09/05/2008

By JON GARTEN  / Associated Press

Jonathan Beasley's phone has been busy lately.

Beasley, who played quarterback for Kansas State from 1996-2000, will return to Manhattan Saturday as wide receivers coach for Montana State, which plays the Wildcats at 6:05 p.m. at Snyder Family Stadium.

Beasley said several people have called him asking about where he's been since his years as a Wildcat and how he got into coaching. A few people have even called to tease him about which side he will root for this weekend.

"It's going to be mixed emotions, being able to go back," Beasley said. "But at the same time, I'm on the other side now."

Montana State head coach Rob Ash hired Beasley in July 2007 after Beasley got a recommendation from his old Kansas State coach, Bill Snyder.

Snyder, who knew Ash through work with the American Football Coaches Association, called the Montana State coach and the two had a long conversation.

"At that point Jonathan wasn't on my radar at all, but coach Snyder's recommendation was extremely powerful and very positive," Ash said. "So we included Jonathan in the pool and put his resume on the top of the pile and started to get to know him."

Beasley started at quarterback for the Wildcats in 1999 and 2000. He ranks sixth at Kansas State in career passing yards with 4,642 and fourth in career touchdown passes with 33.

Kansas State's current quarterback, Josh Freeman, has definitely caught Beasley's attention.

Freeman ranks second in career passing yards with 5,365. He passed Beasley in 2007 and only trails Lynn Dickey's record of 6,208 yards.

"I like what I've seen," Beasley said. "He's just a real tall kid who can see over the line and has a nice motion. He runs the ball pretty well. Overall, he's just a good quarterback."

If there's one person who understands the pressure on a Kansas State quarterback, it's Beasley. He had to replace Michael Bishop, who took the Wildcats to within one victory of getting into the national championship game.

"The pressure to perform and to win is big," Beasley said. "You're the quarterback that everyone knows and watches. If you throw an interception, you know and all your coaches know and your teammates know that the receiver ran the wrong route. But all the people saw you throw that ball. There's a lot of notoriety with the position."

Many people questioned how well Freeman would do without his leading receiver from 2007, Jordy Nelson, who caught 122 passes for 1,606 yards. Playing his first game without Nelson, Freeman was 18-of-24 with 232 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-6 win rout of North Texas last week.

"A lot of people wanted to make a big deal that Jordy was graduating, but coach has done a great job of recruiting some talents," Freeman said. "I feel like our receiver corps is better overall this year than it was last year."

Despite Beasley's ties to both teams, Ash doubts his assistant will have trouble figuring out which side he's on.

"People keep calling him and asking him who he's going to root for," Ash said. "He keeps telling them he knows who's paying his paycheck right now. That's Montana State."