BCSNN - BCS News Nation

There was no doubt who would be the quarterback at Kansas State last season.

Collin Klein had led the Wildcats to the Cotton Bowl the previous year, when he proved to be one of the most dynamic playmakers in the Big 12. And he only improved last season, when he helped Kansas State win its first conference championship since 2003 and earn a Fiesta Bowl berth.

The Heisman Trophy finalist has graduated, though, and now there's a massive question at the most important position on the field: Who will be under center next season?

Will it be Daniel Sams, the athletic quarterback who played behind Klein in mop-duty last season? Or will it be Jake Waters, who emerged as the nation's top junior college quarterback while leading Iowa Western Community College to a national championship last season?

''I've been pleased with the progress they're making. Not necessarily with the consistency,'' said Bill Snyder, who was the runaway choice as Big 12 coach of the year last season. ''It's just a matter of doing some of the things that they do on a very regular and consistent basis.''

The two quarterbacks are working toward Kansas State's annual spring game April 27.

''Both of them are taking repetitions with the number-one unit for the first time in their careers,'' Snyder said. ''I am proud of Daniel, even though Jake is making it very competitive for him, he is doing all that he can to help Jake. Jake is a bright young guy and picks things up very quickly. It is just about the consistency and being able to do it the same way every time.''

That consistency is part of what made Klein so valuable.

Sams and Waters will be trying to replace a quarterback who accounted for more than 6,500 yards and led the program to 21 victories the past two seasons, helping to put Kansas State back on the college football map after a few seasons of mediocrity under former coach Ron Prince.

Sams only threw eight passes last season, completing six of them. But he also ran 32 times for 235 yards and three touchdowns as a freshman, showing the kind of speed and elusiveness that would seemingly make him the ideal fit for Snyder's read-option offense.

Waters, meanwhile, chose the Wildcats over interest from Penn State after throwing for more than 3,500 yards with 39 touchdown passes and just three interceptions last season. He also showed some elusiveness, running 52 times for 256 yards and six TDs, but appears to be the more polished passer of the two quarterbacks in the running for the starting job.

''He's a smart guy and is picking up things a lot quicker than I expected him to,'' said wide receiver Tramaine Thompson. ''Daniel has been helping him out a lot, and they have been kind of helping each other out through this whole process.

''It's not like there's any animosity between the two. They work together,'' Thompson said. ''They realize that pushing each other is going to make them better in the long run.''

Whoever lands the starting job should have plenty of help on offense.

The Wildcats return all five starters on the offensive line from a year ago, and four of the top six wide receivers - including breakout star Tyler Lockett - are still hanging around. Running back John Hubert is also back after running for 947 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Defense is another matter. The only returning starters are linebacker Tre Walker and safety Ty Zimmerman, which means Kansas State will be trying to find an entirely new defensive line, two new cornerbacks, a new safety and linebackers to replace Jarrell Childs and Arthur Brown.

''"We want to be back where we were before, Big 12 champions, but it's definitely going to take a lot of work,'' said Walker, who is back after sustaining a season-ending knee injury last year.

''If we get back to the drawing board and not so much worry about where we were last year, but focus on what we want to become, I think we'll be fine,'' he said. ''It's going to take a lot of workouts and building together. We have a new bond and a new team, but we will be successful.''

Associated Press

University of Texas receiver Kendall Sanders has been arrested on a drunken-driving charge.

A Texas A&M University police spokesman said Sanders was arrested after being stopped for an unspecified traffic violation about 2:40 a.m. Saturday. The College Station street runs through campus but isn't on A&M property.

Brazos County records show that Sanders was booked into the county jail just after 5 a.m. and released on $3,000 bond before 8 a.m.

In a statement Sunday, Longhorns coach Mack Brown said UT would monitor the situation and ''do what's best for the university, Kendall and the team.''

Jail records don't show whether Sanders has an attorney.

Sanders will be a sophomore next season. He emerged from spring practice as one of the favorites for Texas' No. 3 receiver spot.

Associated Press

Freshman defensive end D.J. Ward, one of the top prospects in Oklahoma's recruiting class and ranked the top in-state player by recruiting services, practiced with the Sooners for the first time Tuesday after being declared eligible by the NCAA.

Coach Bob Stoops said NCAA rules require Ward to go through his first two practices in a helmet only, without shoulder pads, limiting what he was able to do.

''He couldn't do much but he did fundamental work and learning the defense. Hopefully we can get him schooled up enough to get him a few snaps on Saturday'' in the spring game, Stoops said after practice.

The 6-foot-2, 245-pound Ward didn't play his senior year of high school after transferring from Lawton High School to Oklahoma City's Douglass High School and then to Southmoore prior to the season.

He was ruled ineligible by the state high schools association after the transfers, then graduated early so he could enroll at Oklahoma.

He is one of four newcomers who were already taking classes - along with punter Jed Barnett, receiver Dannon Cavil and safety Ahmad Thomas - so they could go through spring practice. However, Ward didn't receive clearance right away and missed the first 11 practices of the spring.

''I'm not pointing fingers that it should have happened sooner. Anymore with eligibility and with classes being taken sometimes in different ways, they have to make sure it's correct,'' Stoops said. ''It is now, so we'll move forward.''

With Ward's multiple transfers plus an early graduation, Stoops said he understood that the NCAA needed more time to verify Ward's academic standing.

''I think all of that contributes to it. It makes it harder to get all of the information and to make sure it's accurate information,'' he said. ''I'm sure it was one of the more different cases they've had.''

Despite being unable to work out with the team and sitting out all of last season, Stoops said Ward stayed in great physical shape. There could still be an adjustment period for Ward, who was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American game.

''I imagine there will be some. Although it comes to him pretty natural. But yeah, that's fair to say there will be some,'' Stoops said. ''It will take him a little while to get back into that kind of shape and get a feel for it.''

Associated Press

Former University of Oklahoma championship quarterback Steve Davis was one of two people killed when a small aircraft smashed into a house in northern Indiana, officials said Monday.

St. Joseph County Coroner Randy Magdalinski identified the victims of Sunday's crash in South Bend as 60-year-old Steven Davis and 58-year-old Wesley Caves, both of Tulsa, Okla. An Oklahoma athletics official confirmed it was the same Davis who played for the Sooners in the 1970s. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the school has not yet announced the death.

Caves owned the Beechcraft Premier I twin-jet that clipped one house before slamming into two more Sunday afternoon. Caves had a pilot's license, but it was not immediately clear if he was flying the plane when it crashed.

Davis went 32-1-1 as the Sooners' starter from 1973 to 1975, starting every game of Barry Switzer's first three seasons as head coach. Oklahoma tied Southern Cal in the second game of the 1973 season, then ran off 28 straight victories with Davis under center. The Sooners went 11-0 in 1974, then won the national title again the following year after going 11-1.

The plane leaked enough fuel in the crash to force the evacuation of hundreds of people from surrounding homes. The front part of the fuselage sat wedged inside the house just southwest of the South Bend Regional Airport where the pilot had tried to land the plane Sunday afternoon, minutes before the crash.

Two others on board the plane survived, South Bend Assistant Fire Chief John Corthier said. South Bend Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Maggie Scroope said Monday that Jim Rogers was in serious condition and Christopher Evans was in fair condition.

A woman who was injured on the ground, Diana McKeown, was in fair condition, Scroope said.

Authorities evacuated and cut the power to several homes in the neighborhood after fuel leaked from the jet's engine into the basement of the home creating a ''very dangerous'' situation, Corthier said. Everyone in the neighborhood has been accounted for, he said.

One neighbor described her terror as the plane bore down on her home.

''I was looking out my picture window,'' said Mary Jane Klaybor, who lives across the street from the crash site. ''This (plane) was coming straight at my house. I went, `Huh?' and then there was a big crash, and all the insulation went flying.''

She said: ''I saw the plane, then I heard the boom.''

The plane began its journey in Tulsa, Okla. It is registered to 7700 Enterprises in Helena, Mont., which does business in Tulsa as DigiCut Systems and is owned by Caves.

Mike Daigle, executive director of the St. Joseph County Airport Authority, said the plane attempted a landing at the South Bend airport about 4:15 p.m., then went back up and maneuvered south to try another landing, but eight minutes later the airport learned the plane was no longer airborne.

He provided no information to indicate if the pilot said the plane was experiencing mechanical trouble. Daigle said Monday he has no firsthand knowledge about what caused the crash.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Todd Fox arrived at the scene late Sunday. He said his agency will be looking for the cause of the crash and ''to identify and remedy any issues that could have prevented this accident.''

Associated Press