SE: Najvar Eager for Return Home in K-State's Texas Bowl Battle with Texas A&M

Reid Najvar hates flying, so road trips take on a whole other level of discomfort for K-State’s junior center. However, when he found out the Wildcats were playing in the 2016 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston, Texas, the trip brought about a heightened sense of excitement.

Najvar grew up in Spring, Texas, a suburb north of Houston, allowing him to go, in a car, home with family after the Wildcats’ bowl game against Texas A&M on Wednesday.

“Right after the bowl game, I get to go straight home,” he said. “I don’t have to fly on a plane, because I hate flying multiple hours; I have to move around a bit and hate being stuck on a plane.”

More importantly, Najvar will get the opportunity to play in front of a large number of familiar faces. Most of his family is from the Houston area and many of his classmates from Klein Oak High School attend Texas A&M, including Aggie backup quarterback Conner McQueen.

“I’ll have quite a bit of people at the game. Since I have friends from A&M, I’ll have a lot of friends going to the game, a lot of family members,” he said. “The majority of my family is from the Houston area, so I’m scrambling around for some tickets, asking teammates. Hopefully I can come through on that.”

Growing up in the area, Najvar’s been to a few games at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans. Admittedly, he wouldn’t consider himself too much of a fan.

“I’m not really big into the NFL, but if the Texans are doing well, I’ll be a bandwagon guy and jump on board,” Najvar said, laughing.

In a way, took the same approach to playing center for K-State.

Najvar was a standout guard at Klein Oak, being named as one of Texas’ top 100 football recruits by the Houston Chronicle. When he arrived at K-State, he never expected to move to the middle of the offensive line, but learned eventually that versatility is a requirement for a Wildcat lineman.

The 6-foot-4 Texan redshirted his first year and saw limited action in his next two seasons. Entering this fall, the junior was willing to do whatever it took to become a starter, even if that meant playing a position he was less than confident he could handle.

“In high school I didn’t like center at all. I thought I could never multi-task — snap a ball and move my feet — but now I love it because you get to take command of the O-line, so it’s fun,” he said. “At first when Coach (Charlie) Dickey was trying it out on me, I was, like, ‘Alright, let’s see what happens.’ Next thing you know, I was doing well with it.”

Najvar’s transition didn’t occur overnight. Every practice and every rep, he said, was treated as an opportunity to improve and enhance his ability to handle the many responsibilities a center holds.

“I think I’ve improved every day. Even if I think I’m at my best, I’m not,” he said. “There’s still lots of room to improve for me, like finishing blocks, anchoring in and moving my feet, so I can still see there’s things to improve, but I can also see that I’ve gotten better since day one.”

Early on, Najvar leaned on Dalton Risner, who started at center as a redshirt freshman in 2015 before moving to right tackle this season. The theme of their conversations centered on the importance of communication.

“At center you have to be a leader for the line,” Najvar said, “and just making sure that everyone’s in the right position to execute.”

“You’re not going to be in one-on-one situations a lot of the time,” Risner added. “The big part with center is just being that communicator for the O-line, letting us know what front it is, cutting guys off. So, it was little things here and there, but he’s done a good job, with or without my help.”

Najvar said Dickey, K-State’s offensive line coach who Najvar considers the “best coach in the country” for that position group, has been an unmatched resource as well.

“Coach Dickey, he helps me a lot, because he breaks it down with me. We have personal meetings together, just how to attack and do our running scheme. I think that’s what helped me the most,” Najvar said. “He gives you every detail. Even the practice script, he’ll go over plays, assignments, just to keep you fresh and make sure you know everything that you’re doing.”

As the season progressed, Najvar said he became more comfortable in his position. What began as an overwhelming switch soon became an enjoyable experience for Najvar.

“When I started relaxing more and getting everything down, I started having fun out there, basically, because the first few games I was really nervous of messing up on something,” he said. “So once I got eased, I felt fine there.”

While he’s only one piece of the puzzle, Najvar has been key in one of the Wildcats’ most successful rushing seasons in school history. K-State currently holds the program’s best yards-per-carry average (5.26) for a season in its history while ranking fourth for single-season rushing yards (2,769), third in yards per game (232.9) and seventh in touchdowns (36).

“I love running the ball. That’s why I came here, first off,” he said. “There’s nothing better than moving a guy from point A to point B.”

Najvar played an integral role in helping solidify K-State’s offensive line, which graduated four starters last season, and performed well enough to earn Honorable Mention All-Big 12 accolades from the league’s coaches.

“That was a lot of pressure on him being a first-time starter at a position as significant as the center,” K-State head coach Bill Snyder said earlier this season. “He’s played extremely well. He’s given good leadership and guidance. He’s a tough young guy, and I appreciate that. He’s going to give you his best each and every snap.”

“Reid’s ability to step in his first year (starting) and be center, it isn’t easy, coming from my experience last year. It’s not easy to do that,” Risner added. “Center is a tough job, so Reid’s done a really good job transitioning into a really tough role. He’s just a tough, tough physical player who gets the job done.”

Najvar hopes to get the job done one more time this season in the Wildcats’ battle with Texas A&M, which will kick off at 8 p.m., next Wednesday and be nationally televised on ESPN.

“They have really good, athletic players in the SEC, and I want to show what the Big 12 is worth,” he said. “I want for us to compete against them and give it our best effort to come out with a win.”

Public tickets for K-State fans are still available at the K-State Online Ticket Office and through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum or via phone at 1-800-221-CATS. Fans are strongly encouraged to order through K-State’s official allotment to ensure that all Wildcat fans are seated in the official K-State sections of the stadium. The location for K-State’s ticket allotment at the Texas Bowl is among the best of any bowl game with prime sideline seating locations available for $85.

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Najvar Eager for Return Home in K-State's Texas Bowl Battle with Texas A&M

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