Kansas State Wildcats College Football Pregame Quote, 10/06/2020

Good afternoon everybody. Thoughts on Saturday: I thought we fought and battled and played really well in the fourth quarter after having the lead and then losing the lead. We finished the game exceptionally well, both offensively and defensively, made a few plays that allowed us to have the opportunity late in the game to make a couple of first downs to close it out. I’m happy about the win. The guys played really hard against a good Texas Tech team, and hopefully we can carry that forward to a really good week this week because we have our hands full with a really good TCU team. I have so much respect for Coach (Gary) Patterson and what he’s done there. We’re excited about that challenge, and we have to have a great week of preparation to give ourselves an opportunity.

On dealing with quarterback reps this week:

Yesterday we didn’t practice Skylar (Thompson). He just took all the mental reps yesterday. Will (Howard) and Nick (Ast) were the main ones who practiced yesterday. Today, our hope is that Skylar can take some of the reps. We’ll find out how much he can take. We hope he can take a few and then increase it more on Wednesday, if he’s available, and that’s contingent on what he can do today and tomorrow. We’ll split those reps up. I want to make sure that Will and Nick can take some snaps and be able to operate our system in case Skylar on Tuesday or midway through Wednesday doesn’t feel like he can go, but we think he can.

On what impressed him about Will Howard in high school:

He was a winner, for starters. He won the most games they’d won at his high school when he was there during his senior year, had a great senior year. He had a really great team. Throughout the process, getting to know him and Coach (Collin) Klein getting to know him, myself and Coach (Courtney) Messingham, he just was the right fit for what we’re doing offensively and personality standpoint, as well as from a skillset standpoint. Obviously we didn’t have him much in the summertime or the spring, but he did all the little things right to try to learn the offense and had a really good fall camp. We’re excited about his progress.

On how he found out about Deuce Vaughn:

We’re always trying to find the best players and best talent. We came across Deuce and were able to bring him for a visit. His personality, as you all have learned, is so infectious. He’s such a wonderful kid to be around, always has a smile on his face and always happy. We wanted that kind of energy and enthusiasm and love for the game of football in our program. I didn’t care what his size was. He was dynamic on film, and I knew that was a skillset we lacked that we needed to be able to recruit him and get him. Fortunately, we were able to do that, and I can’t say enough about the young man and his family. They are very first class. Mature, great kid and great family.

On what he linked about Will Howard’s performance on Saturday:

The fact that he didn’t take as many reps last week and then to come in and operate some things. I thought he operated really well. He had a couple of balls that he would probably like to have back that we could bring down a little bit, maybe some anxiety and nerves. But, the thing that tells you everything you need to know about how we felt with Will Howard is that when there was two or two and a half minutes left, we had a 3rd and 4 or 5 and we could’ve easily run the football and said, ‚ÄòDefense, go win it.’ We throw it, Chabastin (Taylor) makes a nice play to create the first down. We had that situation again where it’s 3rd and 4, they have no timeouts left. If we get a first down, in essence the game is over. We can easily run the football and say, ‚ÄòDefense, go stop them.’ We said, ‚ÄòNo, we’re going to put it in your hands, Will.’ He made a nice check at the line of scrimmage, Deuce (Vaughn) got open, and he delivered a strike. That tells you all you need to know about the confidence that we as a coaching staff and the players have in Will Howard.

On how much of the playbook is open to Will Howard:

It’s all open. We won’t change anything.

On talking to seniors about taking a free year:

We have not had those conversations as of right now. I don’t think it’s fair to have those conversations right now. You don’t know whether it’s COVID, injury, a great season or not as great a season. I just think it’s hard, and I don’t think it’s fair to those guys. All of the sudden, a kid says he’s moving on and then he gets COVID and misses a certain number of weeks. I just don’t think that’s very fair. We have not had those conversations with any of the guys yet.

On the status of defensive back Justin Gardner:

He practiced yesterday. It was limited, but he practiced enough that we feel like he can go.

On the performance of the offensive line against Texas Tech:

They played much better than they did the week before. I thought we came off the ball exceptionally well. I thought we connected and IDed people and got our double teams and got to the next level really well. I just thought we played more physical. Our protection was much better. It’s going to be a work in progress. We’ve talked about that when you have a bunch of guys who haven’t played together. It’s going to take some time to gel. Nobody wants to hear that. We don’t want to hear it as coaches, but that’s the reality of the situation. I was very pleased. Coach (Conor) Riley knows that they can continue to get better, but we took some really positive steps.

On the true freshmen that played against Texas Tech:

I thought they did a really nice job. The stage wasn’t too big. There’s so many guys. It’s easy to talk about Deuce (Vaughn) and Will Howard, but there are so many other guys who played. TJ Smith really jumped out at us as somebody who we think is going to have a really bright future and played some safety for us. There were some other guys, as well. Carver Willis played some left tackle in the Big 12 as a true freshman, and that’s pretty cool to have a freshman playing left tackle. There’s a number of guys. There are others who played, as well. We’re excited about this class.

On the benefit of Will Howard being an early enrollee:

Without question he benefited from being here early as far as getting with Coach (Chris) Dawson and the strength staff, getting with Colin Klein and getting with Nick Ast and Skylar Thompson and learning the offense so that when he did go home during the COVID break, he had his iPad and all the notes and everything he needed so that he could work on it himself. He could go on the Zoom meetings with Coach Klein. So, without question, it helped him a bunch to be an early enrollee.

On TCU getting Max Duggan back at quarterback:

I think it was a big deal. I think he had a breakout game against us last year. I think it was his first start last year, his first significant time, and he did really well against us last year. Just watching him operate against Texas, I’m very impressed with him. He’s a really good football player. He has a great arm, runs exceptionally well and is a very physical and tough kid. I’m a big fan of his. He’s a terrific player.

On the team being first place in the Big 12 standings right now:

We’ve played two games, so I don’t even know what the standings are. We’ve won both of them, so we can’t be in last. I don’t think anyone pays attention. We’ve played two games in this league, and it’s a great league. It’s never been brought up, so I would appreciate it if we didn’t bring it up to the guys.

On the contract extension:

I’m so thankful for President Myers and Gene Taylor for believing in what we’re doing. I keep saying we. I’m in this position because of what our players have done, because of what our coaches have done, because of our administration and support staff. It’s a collective effort by everybody. I’m grateful. I’m thankful. My family and I love it here in Manhattan. We love the people we work with and work for. The credit needs to really go to the players and assistant coaches for giving us the opportunity to lay the foundation and continue what we want to do on top of the great things that Coach (Snyder) did here.

On if there’s a chance to celebrate the extension:

No, you don’t. Every day is such a grind, which is fun. I told the guys after the game that we’re going to grind out wins. There’s not a group in America that I’d rather grind with than our football team, because they love the grind.

On TCU’s defense:

All you have to do is mention the name Gary Patterson with defense and you know it’s going to be a terrific defense. He’s one of the best in the country and always has been. They play really fast. They don’t read and react. They’re penetrating and up field. They’re going to press you. They’re going to play man coverage. They’re not going to let you get off the line of scrimmage. They’re going to hit you. They’re a really good defense that I know Gary is probably frustrated like I am as a defensive coach when you give up some explosive plays, because that’s the thing you try to prevent is the explosive play. That’s going to be the key to the game. Which offense can get the explosive play? Because I think both defenses are good and at times exceptional. You just have to prevent that explosive play, and then the turnover margin.

On preparing a freshman quarterback to face the TCU defense:

We don’t know that it’s going to be Will (Howard). There’s still a chance that it’s going to be Skylar (Thompson), so we’re going to give them both an opportunity. Like I said, we wouldn’t change the offense based on if it’s Nick Ast ‚Äì he could see some time ‚Äì and we won’t change it if Nick Ast is playing or if Will is playing or if Skylar is playing. It’s just getting the pictures and the looks to those three guys to make sure that they understand if it’s a pressure look, a coverage look, a rolled coverage. What is this picture? That’s the challenge for Coach (Collin) Klein and Coach (Courtney) Messingham, but the players are ready for the challenge. They spend an awful lot of time watching film with each other and picking each other’s brains.

On the timing of the contract extension:

Absolutely, and I know we were working on this contract in January and February. It was close to being done in February or right before the pandemic. I know pretty much a lot of it was done at that time. When the pandemic hit, we kind of stopped everything. When we started playing football here, I know that it kind of started back up with Kansas State and the representation that I have. For me, it starts in 2021. We still have our reduction of pay this fiscal year. There’s never a good time, but I just appreciate the faith that Gene Taylor has in me and the President Myers has, and there’s also a big piece to this in recruiting. Not only the players that aren’t here, but the players that are here, they know there is a commitment to our staff for the long haul and for the future.

On what tight end Briley Moore adds to the offense:

It’s fun to watch. Nothing surprises me that Briley Moore does, other than when he got caught going to the end zone. That’s one thing I did get on him a bit for, but nothing surprises me. The kid is so talented. He works so hard, and he has the right attitude and mindset. The thing that has impressed me with Briley coming into a new situation is his leadership and how he has become a big voice on the football team, not only with the young guys but with the guys who have been here for four and five years. That is sometimes a hard thing to navigate through, and you don’t want to step on peoples’ toes. He is, without question, one of our leaders, not just on the offensive side but on the entire football team, and that’s because of how he plays and how he conducts himself off the field.

On the fake field goal attempt against Texas Tech:

A couple things ‚Äì we saw a look that we thought we could get it. We’d been practicing it for a while. It was there. I thought Jack (Blumer) did a phenomenal job of hitting it, and we fell off a block or Jack goes to the end zone and scores. The execution part of it was great. We missed one block, and actually we had him blocked and he fell off and made a good play on it, or Jack walks into the end zone. It was also against the wind. Even though I have so much confidence in Blake (Lynch), I thought it was the right time, and I know Texas Tech brought pressure all the time with their kicks. Coach (Conor) Riley, who runs that unit, and I both thought if we were going to do it, let’s do it early in the game and maybe try to ease some of that pressure.

On balancing between going for blocks or returns on punts:

We have a return set up off of every block, as well, just simply because if you’re bringing everybody, they need to stay in there and protect longer, and we’d fall out and have a return, whether it’s to the left side, middle or right side. It’s always a part of it, but I always think you have one chance to block a kick, and then it gets corrected. You want to do that early. If you’ve noticed, we’ve tried to set the return up after that block. We don’t come after it two times in a row, typically. We might if we feel the error hasn’t been corrected. We also have a really good returner in Phillip Brooks. It’s no different if you can run the football, you have a better chance with play action. If you can block a punt, you have a better chance to return one because people have to stay in to protect longer. For us, it’s a great sign. I’m more excited about the fact that three different players blocked a kick, because they were calling out where AJ (Parker) was at. AJ was the guy that blocked it against Oklahoma. Then Seth (Porter) became the guy that came free. We always tell our guys, ‚ÄòYou don’t know when you’re going to be the guy. You don’t know when you’re going to have that one chance.’ If you don’t get it, they’re probably going to correct their error. Seth did a great job. He was blocked, but he refused to be blocked and got around the shield and made the play. Moving forward, we’re always going to try to have a block in. We’ll always try to have a return in. Sometimes your block looks help your return looks because they have to protect longer.