K-State's Weekly Press Conference
Aug 29, 2002 | Football
Aug. 29, 2002
Manhattan, Kan - Kansas State coaches and players talked with members of the press on Tuesday for the first of it weekly in-season press conferences. The following are quotes from some of the participants.
KANSAS STATE HEAD COACH BILL SNYDER
On the starting quarterback...
"Marc Dunn will be our starter for the first ballgame. He earned the right to be there. It has been immensely competitive. I'm grateful both young guys responded as well as they did. Both of them have made an immense amount of improvement. I've been extremely pleased with the progress in the areas that may have been considered weaknesses. There was not a weakness, as I would define, for either one that wasn't improved upon during these two-a-day sessions, whether it had to do with leadership, accuracy or an understanding of the systems and the schemes. In every facet, they made improvement. It was very competitive and it's not an easy decision to make. If both had been floundering, and there was not a clear cut distinct individual that stepped above the other, then I'd really be concerned. They will not stop competing. They responded to pressure so very, very well these past two weeks. I'm proud of both of them."
On the competition for many positions during camp...
"There may be as many as 16 or 17 positions on our football team that were truly competitive enough that we could have named a starter from one of two people at each position. Every single spot across the defensive front four could have gone either way as far as who is number one. Tight end was one that was very competitive between Thomas Hill and Travon Magee and that's a battle that is not over. It was very, very competitive. Thomas has had a new approach to playing the game of football. He's always been a very fine athlete. He's learned a lot more about how to work, how to focus, how to get things done the appropriate way. His effort has been far better than it has ever been. He's given himself a chance to succeed and to use the talent that he has."
On Eric Everley...
"Eric Everley has just gotten better. Eric's always known what to do and understands how to do it, he's just doing it better now. He had the option to go ahead and graduate or to come back. When he told me 'I want to come back and play,' that sent a message to me that says 'that's exactly what I want to do.'"
On Mike Johnson...
"Mike (Johnson) is still making progress. His fundamentals get better all the time. I am pretty certain he's going to do the right things most of the time."
On the new receivers...
"James Terry has made progress, is getting more engrained in the system and is going to fit in very well. The spot where he plays was extremely competitive. The other two are kind of sitting on the bubble right now. It's just a matter of whether they can absorb what is taking place. If you are learning the system for the first time you just don't have enough time to let it settle in."
On kickers...
"Consistency gives Joe (Rheem) the edge over Jared (Brite) but Jared has been striking the ball better and better every day. Joe will do all field goal work with the potential for Jared to be a long-distance field goal guy. Joe's been a more consistent performer than last fall, and during the spring, so he's made some strides."
On punters...
"Travis had a nice spring and at probably the last six or eight practices he's hit the ball extremely well. So has Rick Gerla. That's one of those spots that wasn't clear cut. Rick Gerla came on of late and has hit the ball far better than I've seen him here in Manhattan. We're kicking the ball better and have more consistency than we have any time in the last year."
On Terry Pierce...
"Terry Pierce will mean a lot to our defense. He practices hard and plays with a good deal of emotion and enthusiasm. His experience helps a great deal."
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KANSAS STATE TIGHT END TRAVON MAGEE
On his familiarity with the offense...
"I really can't be equal with tight ends who have been here for three or four years. This is only my second year here, but it really just comes down to getting opportunities to make plays."
On where he needs to improve...
"Just the full concept and full knowledge of the offense. Like I said, they've been here three or four years, so they have full knowledge of the offense. This is only my second year here, but I feel I can go out and make plays just as well as any other guy."
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KANSAS STATE KICKER JOE RHEEM
On competition with Jared Brite...
"I've been taking reps with the first team and Jared has been with the second team. It's kind of hard we both don't miss a whole lot of field goals."
On the prospects of possibly securing the kickoff duties...
"I'm not sure that's something that is still up in the air. We're still working on that and I guess come Saturday you guys will find out who's doing that."
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KANSAS STATE CORNERBACK TERENCE NEWMAN
On competition at every position...
"You can see it, not only feel it but you can see it. You see the number one at a position that goes out and makes a lot of plays, then number two makes a lot of plays, then the number three makes a lot of plays. There's going to be a lot of people who are going to be in positions where they might not be starting when they think they should be."
On playing positions other than cornerback...
"Yes, it's a big challenge that I'm really willing to accept and step up and try my best, and see what I can do at it."
On grading the defense so far...
"It's up there as one of the greatest defenses that I've played on since I've been here. The 1998 squad, is up there. Those guys had that mental attitude that we are not going to give up anything. I think it's going back in that direction."
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KANSAS STATE QUARTERBACK MARC DUNN
On feeling like the same Marc Dunn who was national JuCo player of the year...
"It's always fun being around the guys, being around the team and being able to contribute at my position makes me happy."
On why he is the starting quarterback...
"Productivity at the quarterback position is essential. You have to be consistent and (the coaches) felt that's what I did better in the off season up until now and that's why I'm getting the opportunity.
On the offensive system being set up for him...
"It is a wide-spread system where we can do a lot of different things. Ell's still playing, Jeff still plays. We are all three different quarterbacks, so I believe whichever quarterback is in the game they will tailor the system to their skills."
On if the offense had been tailored towards himself last year...
"We were geared a little bit more towards Ell's style of play last year. At times when we were making comebacks they realized throwing is my strength so we did that. It's kind of hard to practice one way then go out on Saturdays and play another way though. I think there has been a little bit of change from last year to this."
On where he improved the most since last season...
"Being comfortable is one of the things I feel I improved on. Eliminating the mistakes of coming into the game late when we are down 21 points and wanting to make big plays and bring this team back. Maybe I did that in a hurry last year and tried to force things too much. Being able to start out 0-0 is going to make the situation a lot more comfortable."
On what coach Snyder told him about this weekend...
"He told me that I'll play this Saturday and Ell will probably play this Saturday too, and just to go out there and have a good time."
On how frustrating last year was...
"From the fact that our team was 6-6, (last season) was very frustrating. You all can see that we have plenty of players playing in the professional league that were on this team last year and we didn't play up to par and that was frustrating."
