By Wendell Barnhouse | Big12Sports.com Correspondent
wendell@big12sports.com

One of the hard truths of college football is that every season brings change and adjustment - personnel lost, personnel gained. It's a never-ending cycle.

At Kansas State, Daniel Thomas is gone after leading the Wildcats in rushing each of the last two seasons. While Thomas provided steady offensive production last season, the Wildcats' defense had difficulty stopping opposing running games.

This season, Kansas State hopes to replace Thomas with not one but with several running backs. The defense is relying on a single new player at middle linebacker to help plug its porous run stopping.

Junior Arthur Brown sat out last season after transferring from Miami (Fla.). He displayed his talent and promise for this season with his eye-popping play on the scout team in practice. Brown will play middle linebacker and is expected to provide an immediate upgrade to a defensive unit that allowed 231 yards rushing per game last season.

"Arthur Brown — he's a beast," defensive back Alan Chapman, a junior-college transfer, told the Topeka Capital-Journal. "I was a bit surprised. I like him. He's going to a good addition to the team. He's one of the best I've seen."

Brown's younger brother Bryce, who transferred from Tennessee, is among several players who are battling for playing time at running back. Sophomore John Hubert, junior college transfer Angelo Pease and redshirt freshman DeMarcus Robinson are in the mix as is the intriguing Robert Rose - a 5-4, 173-pound sophomore.

"It will be very different than last year because we have more versatility as far as what these backs bring to the table," K-State co-offensive coordinator Dana Dimel told the Manhattan Mercury. "Though Daniel was fantastic, he brought a certain thing to the table and everyone knew what it was. Now, these guys all have a strength they bring. We want to try to utilize all their strengths."

Over the last two seasons, Thomas rushed for 2,850 yards and 30 touchdowns. His presence made Kansas State's offense reliant on the running game.

Junior Collin Klein, who started two games last season but attempted just 18 passes, will take over for departed quarterback Carson Coffman. Klein is 6-5 and 225 pounds. He has proven to be a dangerous runner and has worked hard to improve his passing.

"I don't think a day has gone by since he has been in this program and he hasn't found a way to get himself a little bit better every day," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said of Klein. He's developing into a tremendous leader. His grasp of the offense is very sharp."

In Snyder's first 17 years during his first tour of duty in Manhattan, K-State improved or matched its win total from the previous season 13 times. During Snyder 2.0, the Wildcats won six games in Year One and seven games in Year Two.

How the 2011 season plays out will determine if history repeats itself.

Kansas State Schedule

Sept. 3	Eastern Kentucky
Sept. 17	Kent State
Sept. 24	at Miami (Fla.)
Oct. 1	Baylor*
Oct. 8	Missouri*
Oct. 15	at Texas Tech*
Oct. 22	at Kansas*
Oct. 29	Oklahoma*
Nov. 5	at Oklahoma State*
Nov. 12	Texas A&M*
Nov. 19	at Texas*
Dec. 3	Iowa State*

Coach: Bill Snyder, 20th season at Kansas State.
2010: 7-6 overall, 3-5 in Big 12 North Division.
Bowl: Lost to Syracuse, 36-34, in Pinstripe Bowl.
Returning starters: 5 on offense, 7 on defense.
Key returnees: Safety Tysyn Hartman; Wide receiver Brodrick Smith Safety Ty Zimmerman; Linebacker Emmanuel Lamur;Quarterback Collin Klein; Corner back David Garrett; Wide receiver Chris Harper.

Skywriters Tour History
In a tradition that harkens back to a previous era in college football, sportswriters and broadcasters would gather in a central location and go on an annual conference-wide tour, traveling from campus-to-campus to cover preseason practices. The tour provided fans with unprecedented daily coverage from each school by moving the group between campuses by charter bus or air service and thus was dubbed the Skywriters Tour.