Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman discusses preparations for the Pop-Tarts Bowl

MANHATTAN — Chris Klieman was almost apologetic Friday during his first news conference to discuss the Kansas State football team's upcoming trip to Orlando, Florida, for the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

He and his staff were just coming off an intense week on the road, trying to lock down a 2024 recruiting class ahead of Wednesday's signing day, and they were still catching up with goings-on at home.

The Wildcats now have a little over a week before they travel to Orlando for a 4:45 p.m. (CT) date with North Carolina State on Dec. 28 at Camping World Stadium.

"We've got a lot of recruits on campus, starting today, and then it will be fun because we get back with our players," Klieman said.

In the time since the Wildcats wrapped up the regular season with a 42-35 loss to Iowa State on Nov. 25, much has happened with the program.

Related: Kansas State football safety Kobe Savage the latest Wildcats to enter transfer portal

For one, more than 15 players, including starting quarterback Will Howard and safety Kobe Savage — both team captains — have entered the transfer portal. Also, popular offensive coordinator Collin Klein took a similar job at Texas A&M, leaving void on the coaching staff.

It came as no surprise that Klieman named offensive line coach Conor Riley as the interim offensive coordinator for the bowl game. Riley has been with him the longest of any staff member, dating back to their days at North Dakota State.

Klieman also addressed several issues that may have overshadowed the upcoming game, namely the transfer portal, the effect of name, image and likeness (NIL) money and the state of the program given the upheaval.

Here are some of the things he had to say.

Related: Kansas State football offensive coordinator Collin Klein headed to Texas A&M

Conor Riley will lead the offense against NC State

"Conor Riley will be the interim offensive coordinator and will call the offense," Klieman said. "He did kind of lead the group last weekend on Saturday and Sunday, and I was excited for Riles' opportunity.

"I'm not going to do anything (permanent) with any of those positions until after the bowl game. I need to process some things (and) I need to have some conversations."

Klieman said there would be no drastic changes on offense, given the time constraints.

"We've had too much success in 2021, '22 and '23 for us to say we're going to make wholesale changes," Klieman said. "But we're going to make some adjustments and continue to evolve, just like we're going to do it on defense as well as we evaluate every year."

With the departure of Klein, who also tutored the quarterbacks, Klieman said the entire offensive staff would oversee that room — new starter Avery Johnson and backup Jacob Knuth — with the help of offensive analyst Josh Buford.

Related: Kansas State football transfer tracker: Here's who is leaving the Wildcats via the portal

Transfer portal traffic is the new normal

"As we all know, it's a changing time in athletics. Not just football," Klieman said. "It's happening in a lot of sports and it's happening to a lot of institutions, and we got hit with a number of kids that have entered the transfer portal that have left.

"Some of this is an opportunity to play more — opportunity to have more opportunity and more chances to get on the field. And we're really honest with our players about where they're at, and we want the best for our guys."

Howard and Savage were the most prominent players to leave, in part because they were established as starters. Cornerback Will Lee, who has since landed at Texas A&M, was another starter, while running back Treshaun Ward was splitting time with 1,000-yard rusher DJ Giddens and now will have a chance to be the featured back next year at Boston College.

Related: Kansas State football adds running back and former Hawaii commit to 2024 recruiting class

NIL is another factor in transfer activity

"Some of it for sure is kids finding representation, and then seeing what's out there from the name, image and likeness standpoint," Klieman said. "And what I know that Kansas State is doing, what we're doing (as) an athletic department is continuing to improve and enhance our name, image and likeness.

"We've had some really good conversations even over the last few weeks. I'm excited about the trajectory we're on to improve that landscape."

His biggest concern, Klieman added, is making sure that the program does not misrepresent the NIL opportunities available at K-State.

"I want to make sure that the players know it's real, and it's not an empty promise," he said. "And so that's where I think we've been really diligent to make sure that if we're going to sit in front of a family and say we have something for you that we're going to be able to come through.

"I'm not going to sit and tell a family that we're going to try to help them with a lot of our great businesses in Manhattan, in the state of Kansas, and people that want to support us if we know that number's not real."

Related: Kansas State football offensive lineman Cooper Beebe adds historic All-America honor

Chris Klieman: The program is on solid footing

With the number of transfers and Klein's departure, the program's culture has been called into question in the past couple of weeks, primarily on social media. Klieman doesn't seem worried.

"It's really strong," he said. "Has it been battered a bit? You bet. So has everybody's in the country. But it's driven on people."

Klieman singled out strength coach Trumain Carroll, nutritionist Scott Trausch and head athletic trainer Mindy Hoffman for holding things together while the coaching staff was on the road.

"Our culture is strong," he said. "It has taken a couple of body blows, but it's going to stand the test of time because of the great kids we have in that locker room and the great coaches that are great role models and mentors for these kids."

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State football coach Chris Klieman discusses the Pop-Tarts Bowl