KSU coach Bill Snyder sends KU QB Ryan Willis a note of encouragement

By Matt Tait     Dec 4, 2015
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Say what you will about Kansas State coach Bill Snyder and his dominance of the Jayhawks over the years. That has not taken away from the man’s ability to operate as a classy individual.

We’ve seen plenty of instances of this throughout the years and we recently got another one when KU quarterback Ryan Willis, who just wrapped up his freshman season as KU’s all-time leading freshman passer, posted to Twitter a note he got from Snyder following last week’s 45-14 K-State win in the season finale.

Here’s the note:

Now before you go off about the purple ink or the fact that Snyder should stick to worrying about his own players, remember that Willis’ dad, Steve, is a former K-State football player and the young man, though not seriously, was recruited by K-State out of Bishop Miege High School.

The Snyder way has long been synonymous with “family” and this kind of gesture shows what that’s all about.

Like it or hate it — like him or hate him — you have to at least tip your cap to Snyder’s sportsmanship and the fact that receiving the note clearly meant a lot to one of the KU football program’s most promising young players.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.