Kirby Hocutt knows what it is like to be a student-athlete. Juggling practice, classes, homework and workouts were all part of Hocutt's life in the early '90s at Kansas State.
In his first month on the job as an administrator, Hocutt works with student-athletes from the other side of the field - as director of athletics at Ohio.
Hocutt played linebacker at Kansas State, but before that, he showed the determination that would land him a job as a director of athletics.
Growing up
I had the aspiration of playing Division I-A college football Hocutt said. That was my goal. When it came time to be recruited the recruiters were not lining up at my door to recruit a 5-foot-10
200-pound average-speed linebacker. At that time
Kansas State was the only Division I-A scholarship offer that I had.
Bill Snyder, who still coaches at Kansas State, offered Hocutt the scholarship. At the time, the Wildcats were in a rebuilding period and were not the force they have been in recent years.
Funny story
the only thing I knew about Kansas State University when they offered me a scholarship was Sports Illustrated had labeled them as Futility U on the front cover of their publication a month earlier
as having the worst college football program in the country
Hocutt said.
Hocutt arrived on campus as a part of Snyder's second recruiting class in 1990.
Coach Snyder had a vision for the program
he said. He had a vision for the athletic facilities
and he was passionate in his communication of that vision. I bought into it. It was a lot of fun for me to be a part of one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history.
Hocutt would go on to be a four-year letterman at Kansas State. During his junior season in 1993 he led the Big 8 in tackles and was named an All-Big 8 Conference Linebacker.
During Hocutt's last two years, in 1993 and 1994, the Wildcats went 18-5-1.
It's something I still take great pride in
being a part of that program
