the Big 12. You are Locked on Jayhawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas Jayhawks. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team, day. What's going on? Derek Johnson here. This is Locked on Jayhawks. Thanks for making the locked on podcast network, the number one sports podcast network. On today's episode, there's a big rumor out

Starting point is 00:00:41 there about Penn State is really leaning into trying to hire Matt Campbell. There's a rumor out there that it might happen. Who knows whether all that's true. But if it is, I want to get into how this potentially affects Kansas. I think there is kind of a big ripple effect. And I do think there's some interesting stuff. And it's not just Campbell. There's a lot of coaching movement and news throughout kind of the big 12 here. So let's start right there with the Matt Campbell news, right? It was reported by Max Olson of ESPN. It's been reported by, I don't know, Pete Thammel.

Starting point is 00:01:12 It's a bunch of guys that Penn State is trying to narrow down on Matt Campbell, and they're trying to make him the coach. Now, whether he takes it or not, who knows? Could this be a negotiating tactic by Campbell to try to get, you know, more money from RevShare, NIL, into his program? That is entirely possible, right? This would be a big job for Matt Campbell to take. A lot of guys have passed over the Penn State job.

Starting point is 00:01:34 In fact, another guy in the Big 12, Kalani Satake at BYU, you know, nearly took the job, but he returns to BYU, which I think is great for BYU. I think it's great for the Big 12 that he is staying there, right? But whether if this doesn't end up happening, then I think what that tells you is that, you know, whether it was more RevShare or NIL money coming up, that Matt Campbell is getting more money for his Iowa. state roster. So that does have an immediate impact on, again, Kansas and the Big 12, just from a standpoint of, you know, Iowa State's going to have a better roster theoretically, right?

Starting point is 00:02:11 And we know right now for Kansas, their 2026 schedule is going to feature BYU for the home games, Baylor, UCF, Arizona, Iowa State. So Iowa State's on the roster, BYU. And then they're going to have road games against Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Utah, and West Virginia, and then Arizona State in London, and then LIU and Missouri for the non-con. So we know that Kansas is going to be playing Iowa State, right? So that could have an impact there. But if he takes the job, if he takes the job at Penn State, I think one, it tells you that, hey, maybe Iowa State isn't investing enough money into the football program, and that's

Starting point is 00:02:50 part of the reason why. Now, Penn State historically is a much bigger job than Iowa State, too. So it'd be easy to, you know, look at it that way when in reality, it's like, like, okay, but it's one of the bigger jobs that you'd be going to. It's not like every school is going to be outbidding you. But it just makes you wonder, because think about some of the coaches that Penn States looked after, BYU with Kalani Sataki, there was a brief rumor about Willie Fritz at Houston.

Starting point is 00:03:12 Like they are, they are toiling in the Big 12's backyard, and it almost feels like the Big 12 is becoming this feeder system. I think it's interesting, too, when you look at Kansas and Lance Leipold. Like Lance Leipold wanted the Wisconsin and the Nebraska job when they opened up, what was that three years ago? A couple years ago, he nearly took the Washington job, ended up not taking it coming back to Kansas. And, boy, is that kind of a sliding doors moment for, I guess, everybody involved with what would have potentially happened there? But, you know, does it just mean that if he gets it going again, he's going to leave?

Starting point is 00:03:45 And if he doesn't get it going again, he's going to leave for a different reason, right? But you look at it and it obviously has an impact from a standpoint of Kansas consistently plays Iowa State. And we saw Iowa State before Matt Campbell. it was not pretty what Iowa State was doing before Matt Campbell. And yes, Kansas was not doing much either pre-Mack Campbell at Iowa State. So it ended up actually being kind of a series where Kansas might get a win and Iowa State might get a win and stuff. But so Matt Campbell arrived in 2016.

Starting point is 00:04:15 Before him, they won the immediate seasons before 2015 and counting down three wins, two wins, three wins, six, five, seven, two, three, three, six, five, seven, two, three, four. That takes you back to 2006. And then they have a couple of bull years. is too intensely. So, like, point being, if Matt Campbell's not there, yes, they could ace their coaching higher, but it's also possible that, you know, what if things do implode on them a little bit? And then you look at it from a standpoint of like, okay, Iowa State has recruited the Kansas

Starting point is 00:04:42 city area pretty well. Would that potentially be one less competitor that you would have to deal with on the recruiting front in the Kansas City area? And then it's like the immediate fallout. Would you have any players transfer who are from the area that would be interested in coming toward the area. Like I'm looking right now, Trey Bell is from Missouri. Carson Willich is from Blue Springs, Missouri.

Starting point is 00:05:03 Let's see. I mean, there's a couple other guys on here that I don't know how much they play or not. Is Dantrell Holtz? Is he related to Tori Holt? Anyway, Marcus Neal, good DB. He's a sophomore. He's from Kansas City. Dominic Orange, she'll be off to the NFL after this year, but he's from Kansas City. They've got a freshman defensive lineman from Kansas City, and it kind of goes on. So, like, point being, would there be any opportunities for KU to scoop up a player? Would it help KU and future recruiting? What if theoretically if Iowa State wasn't so involved in Kansas City?

Starting point is 00:05:30 What if Dominic Orange would have wound up at Kansas? And is that worth another win over these last two years, you know, where they end up making a bowl game? So I do think it could have an immediate and a future impact on Kansas with potentially if Matt Campbell takes this Penn State job with kind of rumors flying around that it certainly is a possibility. Colin Klein is also the new Kansas state head coach. So we're going to get to that next and how that could impact Kansas

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Starting point is 00:06:51 Oklahoma State gets Eric Morris, and that leads to them flipping Katie Jones from who was committed to Oklahoma State, switch to Kansas, goes back to Oklahoma State. So that has an impact on KU. Colorado's hiring Brennan Marion is like the offensive coordinator. That could have an impact, obviously, on KU is they lost to Brennan Marion, is the OC at UNLV, I believe, but also beat him once. Let's see, other coaching changes. There was the, obviously, the BYU stuff. with that saga, Matt Campbell potentially. And then this last one, or this one we're going to talk about right now, is the Kansas State one. So Chris Kleinman retires. And whether it was like a full

Starting point is 00:07:33 retirement or kind of a showing the door retirement, that I'm not entirely sure. And Colin Klein, who's had an excellent year as the offensive coordinator, Texas A&M, getting the job as the head coach. Now, obviously, there was a little bit of drama thrown into the fire for Kansas State with them not deciding not to play in a bowl game this year, which I feel bad for the seniors, man. Like, I don't know. I get it. Like, you're going to have players in flux and how this all works now, especially with the coach leaving stuff.

Starting point is 00:08:01 But I don't know. I feel so bad. Like, think about it if you're a senior who isn't going to play in the NFL. And this would have been your final game. Like, that sucks. You're not going to be able to play. Anyway, point being, Colin Klein, I think, is a great hire by Kansas State, point blank. I know, I know nobody wants to hear that.

Starting point is 00:08:20 But you think about a guy who, like, okay, I'm not always the biggest fan of the hometown hero coming to coach the team. A lot of times it actually does not work. But this one's a little different, right? This isn't just, hey, the hometown hero is coaching at some podunk place. And he has enough coaching experience. The hometown hero has, he played for us. And then he's been an assistant coach for us. And now we're going to give him the head coaching job.

Starting point is 00:08:47 He went out and spread his wings elsewhere. Obviously, he had a lot of success when he was on staff at Kansas State beyond being a player at Kansas State. But I find it very, like, I guess think about it this way. If Colin Klein wasn't hired by Kansas State, he could have got a really good hit. He might have been able to get the Oklahoma State job. Who knows? I don't know if he was in front of Morris and the candidacy or whatnot. But like, point being, he could have got a really good head coaching job.

Starting point is 00:09:13 And you actually look at it right now. I think somebody pointed this out that I think it's like, I forget if it's of the top 10 or top 12 or something of the college football playoff. right now. I think it's like half or five of the list or something are former coordinators that got hired straight from being coordinators to head coaches. Like Dan Lanning was a defensive coordinator before he got like straight to the Oregon job. Marcus Freeman was the defensive coordinator before, you know, getting propped up there. So you have some successes there. And Klein has done such a good job with Texas A&M this year that I think he's shown his worth as a coach and the coordinator and a candidate and all those things. So that on its own. But my biggest

Starting point is 00:09:50 worry beyond all this with them adding Colin Klein. And, you know, can he unlock Avery Johnson to another level? I think that's possible for them, right? Is what it does on the in-state recruiting front. We just saw Kansas have, again, there were some lost momentum at the end, right? You lose the commitment of J.J. Dunnigan. You lose some other commitments as well. You lose them on the defensive line. You lose K.D. Jones, those out-of-state commitments. But this was one of the better in-state recruiting classes that KU has gotten in quite some time. Like, stills from really good players from in-state. Hunter Higgins, the leader of that group.

Starting point is 00:10:29 You get a couple of offensive tackles from the area that have a bright future. Jalen Mason, I think a little underrated from the quarterback spot. You get some receivers. And like, Kansas got a really good recruiting class from in-state guys this year. And the big question is going to be and has been, as we've been talking about, can this continue for KU? And obviously it's something for Kansas where, you know, losing to K-State doesn't help. Continually losing to K-State doesn't help.

Starting point is 00:10:57 But now that Colin Klein is at Kansas State, does that hurt KU even more in recruiting? I want to keep touching on this in just a moment. This episode of the show is brought to you by Omaha Steaks. The holidays always feel a little easier when you already know the perfect gift. And Omaha Steaks makes it almost too simple. Whether you're treating yourself this season or sending something, in memorable to family and friends, Omaha Steaks delivers handcrafted perfection right to their door. And this week is the best time to jump in because their cyber sale is here. And the deals are

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Starting point is 00:12:06 cyber sale for an additional $35 off use promo code college at checkout. That is omahostakes.com promo code college. Terms apply. See the site for full details. I'm talking about some of the local recruiting stuff here for Kansas as Colin Klein is now the head coach at Kansas State. And again, this was a awesome commitment class for KU out of the state of Kansas. Caden Snyder, who's a four-star for you, Hunter Higgins, who is darn near a four-star recruit. And I think it's a really good player, Nate Sims, Tyron Parker receiver, Josh Galbraith. I would not be surprised if that dude's a future NFL player, Jalen Mason, a quarterback. Like, this is a very good recruiting class for KU out of the state.

Starting point is 00:12:56 And in the end, you end up with, okay, let's see, 24-7 has 19 players rated at this point in the state of Kansas. You end up with the number three, the number six, the number seven, the number 11, 13, 14. This is great podcasting, right? So that's a good chunk, right? That's six of the 19 that they have rated, and it's six of the top 14. So basically half of the top 14. And you're like, okay, what about some of the other ones? Well, Maxwell Robinson is fourth and it sounds like he might be more of a juco guy or something.

Starting point is 00:13:27 So that kind of eliminates him from the list. The top two guys, Ian Premer, who's a five-star, goes to Notre Dame, J.J. Dunnigan, who's like a high-ranked four-star, top 100 recruit. He's at Miami. And then you have Braden Wilmes, who is at Clemson, right? By the way, the guy who's 10th, Arly Morel, Iowa State. and the guy who's 12th, Drake DeBahn, Iowa State. So that ties in that conversation. Kansas State, though, only has Lawson McGa, who is the fifth ranked player in the state,

Starting point is 00:13:54 and Lamarcus Barber. That's a great name, by the way, a number 15 player in the state. And the reason I bring that up, like Kansas State has dominated in state recruiting for so many years, it felt like this was a tide-turning class for KU, but is it just going to be a one-off for Kansas, or is it going to be something they can continue? I definitely thought they needed to be Kansas State here to try to get your best chance of that continuing. It didn't happen. Um, so that all I think hurt you a little bit here. But I also think this coaching move hurts Kansas because think about it for these kids now who are going to be seniors in high school for the following class would be the class of 2027. You know,

Starting point is 00:14:27 that means that shoot, they would have been, I don't know, I guess they wouldn't have been watching Colin Klein, but they would have been, what, three years old or something. That is crazy to think. That makes me feel old when Colin Klein was winning in Heisman. But point being, they would have grown up, like at least hearing about or knowing about Colin Klein and they're watching Kansas or Kansas State football and hearing about it. And I just wonder if that hurts K. And I think it brings a level of stability and credibility because at the very least, the high school coaches, the local guys are going to be very aware of who Colin Klein is. And that is my biggest worry here with him being hired as the K state coach that it finally felt like you made in Rose and state recruiting. Is that going to go back now that they have a, you know,

Starting point is 00:15:10 Kansas state legend with Colin Klein Manning the program in Manhattan. All right, that'll do it for this bonus episode of the show. We'll wait and see what happens with Matt Campbell at Penn State. And we'll see you next time for another edition of LOJ.

Locked On Jayhawks - Daily Podcast On Kansas Jayhawks Football & Basketball - Kansas, Matt Campbell Penn St Rumors & Collin Klein at K-State | How Big 12 Coaching Moves Impact KU

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