Head coach Steve Sarkisian is excited to make his third trip up to Manhattan, Kansas this Saturday.

Sarkisian might have nightmares from the last time he visited Kansas State as USC’s quarterbacks coach in 2002. In that game, eventual NFL running back Darren Sproles and quarterback Ell Roberson rushed for a combined 148 yards against the USC Trojans, striking similarities to current Wildcat dual threat quarterback Adrian Martinez and All-American running back Deuce Vaughn.

However, Sarkisian said he harbors no hard feelings and has immense respect for the program because it was willing to take a chance on him back in 1994.

“I almost went to school there,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “I took a visit with Coach (Bill) Snyder … (Manhattan) is a great environment for college football.”

Despite his 22 touchdown, 2,090 passing yard senior season at West High School, Sarkisian wasn’t recruited by colleges for football but rather for baseball. A defensive All-Area shortstop that had a pop in batting practice and hit 0.436 his senior year, he struggled hitting off Division I pitchers as a walk on at USC. That spring he transferred to El Camino College, a community college located in his hometown of Torrance, California.

Once there, Sarkisian crossed paths with El Camino football coach John Featherstone through a nighttime health class, who encouraged him to give football another chance. That next fall, he was named the starting quarterback for El Camino’s 1993 season, and the rest is history. His second season starting under center for the Warriors, he completed a record-breaking 72.4% of his passes.

Then with an All-American season under his belt, Sarkisian generated attention from Kansas State but opted to play for BYU head coach LaVell Edwards, who produced College Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer, Marc Wilson and NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young.

“They have a big tradition of quarterbacks (at BYU), and I like the exciting games in the (Western Athletic Conference,)” Sarkisian told The Daily Breeze in 1994.

However, Sarkisian never burned his bridges in Manhattan. During his final college football game as a quarterback, No. 5 BYU matched up against No. 11 Kansas State in the 1997 Cotton Bowl. Trailing 15-5 in the fourth quarter, Sarksian marched the Cougars 70 and 62 yards for two touchdowns to top the Wildcats 19-15.

After the game, Snyder gave Sarkisian a note card congratulating him on his performance in the game.

“I think that exemplifies what that program is built on,” Sarkisian said. “There’s a lot of integrity in the way that they go about their business. I think they do it the right way and I think that started with Coach Snyder.”

Snyder’s legacy at Kansas State isn’t solely seen through the integrity of the program, but through the way the football program operates today. Not many players want to come play in Manhattan, which lies two hours from any major city. Therefore, the Wildcats depend heavily on the transfer portal and recruiting from junior colleges to build its roster.

Before the start of this season, Kansas State added eight transfers, including Martinez, who spent his first four seasons at Nebraska. This season, he has accumulated 565 rushing yards with no interceptions despite missing two games due to injury.

“The style of player that Adrian Martinez is in the quarterback run game is a real factor in the success they had with him,” Sarkiskan said. “We’re fortunate that we’ve had two weeks to prepare.”

Although Sarkisian holds Kansas State in high regard, he acknowledged that this is an important game. With only a month left of Big 12 play, Texas sits in fifth place with a 3-2 conference record while Kansas State is second at 4-1. If the Longhorns are to make a push at a conference title game berth, they likely need to run the table.

“We (have) a team that is committed for this final month of the season,” Sarkisian said. “We have to be cautious not to look down the road … We got to handle our business this week. It’s going to be a heck of a game.”