Kansas State Wildcats College Football Pregame Quote, 10/13/2020

Good afternoon everybody. We were excited about the great win we had on Saturday, an extremely great team win on the road in a really tough environment. It was really hot down there. We played a ton of guys on the trip, I think we played more than 60 of our 70 players, so everybody had an impact on the game. All three phases had an impact on it. We’re improving, but there’s still a long way to go. We’re excited about the progress we’re making. The open week comes for us at a good time. Some guys are beat up and banged up, and other guys just haven’t practiced for so long that we need to have really good, sharp practices with those players. We have to get recovered, those guys who have played a bunch. We just need to continue to push the program forward and continue to improve in all three areas.

On what changed throughout last week in terms of Skylar Thompson’s injury:

More information, more than anything. Throughout the week, they were trying to gain as much information, visit with doctors and have a bunch of different appointments. At the end of the week, it became evident that the most positive thing for him long term was to shut him down and have surgery. We’re always looking for the best interest with all the student-athletes. That was the case late in the week. We had conversations with Skylar and a couple of texts with his dad. I know that Coach (Collin) Klein visited with his dad. It’s just something I thought needed to be done, and I think Skylar was at peace at the end of the week.

On the exact injury Skylar Thompson suffered:

I’m not going to get into that right now. It was an upper body injury. I have not seen him. I had a couple of texts with him. I’m hoping to see him today or tomorrow. We were off yesterday, and I haven’t had a chance to visit with the doctors other than Mindy (Hoffman) saying he was doing well, but I need to visit with him here this week.

On dealing with a quarterback injury while at North Dakota State helping now:

Carson (Wentz) was Easton’s (Stick) best coach. We had a really good coach in Randy Hedberg, but Carson was with him every day helping with the game plan, helping him understand the schemes, and I challenged Skylar to do the same. I know he will with Will Howard, as well as Coach (Collin) Klein. The other thing is that we challenged everyone on the team to raise your level of play. It’s never going to be and never will be about one player. It’s about everybody rising up and raising your level of play. It doesn’t matter if it’s the offensive line, defensive line or a specialist. When you lose players, other positions have to step up.

On AJ Parker shining in the nickel position:

In our scheme, he definitely is. He’s very comfortable playing nickel with the things we’re doing, whether it’s zone concept, man concept or combination of man and zone concepts. He’s really comfortable seeing that middle of the field. I’ve been really pleased with his play. He had a great interception at a critical time that really turned the game in my mind. It got it to a two-score game for almost the entire second half, but just read the quarterback’s eyes and baited the QB and made a pick and a great return with some really good blocks. AJ is playing at a really high level.

On the wide receiver position:

A couple of them just weren’t able to go on Saturday for a variety of reasons. I think tightness in hamstrings, groins, whatever. We went with the guys who were available. I was proud of the way those guys played. Obviously, it’s not long term with those injuries, but we took the guys we thought were going to play and a few of them couldn’t. That’s football, too. That’s not the first time, and it’s not the last time that’s happened at any position. That’s why you prepare a bunch of guys to have an opportunity to step up when your number is called. A kid like D.J. Render did a great job. He hadn’t played that much football in a long time, and D.J. did a great job.

On what quarterback Will Howard will work on during the bye week:

Everything. Throwing to receivers, understanding our run game and how we can get us in the best call based on whatever front they may be in, or running it away from pressure. I know Coach (Collin) Klein wants to get back to the fundamentals and technique, footwork and arm slot kinds of things. When you get thrust into a role like he did against Texas Tech and then ultimately against TCU, a lot of times you’re just focused on what’s the game plan. What are the adjustments and stuff? We need, collectively as a football team, to do a lot better and work on our fundamentals and techniques at all positions. For us, that will be a focal point this week.

On if Skylar Thompson will come back next season:

I have not talked to him about it at all, so I’m not sure. We’ll have a conversation like we will with every senior, and that’s something we know has to happen sooner rather than later in some spots. Once again, we’re just getting into an open week. We’ve had no time, and now that’s something we’ll look at, not just with Skylar but a number of players in general. What’s our thought? What’s the young man’s thought? Will we have concrete conversations with every senior on the team this week? No, because that’s not fair to them. Some of them need to see where they’re at degree wise. Some of them need to see where they’re at in regards to playing at the next level. There’s so many variables to it. How many games will we play? I know Baylor and Oklahoma State lost a game, so hopefully that will be scheduled again. We could be in the same boat. But in time, we will.

On establishing playmakers at the wide receiver position:

I think it’s going to open up for the receivers because of what Briley (Moore) and Deuce (Vaughn) are doing. We’re really attacking the middle of the field, so to speak, with those two players in particular. The outside is going to become more and more open. It happened already a little bit against TCU. TCU is a really tough opponent to answer that question on, because they glue up everybody. They doubled Briley sometimes. They doubled Deuce sometimes. They were over the top. There’s no easy throws against TCU no matter what position you play. Moving forward, we really believe that more and more attention will come to Briley and Deuce, so we have to a great job these next couple of weeks of establishing and getting some good plays to our outside guys.

On what the defense did best against TCU:

With exception to the touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, we tackled really well. They got a couple of jet sweeps on that drive that we didn’t tackle well. We played a lot of zone coverage, which allowed more eyes on the football. We were able to make open field tackles, and we did not allow the explosive play. They had a couple of runs in that late drive that were explosive plays, but throughout the first half and most of the third quarter we didn’t give them a freebie and we made life tough on their quarterback. He had beaten people with a 50-yard run or a 40-yard run. He had a big run against us last year, and we were able to corral him and get some good shots on him that made it more difficult on those guys. Collectively, at all three levels of the defense, we played well. We can play better at all three levels, but it was really complimentary football on defense. The d-line, linebackers and secondary all did their job.

On the tackling this season:

It’s been better. It wasn’t good the first week. It wasn’t good the first half against Oklahoma. From that time on, it’s been much better. It is really difficult. In 2020, nothing is going to surprise me in college football. Wins, losses and everything else in between with how the game is played, the crispness and all those things. You just don’t have enough practice time. Even though people will say we’re going into game five and have had plenty of practice time. We’ve had dozens and dozens of kids who have been out 15 to 25 days and missed all that practice time. People think it’s a great time for you to get fresh. Yeah, a Briley Moore or Drew Wiley, just to throw two names out there, that have played every snap because we don’t have a lot of backups. If we did, they’ve been out with COVID or a close contact, those guys don’t need as much this week. All the other players that have missed some time, and that’s upwards of three-plus weeks. Football is a hard sport to play when you just practice it one time. It’s like playing golf. You don’t just pick up your sticks and go shoot 75. At least I don’t, maybe some guys do. Football is no different. I’m going to go out there and play three technique or play left tackle and try to block somebody after not doing it for three weeks. That’s hard, so that’s why we have to get back to the basics.

On losing Skylar Thompson’s leadership:

Absolutely, and that’s why he’s still going to be around us a bunch. He can still be a great leader, just like Justin Hughes was last year. There’s so many guys he can fall back on and talk to that have been in his shoes that had their season taken away that quickly. He’s not the first or last, unfortunately. This is part of the game, but I know it will make him hungrier. It will make him appreciate, not that he hasn’t, but it will make him appreciate the game more. It makes everyone that’s in his position think, ‚ÄòWow, this can be taken away.’ We want him to be a great example to the young players like Justin Hughes last year was. Don’t take any opportunity that you have to play for granted. Our other guys, captains and leaders, need to step up because Skylar was a great voice for the team. Noah Johnson is going to become a bigger voice. Briley Moore is going to become a bigger voice. Harry Trotter and Chabastin Taylor have to become bigger voices on offense. Defense, we have a lot of guys that talk. But on offense, it was usually Skylar and then some auxiliary players. Those auxiliary players I mentioned are going to have to come to the forefront.

On if he’s reached out to Coach Miles at KU:

No, I have not. I don’t have any contact information. I probably could get it. I wish him well, just like all of us wish everybody well that’s gone through this crazy illness. We also talked about it in a team meeting yesterday. COVID is not over with by any means. We’re still going to practice this week. We’re not going to give our guys Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. I just want to make sure they’re in the safest environment in Manhattan, the safest environment with Kansas State football. I understand that we could have a test on Wednesday and two coaches could be gone. I could be gone. I know the guys are following the protocols and doing things the right way, just like I’m sure Les was. You just don’t know with this disease. It can happen to anybody. We are just hammering every day the social distancing, wearing masks, washing hands and all the things that you can do to prevent this. It’s far from over.

On which receivers to lean on moving forward:

I think it’s all of them. We have a number of guys who can make plays. The last thing I want to do is put pressure on one kid or another. That’s part of the thing I don’t like with college football right now is these kids putting so much pressure on themselves. Then they hear in the media that a coach is putting added pressure on them. We need everybody to step up. That’s across the board, not just the receivers. The o-line, running backs picking things up, the tight ends. We need everybody to raise their level of play on offense.

On the offensive flow at TCU with Will Howard at quarterback:

No matter who played quarterback, that was going to be a defensive struggle. Both teams had really good game plans on defense. I think both teams are playing at a high level on defense. You just watch over the years, it’s just tough to move on that great defense. It was one of those games. It’s all about matchups. There are matchups where you get into a 57-54 score. Early on in that game, I knew it was not going to be one of those matchups.

On if there is more normalcy in practices now:

We have to attack it the same way because so many guys haven’t practiced for so long or were back last Wednesday and Thursday after being off for three weeks. We had a guy back for Texas Tech that the first time I had seen him in 14 days was on game day. That’s the world we’re living in, so we have to practice not as long as we would be in fall camp, but we have to have that same mindset with the guys who haven’t had the repetitions the other guys have had. We have to catch them up so we can continue to play more guys, because with the lack of practice time and lack of time on the field, guys are getting injured more, unfortunately. That’s the reality, so we have to have multiple guys ready to play multiple positions.

On Will Howard being ready for this opportunity:

He was excited for the opportunity. We knew when we recruited the young man that he had the ‚Äòit’ factor. We didn’t think it would be this year, but you never know when your opportunity does arise. Prepare every week like you’re going to play, and I know he did that. That’s probably one of the reasons he had success against Texas Tech was his preparation was so critical. That gave him an opportunity to be successful when Skylar (Thompson) went down. I’m sure he was a little nervous, but you wouldn’t have known it. I talked to Noah (Johnson) and some of the offensive guys. They said he had total command of the huddle and was confident in the huddle. That’s what we knew we were going to get with Will and were expecting, because he has that ‚Äòit’ factor. There are certain guys you just know handle the stage really well, and he’s one of those guys.