Jake Waters will start at quarterback for Kansas State, Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder said Monday on the Big 12 coaches teleconference.
Waters, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound touted junior-college transfer from Iowa Western Community College, gets the nod over redshirt sophomore Daniel Sams, who missed time late in camp. Snyder said he expected both to play in the season opener Friday against North Dakota State.
"Jake displayed more consistency in all the areas we talked about and provides the kind of leadership we want," Snyder said.
Waters completed 73.3 percent of his throws for 3,501 passing yards and 39 touchdowns against three interceptions last season as Iowa Western CC won the junior-college national championship.
Snyder expects the offense to look much as it did with Collin Klein last season, as Kansas State won the Big 12 title. That means a dual-threat approach, no matter whether Waters or Sams, who rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns as Klein's backup last season, is in the game.
No matter who is at the helm, Kansas State is going to lean heavily on undersized but effective senior running back John Hubert while manufacturing easy touches for explosive wide receivers Tyler Lockett and Tramaine Thompson early.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
