Kansas State's reputation on special teams helped lure one of the NFL's bright young coaches to Manhattan as Jeff Rodgers enters his first season on head coach Ron Prince's staff as the special teams coordinator.

Rodgers, who brings Texas recruiting ties to Kansas State, has spent the previous five seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, the past three as the assistant special teams coach where he helped the 49ers’ unit rank among the league’s best. Rodgers joined the 49ers’ organization in 2003 and served two seasons as the special teams quality control coach before being named an assistant.

Last season under Rodgers, San Francisco led the NFC and was second in the NFL in net punting as NFC Pro Bowl honoree Andy Lee averaged 47.3 yards a kick and netted 41.0 for the year. The 49ers became just the second team in NFL history to net 40-plus yards a kick during a season, while Lee and the 49ers also set the NFL record with 42 kicks being downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Lee set career highs for the second straight season in punting average and net punting while also punting for more than 3,500 yards for the fourth time in his career. The 49ers also led the NFL in kickoff coverage, forcing opponents to an average starting field position at their own 24.9 yard line, and ranked 11th in the league and sixth in the NFC in kickoff returns with a 23.3 average.

In 2006, the 49ers special teams unit was led by kicker Joe Nedney, who led the team in points with 116, the second-highest total of his career. In the return game, Maurice Hicks surpassed the franchise record for total kickoff returns (57) and kickoff return yards (1,428) and also led the unit in tackles with 20. In 2005, Nedney connected on 26-of-28 field goals and was NFC Special Teams Player of Week after his five field goal performance against Tampa Bay. The 49ers special teams performed well as a unit, finishing third in the league in kickoff coverage in 2005, while long snapper Brian Jennings was named to the 2004 Pro Bowl. In Rodgers’ first season in San Francisco, the 49ers led the NFL with five special teams take-aways.

Rodgers joined the 49ers staff from the University of Arizona, where he spent two seasons as a graduate assistant on defense, working with the secondary in 2001 and the flex linebackers in 2002. He played four seasons at linebacker for North Texas where he earned his degree in business, specializing in entrepreneurship and strategic management in 2000. Rodgers prepped at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, but was born in St. Paul, Minn.