'It's About The Players': New Texas A&M OC Collin Klein Breaks Down Offense
What made Collin Klein leave his alma mater Kansas State for the Texas A&M offensive coordinator opening? Several factors played into the decision, but perhaps none bigger than the staff being assembled under new coach Mike Elko.
"It was about the right people at the right time, and I really felt that with coach Elko," Klein said in an interview with A&M's production team posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Klein, who helped Kansas State win its first Big 12 title since 2003 in 2022, will now look to end the drought for A&M as the new man on offense. The Aggies are looking for their first 10-win season since their inaugural year in the SEC in 2012.
A&M fans should remember Klein from his playing time in Manhattan under Bill Snyder. The dual-threat quarterback finished third in the Heisman race behind Johnny Manziel and Manti Te'o after totaling over 3,500 yards of offense and 39 touchdowns.
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Klein's offense isn't based on one specific play style. Will Howard and Avery Johnson were mobile quarterbacks, allowing for more run-design options out of the backfield.
Everything for Klein tempers around a player's skills and what provides the best chance of being successful on Saturdays in the conference where it just means more.
That's an emphasis for the 34-year-old offensive coordinator in Year 1.
“This game has been and will always be about the players," Klein said. " ruly as much as it’s not my offense or my system, it’s me learning about our players, me learning and figuring out how they tick, how they think, what their strengths are. What are their weaknesses? How can we help develop them?"
Defensively, the Aggies have been a staple since Jimbo Fisher's hiring in 2018. Elko spent four seasons crafting one of the league's most consistent front sevens that garnered national attention.
In Elko's final year as the Aggies' defensive coordinator, A&M finished third nationally in scoring, holding opponents to 15.9 points per contest. It was more of the same with lesser talent at Duke, where Elko transformed from the Blue Devil from a 3-9 roster to a 9-4 bowl champion within an offseason.
Offensively, A&M turned the corner last season after Fisher relinquished play-calling after back-to-back underwhelming campaigns. The production looked promising in the early returns under Conner Weigman, but a slew of injuries and inconsistent play led to the eventual firing of Fisher and the return of Elko following a two-year stay in Durham.
Still, Klein could pick up where Petrino left off. Even after Weigman's season-ending foot injury in Week 4, the Aggies finished 25th nationally in scoring (33.3 points per game) and 30th in total yards (270.8 yards per game) behind Max Johnson and Jaylen Henderson.
The cupboard is far from bare, too, as A&M returns multiple key starters, including receivers Moose Muhammad III and Noah Thomas, tight end Donovan Green and running backs Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens.
A major standpoint for Klein starts with understanding his players, their roles, and capabilities, then using that knowledge to concoct a promising game plan for Saturdays.
“We have to develop them as players," Klein said. "We have to develop them as men and then use their strengths to fit in and build around them because that’s where the game’s won and lost.”
Timing is everything in life. It was a factor for Klein to depart Manhattan and head to College Station. But another element was Elko's outlook on A&M's future and its player progression on and off the field, something Klein cannot wait to see in action this fall.
“What really excited me about this opportunity here with coach Elko was how he talked about discipline, accountability and development of our players and of our team," Klein said. "I think that’s really important to me is not just taking, plugging and playing. That’s not what it is."
