A Veteran Leader of a Close Brotherhood
May 13, 2026 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Sterling Lockett doesn't remember the specific game or year. All that he remembers is that he was with older brother Tyler Lockett prior to a Kansas State football game when he was introduced to the 6-foot-5, 226-pound quarterback who was powering the Wildcats to victories again and again and again.
It was Collin Klein in the flesh.
"I was really young," Lockett says. "All I remember thinking was, 'This dude is huge.'"
Today, Lockett calls him "Collin" or "Coach Klein," who carries big-time goals for the football program he dearly loves.
Just as Sterling, a senior wide receiver, remembers from back in the day when Tyler and Collin played for Bill Snyder, Sterling understands the Wildcats could start out as underdogs once again in the fall. ESPN recently broke down the Big 12 Conference, from best to worst, and believed that K-State had the 10th best offseason in the 16-team Big 12.
"That's just a big part of K-State's identity," Lockett says. "We're always a team that people count out, that people don't think is going to win. In 2022, we were (picked fifth) and looked what happened, we won the Big 12 Championship. It's just a part of this program's identity.
"But you're always going to get our 100%. We're a team that if you think you're going to get the easy win, you're not going to get it, because you're going to get our 100% effort, and you have to bring your A game when you play us."
The Lockett family knows all-too well about playing on K-State teams that fell under the radar only to end up often times being the toast of college football.
Starting with Sterling's father, Kevin (1993-96), then uncle Aaron (1998-01), and then onto Tyler (2011-14), the Locketts were all All-Americans and were a part of 187 victories between 1993 and 2014. The Locketts were a part of four of K-State's seven 11-win seasons, and played in a total of 12 bowl games, while combining for 603 catches, 9,142 receiving yards, 69 receiving touchdowns, and 13,655 all-purpose yards at K-State.
"It's definitely a blessing," Sterling says. "I thank God every day for the family He blessed me with and the situation that He brought me into because a lot of where I am today and a lot of who I am today wouldn't be the same if I didn't grow up in this family. I'm just thankful that He's blessed me with the opportunity in this family. They've taught me so much more than football. It's truly a blessing to grow up in such an amazing family."
Sterling will carry on the family business in Manhattan this fall with Klein calling the shots on the sideline as head coach — the mastermind of an offense that experienced great success the past two years at Texas A&M with Klein serving as offensive coordinator, while Klein also engineered two of the top-10 offenses in K-State history in 2022 and 2023 while serving as offensive coordinator for the Wildcats.
"We're going to be really fast and explosive," Lockett says. "There are going to be a lot of big plays, which I'm really excited for. It has a lot of versatility. He runs it in a way that allows a lot of people to do a lot of special things. One thing about Collin as an OC is he's really good at using people's strengths to their advantage. You could see in 2022 when we won the Big 12. At Texas A&M, he used a lot of his receivers, running backs and tight ends on the best way he could. I'm really excited about that.
"He puts a lot of people in the best positions for them to succeed. He does a really great job of putting people into positions to go win their one-on-ones in the best way they know how, whether that be as a downfield threat, or change-of-direction threat, or a short option threat. Whatever it may be, he sets people up really well to succeed in those situations."
It was difficult at times during Lockett's first three seasons. In fact, it wasn't until last season that the 5-foot-10, 169-pounder made his first-career reception — a 13-yard catch against UCF. Last season, his longest kickoff return went for 23 yards, and his longest punt return went for 22 yards, as kickoffs and punts were at times short and opposing special teams players were quick to the attack.
"I try to not limit myself on specific goals," Lockett says. "By the end of the year, I just want to make sure I did everything I could to help the team in the best way I could and truly left the biggest impact I could on K-State football. K-State means a lot to me and my family, so to do everything I can to support that means a lot to me."
Lockett welcomed in a largely new corps of wide receivers in the winter, a group that brings back senior Jaron Tibbs and features Izaiah Williams (Texas A&M), Josh Manning (Missouri), Brandon White (Hawai'i) and Derrick Salley Jr. (Hutchinson Community College).
"Crazy to say, I think I'm the oldest one in the room," he says. "It's been really good. This has definitely been one of my favorite groups that we've had. We're all super close together. We do stuff all the time. A bunch of us just got some Mexican food yesterday with everybody who was still in town. We're a super tight-knit group. Our wide receivers coach, Thad Ward, does a great job of interacting with all of us and making sure we're all interacting with each other. It's a really close brotherhood. We developed a lot in the spring and came closer together. I'm really excited for this year."
As for more consistent kickoff and punt return production in the fall? That starts with first-year special teams coordinator Stanton Weber, the former K-State special teams dynamo who spent the past three seasons mentoring one of the nation's best special teams units at Toledo.
"(Weber) has been great," Lockett says. "He's super hands on with everything that we're going through, whether it be setting up returns, or whatever it may be. He's super open to people coming over to meet with him. Unfortunately, last year, it seemed like every time we played a team the punter didn't punt the ball farther than 30 yards. I'm looking forward to this year. Hopefully we'll be able to set up some great returns. He was here when Coach Snyder was here for special teams. So, he truly knows how important special teams is, and I'm looking forward to keep working with him and see how far that can go."
Hopefully, at least once, Lockett could have the opportunity to take one to the house.
But Lockett isn't thinking about any of that yet.
Instead, Lockett is thinking about Klein, who appeared larger than life the first time Lockett met him in person many years ago, and who years later recruited Lockett to K-State out of Blue Valley High School, and who has now endeared himself with the players on his first team at K-State.
"Collin is super relatable to everybody," Lockett says. "The thing I really like about him is that he's played here, and he knows how much K-State means to people and how much our culture and competitive spirit means to people. Playing for Coach Snyder, he knows the tenacity and grit that K-State has. You can see it in everything we do, his competitive nature will start to come out, and he's not even on the field. It's awesome to have a coach who's so relatable toward his players and understands everything we're going through and learning and continuing to develop. He's right there with us and ready to help us out in any way. It's really great."
It all comes back to the football program: "Kansas State."
"When I think about Kansas State, the first thing I think about is the way I grew up watching the teams and how Kansas State is always the team that nobody wants to play because we give it 100% the whole game," Lockett says. "We have relentless effort. We have tenacity. And we expect to win."
Sterling Lockett doesn't remember the specific game or year. All that he remembers is that he was with older brother Tyler Lockett prior to a Kansas State football game when he was introduced to the 6-foot-5, 226-pound quarterback who was powering the Wildcats to victories again and again and again.
It was Collin Klein in the flesh.
"I was really young," Lockett says. "All I remember thinking was, 'This dude is huge.'"
Today, Lockett calls him "Collin" or "Coach Klein," who carries big-time goals for the football program he dearly loves.
Just as Sterling, a senior wide receiver, remembers from back in the day when Tyler and Collin played for Bill Snyder, Sterling understands the Wildcats could start out as underdogs once again in the fall. ESPN recently broke down the Big 12 Conference, from best to worst, and believed that K-State had the 10th best offseason in the 16-team Big 12.
"That's just a big part of K-State's identity," Lockett says. "We're always a team that people count out, that people don't think is going to win. In 2022, we were (picked fifth) and looked what happened, we won the Big 12 Championship. It's just a part of this program's identity.
"But you're always going to get our 100%. We're a team that if you think you're going to get the easy win, you're not going to get it, because you're going to get our 100% effort, and you have to bring your A game when you play us."
The Lockett family knows all-too well about playing on K-State teams that fell under the radar only to end up often times being the toast of college football.
Starting with Sterling's father, Kevin (1993-96), then uncle Aaron (1998-01), and then onto Tyler (2011-14), the Locketts were all All-Americans and were a part of 187 victories between 1993 and 2014. The Locketts were a part of four of K-State's seven 11-win seasons, and played in a total of 12 bowl games, while combining for 603 catches, 9,142 receiving yards, 69 receiving touchdowns, and 13,655 all-purpose yards at K-State.
"It's definitely a blessing," Sterling says. "I thank God every day for the family He blessed me with and the situation that He brought me into because a lot of where I am today and a lot of who I am today wouldn't be the same if I didn't grow up in this family. I'm just thankful that He's blessed me with the opportunity in this family. They've taught me so much more than football. It's truly a blessing to grow up in such an amazing family."
Sterling will carry on the family business in Manhattan this fall with Klein calling the shots on the sideline as head coach — the mastermind of an offense that experienced great success the past two years at Texas A&M with Klein serving as offensive coordinator, while Klein also engineered two of the top-10 offenses in K-State history in 2022 and 2023 while serving as offensive coordinator for the Wildcats.
"We're going to be really fast and explosive," Lockett says. "There are going to be a lot of big plays, which I'm really excited for. It has a lot of versatility. He runs it in a way that allows a lot of people to do a lot of special things. One thing about Collin as an OC is he's really good at using people's strengths to their advantage. You could see in 2022 when we won the Big 12. At Texas A&M, he used a lot of his receivers, running backs and tight ends on the best way he could. I'm really excited about that.
"He puts a lot of people in the best positions for them to succeed. He does a really great job of putting people into positions to go win their one-on-ones in the best way they know how, whether that be as a downfield threat, or change-of-direction threat, or a short option threat. Whatever it may be, he sets people up really well to succeed in those situations."
It was difficult at times during Lockett's first three seasons. In fact, it wasn't until last season that the 5-foot-10, 169-pounder made his first-career reception — a 13-yard catch against UCF. Last season, his longest kickoff return went for 23 yards, and his longest punt return went for 22 yards, as kickoffs and punts were at times short and opposing special teams players were quick to the attack.
"I try to not limit myself on specific goals," Lockett says. "By the end of the year, I just want to make sure I did everything I could to help the team in the best way I could and truly left the biggest impact I could on K-State football. K-State means a lot to me and my family, so to do everything I can to support that means a lot to me."
Lockett welcomed in a largely new corps of wide receivers in the winter, a group that brings back senior Jaron Tibbs and features Izaiah Williams (Texas A&M), Josh Manning (Missouri), Brandon White (Hawai'i) and Derrick Salley Jr. (Hutchinson Community College).
"Crazy to say, I think I'm the oldest one in the room," he says. "It's been really good. This has definitely been one of my favorite groups that we've had. We're all super close together. We do stuff all the time. A bunch of us just got some Mexican food yesterday with everybody who was still in town. We're a super tight-knit group. Our wide receivers coach, Thad Ward, does a great job of interacting with all of us and making sure we're all interacting with each other. It's a really close brotherhood. We developed a lot in the spring and came closer together. I'm really excited for this year."
As for more consistent kickoff and punt return production in the fall? That starts with first-year special teams coordinator Stanton Weber, the former K-State special teams dynamo who spent the past three seasons mentoring one of the nation's best special teams units at Toledo.
"(Weber) has been great," Lockett says. "He's super hands on with everything that we're going through, whether it be setting up returns, or whatever it may be. He's super open to people coming over to meet with him. Unfortunately, last year, it seemed like every time we played a team the punter didn't punt the ball farther than 30 yards. I'm looking forward to this year. Hopefully we'll be able to set up some great returns. He was here when Coach Snyder was here for special teams. So, he truly knows how important special teams is, and I'm looking forward to keep working with him and see how far that can go."
Hopefully, at least once, Lockett could have the opportunity to take one to the house.
But Lockett isn't thinking about any of that yet.
Instead, Lockett is thinking about Klein, who appeared larger than life the first time Lockett met him in person many years ago, and who years later recruited Lockett to K-State out of Blue Valley High School, and who has now endeared himself with the players on his first team at K-State.
"Collin is super relatable to everybody," Lockett says. "The thing I really like about him is that he's played here, and he knows how much K-State means to people and how much our culture and competitive spirit means to people. Playing for Coach Snyder, he knows the tenacity and grit that K-State has. You can see it in everything we do, his competitive nature will start to come out, and he's not even on the field. It's awesome to have a coach who's so relatable toward his players and understands everything we're going through and learning and continuing to develop. He's right there with us and ready to help us out in any way. It's really great."
It all comes back to the football program: "Kansas State."
"When I think about Kansas State, the first thing I think about is the way I grew up watching the teams and how Kansas State is always the team that nobody wants to play because we give it 100% the whole game," Lockett says. "We have relentless effort. We have tenacity. And we expect to win."
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