Kansas State either put its college football players at risk of injury with a sketchy workout, staged a photoshoot for clout, or both. The Wildcats ran up a set of icy stairs in the middle of a snowstorm.
For what?!
There are two different theories about this questionable college football procedure. It wasn’t necessary.
Kansas State is under a new regime.
Chris Klieman stepped down as the head football coach at Kansas State University on Dec. 3, 2025 after seven seasons. He chose to retire for health reasons and a desire to spend more time with family.
Collin Klein was very quickly hired as his successor. One of the best players in program history will return to his alma mater as the head coach after two years as the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M.
Klein brought Jeremy Jacobs with him. Jacobs was hired as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for football at the end of December.
He has worked at three different Power Four schools over the last 10 seasons, including Duke, LSU and Texas A&M and most recently served as the Associate Director of Football Strength and Conditioning/Director of Football Applied Sports Science on the same staff as Klein in College Station. This will be his first opportunity to lead the entire strength and conditioning program.
Jacobs is extremely qualified for his new role. He is also qualified as a leader of men as a veteran of the Army. During his combat rotations to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, he was directly in charge of educating, training and supervising personnel on all tactics, standard operating procedures (SOP) and weapon systems. College football is not quite as serious.
The football team ran icy stairs.
Even though Jeremy Jacobs seems to know what he is doing, a recent photo of the Wildcats raises concern about his approach to workouts. Kansas State football players were photographed on the stairs at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Temperatures in Manhattan hovered in the low teens as the athletes ran up the icy surface in shorts and a t-shirt. More than a few inches of snow covered the entire stadium.
These photos were presented as if they were going through a workout. The lack of context makes it seem like players were asked to run stairs in the snow.
If that is true, why?
That kind of workout is not going to change the outcome of any game next year. It is also dangerous. Kansas State put its athletes at risk of an injury for no reason. Don’t run on ice.
Now, to be fair, the photos might not be as they seem.
These players might not be running stairs as part of a workout. They might be moving from the weight room to the indoor practice facility.
If that is the case, why post the photos? Because the players walked outside?
Plus, the Wildcats typically get to the indoor practice facility through the concourse at Vanier. Why did they go through the stadium on a freezing cold day in the middle of January?
The post either does not tell the full story of the photos, or raises red flags about a dangerous workout. Lets hope it is the former. Lets hope Kansas State doesn’t make its players run stairs in the snow.