SE: 'Gritty' K-State Defense Maintains Improvement Heading into Road Battle with Texas
Oct 05, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
For a unit that had to replace four of its top-six tacklers from last season, including its top pass rusher, a veteran safety and a pair of starting linebackers, K-State's defense has not skipped a beat.
Heading into Saturday's battle at Texas, the Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) lead the Big 12 in scoring defense, total defense, pass defense and pass efficiency defense.
"We have done some very good things defensively," K-State head coach Bill Snyder said in Tuesday's press conference. "We have some things that we're working on and still have to get corrected, but I think we're making progress. You can see we've probably gotten a little bit better, a little bit better and a little bit better throughout."
Against a Baylor team that put up 41 points in a tight loss to No. 3 Oklahoma, K-State limited the Bears to 20 points in last week's 13-point win in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
It marked the fourth-straight game the Wildcats have held their opponent to 20 points or less, a pace few K-State teams have matched. Under Snyder, only the 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 K-State teams have accomplished the feat. Four of those Snyder teams still rank in the school's top-10 for points allowed per game.
"It's pretty cool," junior defensive back D.J. Reed said of the accomplishment. "It just shows how gritty our defense is."
Gritty is one way to put it. Confident would be another.
A variety of players, both returners and newcomers, on the defensive side of the ball are making plays for the Wildcats.
Three of K-State's top-five tacklers — linebackers Trent Tanking and Jayd Kirby, along with strong safety Denzel Goolsby — are first-year starters for the Wildcats.
In terms of returning starters who have made significant jumps, look no further than Kendall Adams. K-State's free safety leads the secondary with 25 tackles and two interceptions, including a crucial one in last week's win against Baylor. The junior from Texas has also recorded a pair of touchdowns, one on an interception and another on a fumble recovery to showcase his playmaking ability.
"He processes information a lot faster," Snyder said of Adams. "He's made plays that really were strictly a matter of being in the right place at the right time. You have to be able to process information to get to the right place at the right time, and he's done that a good portion of the time."
As a group, K-State's defensive line made its biggest stride in the Wildcats' win against Baylor.
Senior defensive tackle Will Geary collected two sacks and defensive end Davis Clark added another. Senior defensive end Tanner Wood may not have recorded a sack, but he made his presence felt by swatting down two passes at the line of scrimmage and tallying six tackles.
"Our front guys are playing amazing," Reed said. "Will Geary, Reggie Walker, all of them. I feel like they're playing really well."
While the experience levels vary greatly on the Wildcats' defense, Reed said they all share a similar mindset.
"We just feel really good with how hard we work and how we run to the ball. We're really fast, so we just feel like a lot of teams can't score on us, and if they do score on us, they won't score again," Reed said. "That's just our mindset. It's really a blessing to be able to play with guys who all have the same mindset and we just want to keep teams out of the end zone."
K-State will look to do more of the same when it kicks off in Austin, Texas, on Saturday at 6 p.m., a game that will be aired nationally on FS1.
For a unit that had to replace four of its top-six tacklers from last season, including its top pass rusher, a veteran safety and a pair of starting linebackers, K-State's defense has not skipped a beat.
Heading into Saturday's battle at Texas, the Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) lead the Big 12 in scoring defense, total defense, pass defense and pass efficiency defense.
"We have done some very good things defensively," K-State head coach Bill Snyder said in Tuesday's press conference. "We have some things that we're working on and still have to get corrected, but I think we're making progress. You can see we've probably gotten a little bit better, a little bit better and a little bit better throughout."
Against a Baylor team that put up 41 points in a tight loss to No. 3 Oklahoma, K-State limited the Bears to 20 points in last week's 13-point win in Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
It marked the fourth-straight game the Wildcats have held their opponent to 20 points or less, a pace few K-State teams have matched. Under Snyder, only the 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2002 K-State teams have accomplished the feat. Four of those Snyder teams still rank in the school's top-10 for points allowed per game.
"It's pretty cool," junior defensive back D.J. Reed said of the accomplishment. "It just shows how gritty our defense is."
Gritty is one way to put it. Confident would be another.
A variety of players, both returners and newcomers, on the defensive side of the ball are making plays for the Wildcats.
Three of K-State's top-five tacklers — linebackers Trent Tanking and Jayd Kirby, along with strong safety Denzel Goolsby — are first-year starters for the Wildcats.
In terms of returning starters who have made significant jumps, look no further than Kendall Adams. K-State's free safety leads the secondary with 25 tackles and two interceptions, including a crucial one in last week's win against Baylor. The junior from Texas has also recorded a pair of touchdowns, one on an interception and another on a fumble recovery to showcase his playmaking ability.
"He processes information a lot faster," Snyder said of Adams. "He's made plays that really were strictly a matter of being in the right place at the right time. You have to be able to process information to get to the right place at the right time, and he's done that a good portion of the time."
As a group, K-State's defensive line made its biggest stride in the Wildcats' win against Baylor.
Senior defensive tackle Will Geary collected two sacks and defensive end Davis Clark added another. Senior defensive end Tanner Wood may not have recorded a sack, but he made his presence felt by swatting down two passes at the line of scrimmage and tallying six tackles.
"Our front guys are playing amazing," Reed said. "Will Geary, Reggie Walker, all of them. I feel like they're playing really well."
While the experience levels vary greatly on the Wildcats' defense, Reed said they all share a similar mindset.
"We just feel really good with how hard we work and how we run to the ball. We're really fast, so we just feel like a lot of teams can't score on us, and if they do score on us, they won't score again," Reed said. "That's just our mindset. It's really a blessing to be able to play with guys who all have the same mindset and we just want to keep teams out of the end zone."
K-State will look to do more of the same when it kicks off in Austin, Texas, on Saturday at 6 p.m., a game that will be aired nationally on FS1.
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