Kansas State Holds Weekly Press Conference
Oct 16, 2002 | Football
Oct. 15, 2002
MANHATTAN, Kan. - KANSAS STATE HEAD COACH BILL SNYDER
On pass efficiency...
"It goes back to the formula for that. There's a premium for touchdowns. There's a premium for minimal interceptions. There's a premium for yards per completion."
On strides made in pass efficiency...
"It goes back and addresses what I've stated all along - that our quarterbacks made progress in the spring, in two-a-days and have continued to improve throughout the course of the season. You have to have good protection for that to take place and I think our guys have done an above-average job in that respect. I think your receivers have to make some plays, run their routes and get themselves open. They've done a pretty decent job of that."
On adjusting for each opponent...
"We are always very cognizant of what our opponent sees from other teams and what is successful against them and what is not successful against them. This game would not be any different. We don't alter our system based on that. We look at things that fit within our system."
On K-State's starting linebackers...
"They are all different, night and day, but they are awfully close with each other and provide different things to our program. I've really been pleased with how they have matured as young people. I've seen them really grow into men in a good, positive way. We've had some very, very fine linebackers here and one that I've always held so close because of the way he prepared himself is Mark Simoneau. I'm beginning to see the same type of focus, preparation skills, and intensity. All three of them are growing closer and closer to that."
On expecting a lot from young people...
"Everybody's always going to have expectations. If it's fair for me to have tremendous expectations of our program, players and coaches, then it's fair for others to have those expectations as well. I think it's how we respond (to the expectations). If I'm a young man, I probably want somebody to expect fine things from me, not just in football, but in every aspect of my life. I think it's how we respond as a society."
On money and athletics...
"There are some things we will work on to continue to upgrade where we are. But I've said all along, I've never wanted a Taj Mahal because I think that's lending to yourself what you really don't believe in. I don't believe that we need 280,000 square foot weight room for whatever reason. Why do we need to go down and get lost in our facility? I think it's important to understand that this is an athletic program, a football program. There are sacrifices and it's a privilege to play this game. If the only thing that is significant in your life is your surroundings and the grandeur of it all - that is a bad message."
On the Texas receivers...
"They are all very good, very talented. They can run, have good range, run good routes, and have a quarterback that can get the ball to them. That speaks to every one of them. B.J. (Johnson) is a tremendous player. Roy (Williams) is a tremendous player. Sloan (Thomas) is a tremendous player."
On the Texas defense...
"They play like we play. They're out there one on one. You have to have some talent to do that and obviously they have tremendous talent. They are collectively good. They have a good defensive football team. They are well coached. They have good schemes. They do a lot of things that create some problems for you offensively."
On the kickers...
"We haven't made a distinct decision as to who will be the No. 1 kicker going into this week. We'll let them work it out on the field. Will I have confidence? Most certainly. I wouldn't put someone out there that I didn't feel confident in. At no time last week did I put someone out there that I didn't feel would get the job done."
On the defensive ends...
"They've all played pretty well. Coach Miller will tell me constantly that he thinks you can just draw them out of a hat because they are all playing pretty well. Therefore, the competition is there and the competition is good. I think it's good for our defense and I love the competition."
============================
KANSAS STATE DEFENSIVE END MELVIN WILLIAMS
On his fellow defensive ends...
"We've got four starters that can all play. We've all got great talent and everyone has something different to his game. It's kind of hard for offensive tackles to scout us and it wears them out."
On the importance of the pass rush against Texas...
"It's going to be very important. Our front four have to get to him all day. If we get to him it will change the outcome of the game."
On Texas offensive line...
"They've got a great offensive line. They've got great athletes on their line and if we get to them, it will tell us how good we are."
============================================
KANSAS STATE OFFENSIVE GUARD NICK LECKEY
On the Texas defense...
"They bring a lot of formations of a table. Their defensive coordinator (Carl Reese) is known as a gambler. He runs a lot of formations and will run a lot of tricky formations that will mess you up if you aren't prepared for it."
On how it helps practicing against this K-State defense...
"It helps in the fact that we have some guys who we feel are comparable to their guys. They say Texas has the most athletic guys in the nation and it shows, they get all the top recruits year in and year out. On the defense, their defensive lineman run like linebackers, linebackers run like safeties and their safeties run like track stars."
On the importance of the Texas game...
"Every game from here on out is a turning point for us because if we lose one more we're out of the Big XII Championship. We're not necessarily out, but would have a harder chance, and it wouldn't be in our hands, exactly."
On how big a win over Texas would be...
"The fact that they are a top-five school, would really put us on the map and also the fact that they are Texas, with the rich tradition and me being from the state of Texas, even more is stacked in this game."
On how heavily Texas recruited him...
"I was recruited by Texas kind of heavily and they didn't really start getting onto me until after I committed to K-State. I'm sure there are some feelings of being picked over, or left behind, but I love it here and don't really regret the decision I made."
On some pride being on the line with this game...
"I don't think I could show my face back home if we don't get a victory here. A lot of things are on the line, especially with my friends, they are a bunch of Texas fans and are coming up to the game, they are going to be heckling me if we lose, so I have to prepare my hardest."
===========================================
KANSAS STATE WIDE RECEIVER TACO WALLACE
On the Texas defense...
"It's just like (Southern California) we've got to go out there and execute, no matter how fast the defense is we have to do what we have to do."
============================================
KANSAS STATE DEFENSIVE END ANDREW SHULL
On the Texas offense...
"They've got some great athletes down there at Texas. They're a fast team, a fast offense and their offensive lineman, from what we've seen so far are very fast, very athletic, they can move and it's something we're not going to take likely and we're not just going to overlook."
