Bill Snyder knew Collin Klein was 'special young guy' from 1st meeting

Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder held his weekly press conference on Tuesday, and he was asked what his first impressions were when he first met Wildcats starting quarterback and Heisman hopeful Collin Klein.

"The first time I met him was here at Kansas State. When you first meet him, he is the young guy that is very humble. He is very friendly and could engage in dialogue about a lot of different things, but I did not know him in the early part of his career here. I did not know him as well as I know him now. You just learn things about people, whether it is Collin or anybody else over a period of time, when you interact as closely with him as you do in a program like this. It has been such a gradual thing over a period of time, and I cannot say there has been one moment that all of the sudden you said, ‘Wow, this is really a special young guy.’"

Klein's national notoriety has understandably increased due to his awesome performance so far this season, and nearly every story about him is about how humble and down to earth he is off the field. These are obviously traits that any football coach would find preferable for their starting quarterback, but especially for a traditional, no-nonsense coach like Snyder.

So far though ten games in 2012, Klein is 145-208 (69.7%) for 2020 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions, while also running for 748 yards and 19 touchdowns. In his almost two seasons as the starter in Manhattan, he's guided the Wildcats to a 20-3 record and an appearance in the Cotton Bowl. If he keeps up his performance, he may just add a national championship to that resume.