Klein continues to build Wildcats staff with hire of Big 12 assistant coach
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MANHATTAN, Kan. – New Kansas State coach Collin Klein continues to build his inaugural Wildcats coaching staff, adding an experienced running backs coach in Cory Patterson, who has put in eight years of work at various Big 12 and Big Ten programs.
Patterson most recently coached running backs at Oklahoma State this past season. He has served at Illinois from 2018-2020 coaching tight ends and spent two seasons coaching up the Illini's running backs from 2021-2022.
Prior to his time at Oklahoma State, Patterson spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons as Purdue's associate head coach and wide receivers coach under former coach Ryan Walters.
Keep the party going
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) December 30, 2025
Welcome @Coach_CPatt, Running Backshttps://t.co/zYw0r2s2mT pic.twitter.com/S0yvXUdz3R
"I am excited about the opportunity to do something special here at K-State," Patterson said via press release. "There has been a tradition of great running back play here, so we have to keep the party going!"
Before breaking into the college game, Patterson enjoyed a decorated high school coach stint in the St. Louis area, first as an assistant at Christian Brothers and Trinity Catholic.
He led Trinity Catholic to a 27-6 record and a state championship while serving from 2015-2017.
"Coach Patterson has a great history of developing talent," Klein said in K-State's press release. "His passion for people is infectious, and he is a big part of where we are going offensively."
Patterson has enjoyed successful stints during his college coaching career, helping guide former Illinois tailback Chase Brown to a combined for 2,648 yards and 15 touchdowns over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Brown was an All-America and finalist for the Doak Walker Award in 2022.
That season, Brown rushed for 1,643 yards, an average of 136.9 yards per game to rank third in the country, while leading the FBS with 10 100-yard rushing performance before going on to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft by Cincinnati and has been the Bengals' starting running back each of the last two seasons.
Brown's rushing mark included a 223-yard performance during a 20-18 nine-overtime win at No. 7 Penn State and Beaver Stadium as he joined Illini legends Howard Griffith (1990) and Rashard Mendenhall (2007) as the only players in program history with multiple 200-yard rushing games in a single season. The 2021 season also saw Patterson coach true freshman Josh McCray rush for a pair of 100-yard games.
During his time at Purdue, Patterson served as the associate head coach and assisted with the wide receivers. He helped star wideout Deion Burks to All-Big Ten Second Team honors in 2023 as he led the Boilermakers in receptions (47), receiving yards (629) and touchdowns (7), the latter ranking fourth in the conference.
During his lone season at Oklahoma State, Patterson tutored five Cowboy running backs to a combined 1,172 yards and six touchdowns during what was a disappointing 2-10 season.
Wildcats Coaching Staff
Defensive Coordinator/Safeties: Jordan Peterson
Special Teams Coordinator: Stanton Weber
Quarterbacks: Christian Ellsworth
Running Backs: Cory Patterson
Defensive Line: Buddy Wyatt
Linebackers: Nick Toth
Cornerbacks: Marcus Woodson
Defensive Backs: Jeremiah Johnson
General Manager: Trey Scott
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Jacob is a contributor to Kansas State and a seasoned journalist with over eight years of covering college football on digital platforms. He also contributes to Arkansas On SI and has previous writing experience at Saturday Down South and SB Nation. He is a graduate of Southern Arkansas University.
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