College football is admittedly evolving away from its community-based, people-driven origins. Expanding its footprint further than ever. Polarizing mechanisms to facilitate said expansion, such as conference realignment, are fanning the flames of discontent among the sport’s vetted traditionalists. So let’s dial it back to the fundamentals. To the heart of what keeps CFB ticking, keeps it thriving—its people. Those who set the foundations for its appeal and mobilized generations of fans. We at EssentiallySports conducted an exclusive interview with Aaron Lockett, who had some heartfelt things to say about the man who built his alma mater’s football program: A certain Bill Snyder.

As hyperbolic as it sounds, Bill Snyder is the single most important figure in the history of Kansas State athletics. 2 separate stints as head coach across 4 decades. That’s over 200 wins and 2 Big 12 championships. That’s the condensed version of what Bill Snyder did for KSU. As clichéd as it sounds, he put them on the map. Made them a perennial power set up for success well after him. This became evident when the Wildcats won another conference championship under his successor, Chris Klieman.

Aaron Lockett, a 3x All-Big 12 selection, had the privilege of his time at Kansas State coinciding with Coach Snyder. In his exclusive interview with EssentiallySports, Lockett acknowledged how much he owes to the great man. Not just professionally, but more importantly, in his traversal through life off the gridiron.

During the interview, which you can find on the ES Exclusives YouTube channel, we asked Aaron Lockett what kind of lessons Bill Snyder left him with. “Life lessons, you know. It’s interesting, I still talk to Bill today. I can call him Bill because I’m grown now! Coach Snyder back in the day, right?” said the former WR turned sports agent. “[Coach Snyder] was always trying to be a father figure more than just a coach. There were so many guys that came into [the program] with fathers in their lives, similar to myself…didn’t need a father figure. But while we’re away from home, he was always that foundation that you needed,” added Lockett. He proceeded to speak about realizing much later in life that Bill Snyder was setting him and his contemporaries up for long-term success.

“[Bill Snyder] talked more about life than he did about football. Now, as you go through your 20s and 30s and now 40s, you understand why he was doing what he was doing at that time and point. It was annoying, but now it’s beneficial,” he said. For the head coach of a college program, this sort of holistic development takes precedence over results on the field or hardware.

A fraction of players turn pro, with most needing to pivot. Aaron Lockett’s comments epitomize how well Coach Bill Snyder set everybody passing through K-State up to navigate the rollercoaster that is life. Lockett also told us about what made Snyder, the coach, as great as he was.

“He’s strategic. I don’t know how athletic he is, but he’s strategic. He sees things before they happen. But he also listens, which is one thing I took from him,” said Lockett in admiration of Bill Snyder. “He listened to his players. He listened to me. I’ll say, ‘Hey folks, let’s run this play.’ Maybe not immediately, but a quarter later, he’ll run the play. And if it worked out, he’ll trust me.” This sort of implicit trust being the driving factor for Bill Snyder really does tie back into that aforementioned reference to college football’s people-driven origins.

Snyder continues to work with the Wildcats as an ambassador, as the team he molded plays in a stadium named after him on Saturdays. A microcosm of how perpetual his impact on Kansas State and that community is. Speaking of which, this segues into what Aaron Lockett said about the current state of footballing affairs in Manhattan, Kansas.

Chris Klieman continues to reap the rewards of the seeds Bill Snyder sowed

After Bill Snyder’s 2nd and conclusive retirement in 2018, many thought the program was due to a sustained period of mediocrity. It was a rational sentiment, too, as you were taking the centerpiece of the entire operation since 1989 out of the picture. A rebuild did seem daunting. However, Snyder really did set Coach Klieman up well. 4 seasons in, they were back on their pedestal atop the Big 12. Maintaining their tryst with double-digits in the win column. Now coming off a 9-4 season, it’s no surprise, Aaron Lockett is a proponent of Chris Klieman’s K-State.

“It was a bit of a roller coaster last season for Kansas State. How do you see it going for them? What do you think needs to be done?” we asked Lockett during his exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. Now tapped into the agent realm, he pointed to their success in the NFL draft as a yardstick for how Kansas State continues to be a top-end program. “While it’s a roller coaster, they have great players, right? They had three guys drafted. My year, we had six guys drafted. And so you can just see they still have a level of talent that’s needed,” said Aaron Lockett. Himself one of those 6 guys he alluded to.

“I see the quarterback getting better. Avery [Johnson] is getting more experienced… Coach Klienman knows what he’s doing. So I expect them to always be competitive,” he added. Lockett is particularly bought into redshirt sophomore QB1 Avery Johnson. Whom he likened to Lamar Jackson. Having replaced Ohio State transfer and National Champ Will Howard under center last season, Johnson more than held his own. His development is certainly a key factor for Kansas State’s 2025 season. As well as an underlying plot for the next iteration of the draft. Alas, hypothesizing and projecting how next season plays out remains futile. What isn’t futile, though, is celebrating the achievements and contributions of Bill Snyder. Not merely to KSU, but to the sport as a collective.