Chris Klieman's Kansas State promotes Brian Lepak to bolster offensive line

The Kansas State Wildcats made a move to bolster its offensive line. According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel, Kansas State coach Chris Klieman is promoting Brian Lepak to offensive line coach from his job as tight ends coach.

Lepak has been with Kansas State since 2021 and has risen in the ranks and now will be coaching the offensive line. Drew Liddle, meanwhile, will be the assistant offensive line coach, the school announced in a press release.

"Not only is Brian one of the top young coaches in our conference, but his background and experience with the offensive line made him the logical choice for this role," Klieman said, vua 247Sports.

"It was also important to have two coaches work in the trenches with our guys, and elevating Drew to assist Brian provides us stability and allows for a smooth transition."

Lepak is part of a new-look Kansas State offense that saw offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Conor Riley leave to take a job with the Dallas Cowboys.

Brian Lepak is grateful Chris Klieman made him the OL coach

Following the news of the promotion, Brian Lepak issued a statement with gratitude. Lepak says he learned a ton from Riley and is excited to be leading the offensive line, but is sad to leave his tight ends.

"I am grateful that Coach Klieman and Coach Wells have the faith in me to take this next step in my career," Lepak said. "I am excited to get back to coaching the offensive line and building on the many things I learned from Coach Riley.

"Whomever becomes the new tight ends coach will be getting a group that is extremely coachable and gave Kansas State their very best the last three seasons. I cannot thank those guys enough for all they have done for me."

Lepak started coaching in 2014 as a graduate assistant at Indiana.

Chris Klieman, meanwhile, is entering his seventh season as the head coach at Kansas State. He led the team to a Big 12 title in 2022 and has gone 48-28.