Bill Snyder remains Kansas States rock through tri

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MANHATTAN, Kan. Which Big 12 Conference football coach best embodies "toughne s?"Is it defensive-minded Gary Patterson? Mensa-smart Tom Herman? East Coaster Matt Rhule? Maybe underdog Matt Campbell? Whiz-kid Lincoln Riley? Snake-hunting Mike Gundy?Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope and nope. Turns out the toughest coach in the Big 12 makes his office in the Flint Hills of northern Kansas.MORE: Bill Snyder, 79, has done so much more than build Kansas State  Charles Barkley Jersey from punchline to powerhouse. He has gone well beyond resurrecting the program a second time. He has exceeded the seemingly impo sible task of keeping the Wildcats relevant in the Big 12 and beyond.Snyders legacy has become eternal. Now closing in on his 27th season at Kansas State, he has shaped generations of Wildcat football players and impacted the community at large in ways that will be felt for decades. He has done it with an unyielding and single-minded toughne s.Hes definitely a tough guy, K-State linebacker Elijah Sullivan told Sporting News this offseason.One year ago, Snyder was in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex taking questions about having battled through  something that, coupled with his age, put his future as Kansas State's coach into question.At Big 12 Media Days in July, there weren't many questions about cancer.MORE: During spring practice last year, routine trips east on Interstate 70 to Kansas City for chemotherapy treatments cut into Snyders famously rigid schedule  but never interrupted it. Snyder didnt mi s practice, and certainly didnt mi s any of last season as the Wildcats finished 8-5, capping the season with a Cactus Bowl win overUCLA.The toughne s he shows is just incomparable, said Wildcatsdefensive back Duke Shelley. I remember him making trips to Kansas City and then coming back right before practice and hes still at practice on time and last one to leave. And battling the type of cancer he had, where it affected his speaking, hed still talk to us for 30 minutes after practice and tell us what we need to get better at.Theres just no excuse, Shelley said. "You see him getting it done. How could you complain if he Timothe Luwawu Jersey s battling something like that? How could you complain about running or something like that? No excuses at all.On July 12, Mi souri Western University in St. Joseph, where Snyder attended for a year in 1959, dedicated a pavilion outside its football stadium in his name. In May, when asked if he was ever scared following his diagnosis, Snyder seemed nonplu sed.Well, Snyder said, when somebody tells you, you know, youve got this disease, thats a little concerning, sure.When another reporter asked Snyder how he got through the tough times, the coach showed a glimpse of that legendary toughne s his players see every day.Put one foot in front of the other. Keep doing what you do, Snyder said. No time to fret about it. Im not too good about fretting.Thats almost exactly what he told his team last year. And going into the 2018 season, they still hear that me sage.It was definitely a shocking thing, said defensive tackle Trey Dishon. Im glad to see  Darryl Dawkins Jersey how strong hes been through it, because it seems like it never happened. The way we do things around here, it seemed like he just fought through it and went about it.It has been that way in Manhattan since 1989, when Snyder left a good jobas Hayden Frys offensive coordinator at Iowa totake over Americas worst college football program. Kansas State had won just 137 games the previous 53 years prior to Snyders hiring, including an 0-26-1 streak. During his tenure, Snyders K-State teams are 210-110-1 with two Big 12 championships and three Big 12 North Division titles.Now imagine being an 18-year-old football player and seeing your coach exhibit that kind of drive and skill and grit  every minute of every day.Sadly, cancer wasnt Snyders most difficult recent personal challenge.MORE: In late January, with National Signing Day in his sights and spring football on the horizon, Snyder and his family faced another tragedy: His grandson, 22-year-old Matt Snyder, was found dead. Police ruled his death a .Left to pick up the pieces from a shattered life  all while leading his family and his football team  Bill Snyder soldiered on the same way he always has.It hits you hard when him and his family are going through things like Tiago Splitter Jersey  that, Dishon said. Were all a family, too. I kind of relate it like, What would I be like and what would happen if that happened to my family? So were caring for him, and we know it takes a big toll on your family.Everything he preaches to us, said Shelly. Hes got a motor. He just tells us, 'Keep going.' Keep rowing the boat. And thats something you see him doing every day, battling the things hes battling and still being able to come around and coach the way he does. Theres no drop-off.Thats hard for anybody to go through, Shelly continued. Anybody. But you find a way to go through it and still be able to coach a hundred-plus guys and coaches and deal with family member and all that goes along with it that people dont really take into consideration  everybody on the team is different and has their different trials that they go through  youre just being a father figure for all those guys and still have things you go through Moses Malone Jersey  at your home and things you go through in your family that you still have to deal with, it just shows what type of guy he is."The type of things he preaches, he walks it.(Editor's note: This story has been updated from its original publication).