Catching Up: Michael Bishop

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In this feature, KSO will contact a former Wildcat and tell his or her story - at least a portion of it, anyway. This time, it's Michael Bishop, arguably the greatest quarterback in school history. What's he doing now? You're about to find out...

The news wasn’t unexpected.

For the third consecutive year, Kansas State great Michael Bishop was included on the ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, one of 76 eligible players.

And to be clear, Bishop, who was 22-3 as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback and was runner up for the Heisman Trophy in 1998, is grateful.

But he’s also curious why it’s taken so long to gain entry to such an elite club - an elite club in which he’s always felt he belonged.

“I think it’s overdue,” Bishop told K-StateOnline. “As far as the quarterbacks that have been selected, when it comes to college plays and college years, I think if I’m not right there at the top in terms of stats and win percentage, I’m definitely No. 1 or No. 2 with some of the guys who have been selected.

“I believe everything happens in due time, but I’m thinking it’s about time. I’m hopeful I get in. It’s a big accomplishment, one of the biggest for me.”

Maybe then, Bishop will feel totally appreciated.

Again, to be clear, Bishop is well aware of everything he was able to do at K-State, the rarefied air he helped guide the Wildcats to and through. He laments falling short of a national championship in 1998, quickly rattling off his three collegiate losses (in four seasons, which includes back-to-back undefeated years at Blinn College) - Nebraska, Texas A&M and Purdue - in order and in great detail.

But he also wonders why the memories seem to have faded.

“I’m not trying to sound selfish, but I did a lot of great things for K-State,” he said. “I realize that, my family realizes that. I will say this - the fans are great. Any time I'm back, or even here in Texas, when I run into people, they tell me how much they enjoyed watching me play... But I wonder how much I am appreciated. When I got to K-State, when they started recruiting me, I knew what I could do and what I brought to the table. My biggest thing was let's go win a national championship. I did everything I could, along with some great players, to put that team in position to be considered a contender... I'm pretty sure my two years there were the best two years in K-State history. But I definitely feel sometimes we're overlooked. We had a bunch of warriors on that team that get overlooked to this day.

“And me playing quarterback and being the face of the university at that time? Nowadays, you have different quarterbacks that come in and they play well, but they didn't play at the level I played at. There's a disconnect right there for me. I watch the games and there's no way... Not taking a shot at Collin Klein, who some people say was better than me, but I'm going to say this without being negative towards him - he couldn't hold my jock, the way I played and the way he played. We're on two different planets. He did enough for them at the time, but for me, I did enough - and more.”

He watches a ton of football, seeing a lot of quarterbacks with a similar build and skill set - he mentions Baker Mayfield and Johnny Manziel - suddenly in demand. As a refresher, Bishop was selected in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots but couldn’t stick, eventually stringing together a 125-game career in the Canadian Football League.

“Maybe it's different times now but some of the teams in the NFL that play athletic quarterbacks - what they're looking for now? Man, I was doing that in my sleep,” Bishop said. “If any team had just given me a chance - just like Blinn, just like K-State - and let me play, the sky would have been the limit. Every chance I was given to play, I was productive.”

There’s a reason he refuses to refer to himself as a “former athlete” - Bishop believes he could play right now, if given the opportunity.

But that’s who he is - honest and opinionated, possibly to a fault.

Here he is on losing to Nebraska as a junior: “I knew they were good - I'd seen the videotape. But they had to play the game the same way we did. That was my mentality going into it… But then you get on the field and they're like a machine. We were able to move the ball, score touchdowns, but we lost big. At the end, though, I'm saying to myself, 'They're good, but they can be beat.' And that was my whole mentality for the next time I had the opportunity to play against them. Regardless of who was on their squad, I knew they were going to get beat.”

On defeating Syracuse in the Fiesta Bowl: “Donovan McNabb took some shots at us during the team functions, basically saying what he was going to do, what we weren't going to do, all of that. I took all of that, balled it up and let it explode on game day. Of course, walking away with the MVP of that game and having a great game, along with my great teammates, from that point on I was like, 'There is no way anyone in the nation can beat us.' I had my mind made up, and my teammates had made their mind up, too. That was the greatest feeling, besides winning - knowing that you have the rest of your guys ready to battle with you.”

On losing to A&M: “There were a lot of things going on before that game that a lot of the media didn't know about - coaches had already signaled they were going to Oklahoma, and players that were upset with it because once you've been with a coach three or four years, you've grown up with that coach. You don't want to see them just up and leave... I'm not saying that was a distraction, but it played a part in it. Regardless, my mind frame was we still have to play this game. Let's go beat these guys and get this national title on the road. We were up, what, 27-13 (27-12 was the actual score)? We got away from doing what we'd been doing all year - not letting our foot off the gas. If we could score 70, we scored 70… I didn't care who won - UCLA or Miami - that was irrelevant to me because we had to win. During the course of the game, I didn't even know they had announced the score. I was so locked into beating A&M. During the game and immediately after, that was one of the first questions - 'Do you think y'all slowed down because the two teams lost?' I was like, 'What two teams? What are you talking about?’ I wasn't thinking about that. Once it was over, though, I wasn't sure if that was the reason we stopped doing what we were doing, and if we did, that was the first time in my career at K-State that we had gotten off the gas instead of just 'Let's score, let's score, defense get the ball so we can score again.' We were a fine-tuned machine in that regard - David Allen, return this punt/kickoff back - and let's keep rolling. This was the first time, though, where it was like, 'This can't be happening.' I know you can't win every game, but…”

And, of course, the Heisman, which was claimed by Texas running back Ricky Williams: “They screwed me. The funny thing is I've hung out with Ricky Williams probably 15 times since the 1998 Heisman deal. One day - in fact, this past year in Austin, I saw him and his mom... I said to his mother, ‘You know, that trophy is supposed to be mine.’ She said, ‘If you'd come and played at Texas, you probably would have won. But he went to Texas, so he got more votes.’ I said, 'Do you really think he had a better season than I did?' She said, 'Mike, you were great but my son won.' I was like, 'No, just give me the answer!' We laughed about it... I've told Rick before - 'That was supposed to be my trophy.' He always says, 'You were good, man. You were good.' I'm like, 'My team held you to 25 yards, man. You know it should be mine.' You know, during the whole ceremony, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I knew that Tim Couch and Cade McNown had nothing on me. So I figured it was a 50-50 shot... They make you feel like anyone can win it. Two hours before, though, during the ceremony, something didn't feel right... I was glad to see (Williams) win it because he played running back and K-State shut him down. But I would have been heated if it was given to one of those other guys. They couldn't hold my jock.”

He lives in Houston, where he’s mentoring and working out young quarterbacks. In fact, one of his proteges is Jonathan Banks, a one-time K-State (redshirt) quarterback who is entering his second season at Tulane. Bishop says he keeps it real with the young guns, granting them access to any information he possesses.

But they’re able to Google him, he says, to “see what I’ve done and trust me because I’ve been there and done that.”

I'll always be remembered for: Being a winner.

My welcome to K-State/Manhattan moment: It goes back to my first game. My K-State moment was playing my first game, playing at Northern Illinois and having a great game. I think I threw four touchdowns and ran one. That was my K-State moment because I didn't know what to expect as far as next level play, but playing against Northern Illinois and having that much success my first game, my debut as K-State quarterback? That set the stage for me.

Best teammate: Probably my roommate, Jeff Kelly. We're both from Texas, and we lived the whole time we were there. But if I had to take a collective group - actually, I'll take two - the offensive line, because they gave me the opportunities to do what I did, and then have to give respect to Darnell McDonald, Aaron Lockett and Gavin Peries. Have to give respect to them because they were on the other end of a lot of touchdowns.

Best game: I would say the Missouri game at Manhattan. I think I rushed for 196 and might have passed for 3-something. It was my best game. If they had let me finish I would have had over 200 yards rushing. That was best game, but if I had to pick another, I'd say the Fiesta Bowl.

What I miss the most about K-State: The locker room. I miss that. We had comedy every day, all day in the locker room. We had some guys that would just take a moment when we knew we didn't practice well and they'd take that moment and turn around and have you laughing in the middle of the huddle. I miss being around those guys. Every athlete - you don't really miss the game because you can go back and watch the film. But you miss those moments in the locker room.

Any regrets? I do have one. I think it was my junior year, going into spring football, when I was accused of having a bar fight and I never threw a punch. I had to go down to Riley County station or whatever it's called and file a report. I'm like, I walked up on the situation, I knew the guys who were fighting and the next thing I knew, my name is being dragged into it. Then I had to let these guys know that they're lying - I never threw a punch. I really didn't... I didn't even really go out when I was in Manhattan like that. When I went out that night and saw the fight - I knew both parties. I was in class with one of the guys... I regret even going to Burger King that night.

How has the K-State education/experience helped professionally? You know those 16 rules that Coach (Bill) Snyder has? Those rules apply to everyday life. Along with being committed and accountable, no matter what you do and how much money you have in life, you have to be committed to doing the right thing. Time-wise, you have to be dedicated. Being a quarterback, you have to follow those rules. You're actually held accountable for all of those rules from Day 1 when you step on campus.

Fill in the blank - K-State football is ______: On the rise. It's on the rise because I think they're getting some good players in that they have an opportunity to get back to those 8,9 games a year. With the talent they have right now, especially at the quarterback position - two guys who both played well when they were on the field - I think they're on the rise to be back at the top of the Big 12 again, maybe on the rise to play for a Big 12 championship, on the rise to get back into one of the top four bowls this year...

BONUS - Skylar Thompson or Alex Delton? How do you see that playing out? Me, personally, I'm not a fan of playing two quarterbacks. What they should do because they have two guys that can play. I'm going to let them battle during the off-season and during training camp, and I'm going to keep stats like it's a game. I'd say, 'This is what it is - I know both of you guys want to play, but whoever puts the best foot forward is going to be the Game 1 starter. Now, just because you're named the starter, you know the guy behind you can play. So, two or three mistakes later, I'm rotating and I'm going to stay with the hot guy.' I think, that way, they both know what's going on going into the season, and they both have an opportunity to say, 'Hey, I have one shot to win this job and I don't want to lose it.' If you're honest and put it out there on the table, that puts those guys in the right state of mind so where they can say, 'If I don't make this throw, and you make this throw, you're taking me out of a job.' They have to compete this whole off-season and during two-a-days in order for them to see which guy is going to take the bull by the horns. Anytime you put a player in that position and they know what's at stake, they're going to handle their business. Now, the one that doesn't start? You know you're one play away. That's the mentality I think they should have.