Kansas State Coach Quotes
Nov 22, 2008 | General
Kansas State Head Coach Ron Prince
Opening Statement...
“I thought
On the seniors...
“We talked a lot about them this week. These seniors have been through a lot. This was a pretty small group of kids that were recruited right out of high school and were scholarship players. We tried to add some junior college players to that knowing that it was going to be a small group. I don’t have a lack of respect for any of the other two groups, but those walk-on kids have been so important to us. Guys like Chris Bamberger and Andrew Erker and so many other guys, like Heath Alexander, are so important to what we have been doing in the kicking game. Guys who are really unselfish, like Cedric Wilson who changed positions. Had we been smarter, maybe he would have been a great corner because he would have been there for all three years, but we were so depleted at wide receiver at one point, and he was unselfish and never said a word but “however I can help,” and that’s been his mentality. I have a lot of respect for those guys. It was very satisfying for the coaches and the seniors. These seniors will probably be a group that will be very successful because they’ve seen a lot of ups and downs. They’ve seen a lot of talented people come and go, people who couldn’t hang in there and stick with the fight, and they’ve had some melt down personal things that they’ve had to overcome. I think this is a group that will cross their T’s and dot their I’s for the rest of their lives. We will hear a lot from these guys on a bigger stage. Ultimately, that’s what this is about; it’s about educating and preparing young people for the future and these are all kids who’ve had a real good chance to make and exciting on this global world that we’re living in, and I’m really proud of them.”
On his thoughts and feelings ...
“I’m really glad we won this game. I was raised by a career NCO and I try to be the same guy every day. I’m just really satisfied that we got the win, and definitely real happy for those seniors”
On saying goodbye to an entire team ...
“It’s a little bit different. One of the challenging things about this is the folks who I feel for the most. The parents of these players, especially for the young players because they’re sitting at home and you told them exactly what the deal was going to be; you have to go to class and become and educated person and do all those things, like improve as a player and be on a winning team, so they have some uncertainty because they’re not with them. They’re back home, wherever home is, wondering what’s going on. The players are resilient. They’ll be fine, they’ll bounce back, and K-State will get a great coach, and they’ll play hard for him. I have no concerns about that. Then, the assistant coaches and their families. The families didn’t call any plays or do anything they shouldn’t have done, so now they have to be uprooted at a school and at a different situation and move across the country, whatever it is. Obviously, I feel most for those people, the parents of these kids and the assistant coaches and their families.”
