Anyone who has listened to Kansas State football Bill Snyder speak to the media on a regular basis knows he can be hard to predict.
Sometimes his team loses a close game, but he emerges from the locker room in good spirits. Such was the case two seasons ago following a 42-30 loss at Oklahoma. He told a few jokes after that one.
Sometimes his team wins, but he paces around the stadium as if it wasn’t even competitive. Quarterback Collin Klein says he’s never seen Snyder angrier than after a 49-41 victory over North Texas last season. He was anything but pleased about beating Colorado 20-6 two years ago, either.
That attitude can sometimes make it difficult to understand how he measures the Wildcats’ progress. But players say they appreciate Snyder’s attitude, because it is consistently honest and based solely on improvement and performance rather than the scoreboard.
At Big 12 Media Days last week in Dallas, K-State quarterback Collin Klein talked at length about that topic.
“One of the things about Coach Snyder,” Klein said, “he’s always asking (you) just to be a little bit better than you were yesterday. And when you translate that into his level of happiness, or whatever you want to call it, after a practice or a game, that’s his measuring stick. We’ve walked in after wins and he was not very happy because in his mind we did not get better as a team or overall.
“We’ve walked in after some losses, and, don’t take me wrong, he’s not condoning a loss. Nobody wants to win more than Coach Snyder or any of us, but at the same time he still will give us some encouragement here and there if he feels that we made some progress in certain areas. Obviously, it feels a lot better when you can make some progress and win as opposed to have to face a loss and a lesson.”
Still, K-State players appreciate Snyder’s words either way.
“From a player’s standpoint that’s a very positive thing, because you know you’re always going to get honest feedback,” Klein said. “Because sometimes, if the outcome turns out the right way, you want a pat on the back but he’s not going to give it to you unless you deserve it. That’s really the only way you can judge where you’re at, if you get that honest feedback.
“Sometimes it’s not always what you want to hear. But at the same time deep down you know that he does ultimately want the best for you and our team. That’s important to get that.”