81 MINUS 40 DAYS TO KICKOFF: Kyle Klein

#81 Kyle Klein Redshirt Sophomore 6-4 | 210 Loveland, Colo. Bio

Position: Wide Receiver Previous College: None Projection: Second-String Status: On Scholarship

The only remaining Klein on the Kansas State roster, Kyle Edward Klein (b. Oct. 25, 1991), has experienced quite a bit in his brief college career, even before he has collected a single statistic while wearing purple.

The younger brother of legendary K-State quarterback Collin Klein (too soon?) grayshirted in 2010, arrived as a defensive end, converted to tight end before the 2011 season even had started, redshirted and then...

...just prior to Cotton Bowl prep, the coaches asked him to change positions again, so now he's a wide receiver.

Very few players endure two position changes in less than a year, especially when they've never actually played a down. But Kyle acquitted himself well in 2012 spring practice and reviews of his abilities were glowing.

That didn't translate into playing time in the fall, though. Lodged deep in a stacked wide receiver corps, Kyle proved unable to beat out Torell Miller for playing time as the "blocking" receiver behind Chris Harper.

He also struggled a little more than I expected in the 2013 spring game (two catches for 31 yards), while Miller thrived, so I have the former projected as a backup role and the latter as a probably starter.

However, it's worth remembering that Jordy Nelson broke out of nowhere in his redshirt sophomore season. I see a lot of similarities between the two players, although Kyle obviously isn't nearly as fast. Maybe history repeats itself.