Colorado QB enjoys K-State visit

Kansas State is still in the midst of an ongoing search for its quarterback of the class.

There seems to be some progress with one of the current offered targets – Chris Herron of Houston – but the Wildcats are still combing the country for other options as well.

That is where Loveland High (Colorado) signal caller Riley Kinney enters the picture.

The Class of 2019 athlete hails from the same high school that produced Collin Klein.

And you guessed it, he’s being recruited by Klein and the Wildcats.

Without an offer in his possession at this point, Kinney still has more to prove to the K-State coaching staff, but he was able to give a strong first impression by visiting Manhattan.

The athletic bloodlines in the family are strong. His father played at Colorado State and his sister is a volleyball prospect being recruited by K-State as well. They were both visitors of the Kansas State athletic department recently.

“My sister and I had a great time connecting with terrific football and volleyball programs in ‘The Hat’,” Kinney said. “We’ve followed the Wildcats for many years, dating back to when Coach (Bill) Snyder recruited my dad out of high school.”

“I loved the family type of community I felt on the visit and the culture that Coach Snyder has created,” he added. “It’s a great school with an amazing coaching staff and quality athletes that seem to work hard and want to compete at a high level.”

Though they couldn’t stick around for the actual Spring Game, they did get a good taste of what the campus had to offer and watch practice on the Friday before. In addition, he was able to spend time with Klein.

“I’m a huge fan of Coach Klein and was very impressed with the overall quality of the quarterbacks currently on the roster,” Kinney said. “Coach Klein was a great player and is now an even better coach.”

Kinney also explained what he was able to experience and see from observing a Kansas State spring football practice.

“I loved the upbeat tempo,” he said. “They had great intensity and everyone seemed to be truly having a blast.

"Like I mentioned, I think they have some pretty good talent at the quarterback position. I also had the chance to meet with a few coaches and actually sit in on the position meeting before the practice.”

The next phase of K-State’s recruitment of Kinney will take place over the course of the next month when Klein returns to Loveland to check in on Kinney and watch him throw.

The evaluation period during the spring allows for that. Kansas State likes what they see on film thus far and wants to validate that by evaluating him in a live session. A camp visit to Manhattan in June is also possible.