GAMEDAY www.kstatecollegian.com | Friday, Sept. 18, 2009
Guide
A double dose of Snyder
Courtesy photo
Senior offensive lineman Nick Stringer has recorded 24 career starts as a Wildcat. In 2008, he was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection and is a captain in 2009.
Stringer gets chance to play for coach who recruited him By Ashley Dunkak Kansas State Collegian
Offensive lineman Nick Stringer is experiencing a unique sensation in the world of football: his coach retired and came out of retirement within the span of his college career. Of course, that coach is Bill Snyder – a legend even as he stands on the sidelines and does his job each day at a time. “It doesn’t seem possible really,” Stringer said of Snyder’s comeback. “You don’t go to college expecting to have two different head coaches or three different position coaches, and I did. With the help of some great coaches and teammates, it’s made it pretty easy.”
Stringer said Snyder has maintained his persona despite the years off from coaching. “His work ethic hasn’t changed,” Stringer said. “He uses his cell phone a little bit better now. I get texts from him that I don’t think I would’ve gotten back in [2005], but that’s about it.” After red shirting as a freshman, Stringer, fifth-year senior in social sciences, started on the offensive line for the last four seasons. This year, he received the distinction of being a team captain. “I think he’s a great leader on this team, just steps up and tries to get the guys going,” said starting quarterback Carson Coffman. “A lot of the guys respect him too
because he’s one of the hardest workers. He’s always doing his job right. We can really count on him just to be a mainstay.” Stringer said he views his responsibilities as a captain as “being a leader, do[ing] whatever I can to help my team out whenever they need me and being positive when things aren’t going good.” One example of his support of teammates is his outreach to kicker Josh Cherry, who had a difficult time in the game last weekend at Louisiana-Lafayette. “The fact that Nick Stringer’s coming up saying, ‘Hey, shake it off, buddy. We’re still here for you,’ means a lot to me,” Cherry said. The players have embraced
Snyder’s family mentality, and it has had a positive impact on the team. Stringer said he enjoys “the time we have before the games, sitting in the locker room hanging out with each other, after the games, on the weekends, just being together. [We’ve] kind of formed into a family around here, and not a lot of people can say that.” Stringer spent his first football days as a linebacker and tight end back in the fifth grade. “My mom didn’t really want me to play until I got a little bit bigger, but a couple of my classmates were playing, so I got on a team [and] started out playing flag football,” he said. Stringer said he was a little smaller growing up, which is hard
to imagine when you’re looking up at his 6-foot-6-inch frame. His dad was a high school coach, so Stringer played for him as he got older. That was where he first began playing on the offensive line. Now a captain for the Wildcats, Stringer said he has no regrets about sticking around through the coaching tenure of former coach Ron Prince. When Snyder retired, some of the players he recruited decided to take their talent elsewhere. “Some of my teammates that I came in with decided to leave and go other places, and I’m glad I stayed,” Stringer said. “I love KState, I love being a Wildcat and I’m glad that coach Snyder’s back and really excited for the rest of the season.”
Scouting Report Page 2 | Q&A with Jeffrey Fitzgerald Page 2 | Match-up page 3 | Game Preview Page 4