Chuck Lillie is the newest addition to the football department in Manhattan.

Kansas State's new scouting analyst will work on the recruiting side of things with both Taylor Braet and Hank Jacobs, as the Wildcats continue to beef up that part of the program.

Having only been on the job a couple weeks - and most of that being under quarantine - Lillie caught up with KStateOnline to provide members more background and to introduce himself to the fan base.

KSO: Most know that you came from Clemson, but where are you from, or where did you grow up?

CHUCK LILLIE: I'm originally from Baltimore, Maryland. I lived there my whole life before moving to Clemson. I was at Clemson for seven years before coming here. I haven’t moved around a whole lot. I didn’t even like college football a whole lot growing up. I was more of a pro fan with the Ravens in town. I didn’t really appreciate college football for everything that it is worth until I got to Clemson.

KSO: Of course things are a bit crazy right now, and you were hired in the midst of all of it. Were you able to move into Manhattan and settle in at all?

CHUCK LILLIE: I got out here for work right before spring break. They put me up in a hotel, and just last week I moved into an apartment. I'll be in an apartment for about a four-month lease for the summer, and then I'll be relocating in August to the place I’ll live all of next year. I have been able to get all settled. It's kind of nice. Originally, I was planning on eating at the team facility and whatnot and not cooking a lot. Clearly, we can't do that. I've been going to the grocery store to get some human interaction and fresh food and not trying to eat fast food for every meal. It’s been nice to spend a lot of time cooking and learning a couple new things that way. I'm working a lot but being a homebody at the same time.

KSO: How were you introduced to the potential of this job at Kansas State, or what was the connection that got you in the door?

CHUCK LILLIE: Yeah, it was kind of a weird connection. Really, what ultimately happened is that I had just wrapped up our season at Clemson. We were coming back from New Orleans, and I learned that N.C. State was going to be hiring an assistant director of player personnel (recruiting department position), so I was able to get an interview there. When I interviewed, I felt like I did a great job. Their director of player personnel came back and said, look, we’re going to be going in another direction, but I’m going to pass your name along to Kansas State if that’s okay. He was pretty good friends with their running back coach and had worked with him a long time. So, coach (Brian) Anderson, I guess, gave my name to the attention of Taylor Braet, Hank Jacobs and coach (Chris) Klieman. Hank reached out and we talked on the phone for about half an hour. He reached back out the next day and said, 'hey, we want to bring you down for an in-person interview.' I flew into Manhattan the next day, interviewed, and got back out and heard back from them a week later that they were offering me the job.

KSO: What’s an interview with Coach Chris Klieman like?

CHUCK LILLIE: It was super laid back. You know, he just kind of wanted to know about me as a person. He just asked some questions to gauge my thought process and dive into my judgment on if someone would be a fit with us at Kansas State and everything we are looking for, athletically and character-wise. It was a great conversation. We actually had a couple of mutual people that we knew and talked about that. Really, it was extremely informal. I knew right away that he was someone that I wanted to work for and knew my values aligned with his, and it was an easy decision to make when I got the phone call that they were offering me the job.

KSO: One of those mutual contacts was probably Dabo Swinney, I assume?

CHUCK LILLIE: Yep. Coach Klieman and coach Swinney, they have known each other for a while. Coach Klieman has spoken at one of Clemson’s coaching clinics when he was still at North Dakota State. Coach Swinney and Coach Klieman have kept in touch, along with Woody McCorvey over at Clemson. Coach McCorvey was someone that I went to a lot over my time at Clemson and asked him for advice and asked him to bridge connections for me in the NFL world and the college football world. That was somebody that I owe a lot to in terms of helping me out, helping bridge connections and looking out for me and making sure my career got off to the right start. I know that coach McCorvey and coach Swinney had a conversation with coach Klieman. I think that helped sway his decision for sure.

KSO: What it’s like to work with Brent Venables; did you asked him at all about Kansas State?

CHUCK LILLIE: So, we didn’t talk a whole lot about Kansas State until I had been offered the job. There wasn’t a whole lot of turnaround time between the time I accepted the position and the time that I left Clemson to get out to Manhattan. He and I talked about the town. He talked to me about the school, the people to get in touch with that would be good contacts to have out here. So, he really helped me out a whole lot, just with the transition and he was very excited for me. Obviously, I’m working at his alma-mater right now, and he was really able to help me out and point me in the right direction in terms of what to look for out here. I didn’t have any hesitations about taking the job or coming out here, but he definitely reassured me and told me how awesome the atmosphere is, and the game-day atmosphere is like no other. You know, coming from a place like Clemson, I was a student at Clemson and I worked at Clemson, and to me that is the best game-day atmosphere in college football. And to hear coach Venables rave, to see him glow and hear him talk about the game-day atmosphere at Kansas State got me very excited.

KSO: Has it been tougher to integrate into Kansas State because of how everything has been shut down and you're so far removed from everyone?

CHUCK LILLIE: Yeah. Everybody has been super welcoming and extremely helpful. They're always willing to help out with anything that we have going on. Originally, I was still able to still be in the office a little bit, and we would watch tape as a staff and stuff like that. Now, we have really prioritized all the digital communication, not with just recruits but with each other. I'm making sure that we over-communicate. I’ve always been one to prefer a phone call rather than a text message, so I’m calling these coaches all the time and making sure we are all on the same page. Every day presents a new challenge, but I think we’re working through it pretty well together.