SE: K-State Football Reports to Fall Camp with ‘Plan’ to Maximize Potential
Jul 31, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
When asked about the potential of the 2017 K-State football team, Dalton Risner spoke with confidence and caution. K-State's junior right tackle described a team with great capabilities but said reaching them would require following an unwritten, yet well understood plan.
This plan — to improve every single day — is nothing new or groundbreaking. Under head coach Bill Snyder, it summarizes, in a few words, what K-State football is all about. The coaches stress it, players come to buy into it and success often follows.
On Monday, when the Wildcats report for the first day of fall camp, they will take on this plan together.
"We have the capabilities to be a great team. I think we just have to make sure that we don't get complacent, and I think we need to remember all the hard work we put in the offseason," Risner said. "We have a high ceiling for this year, and if we can continue to push forward and make sure that we stick to the plan, I think we can have a great season."
With one of the youngest rosters in Snyder's 25 years, K-State finished the 2016 season on a tear. The Wildcats won six of their last seven games to finish 9-4, capped by a Texas Bowl victory over Texas A&M.
In the locker room after the bowl victory in Houston, Snyder emphasized the importance of avoiding complacency. With K-State picked to finish third in the Big 12 preseason media poll, his message heading into this fall camp remains the same.
"The idea that, if you do have a certain number of people returning — which we have a reasonably large number returning players, starters in the program — it's not about who you have back or how many you have back, it's really about how you prepare yourself game by game. That's the important thing for us," Snyder said. "My caution to our players would be not to take anything for granted. You still have to do it. The old adage is you still have to play the game. You still have to practice every single day. If you're not doing anything to get yourself better, then you're putting yourself and your teammates in jeopardy."
Many key pieces from last year are back for the Wildcats.
Offensively, K-State returns eight starters, including four from a dominant offensive line as well as Jesse Ertz at quarterback. Ertz, one of four quarterbacks in the nation last year to exceed 1,000 yards rushing and 1,500 yards passing, will be surrounded with talented skill players. Three of K-State's top four receivers, in terms of total receptions, return to the fold in 2017. In the backfield, Ertz will stand next to a plethora of experienced running backs in Alex Barnes, Justin Silmon and Dalvin Warmack, while Winston Dimel brings great value to the running game as well.
"I think it's perfect timing for me, as far as having a lot of pieces coming back and a lot of talent around me to work with. There are just a lot of things in our offense to get better at in practice and I'm looking forward to a good season," Ertz, a senior, said. "All the players on the team are very close and every day we go over the same thing. We're trying to improve. We're trying to get better in some area. There's always something that we can improve on and that's the way we go about it."
Defensively, K-State has some voids to fill but also brings back a strong secondary core in a pass-heavy conference. Junior cornerback D.J. Reed, last season's Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year, leads K-State's group of defensive backs that will also include returning starters in Duke Shelley at the other corner spot and Kendall Adams at safety.
"It's extremely encouraging anytime you have a pass-heavy league like the Big 12 and you have the majority of your defensive backs returning," senior linebacker Trent Tanking said. "I'm really confident in our defensive backs."
Tanking, a team captain, looks to fill in at a position group that lost two starters in Elijah Lee and Charmeachealle Moore, who combined for 185 tackles last season. The defensive line also lost a large chunk of production with the graduation of Jordan Willis, who recorded 11.5 sacks last year en route to earning Second Team All-America honors.
"They'll do a great job and they'll do it by committee," Tanking said of the defensive line, which returns experience in the middle with Trey Dishon and Will Geary. Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year Reggie Walker returns from a breakout first season at defensive end, which included recording 6.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
As K-State prepares for its season opener against Central Arkansas on September 2 in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, excitement will build for players and fans alike. Three weeks before kickoff, the two groups will have the chance to interact at K-State's annual Fan Appreciation Day on August 12 at 5 p.m. At the event, K-State's captains and Snyder will share their gratitude for the fans' support, and fans can catch a glimpse of the Wildcats' continuous plan, unaffected by preseason polls and national rankings.
"We take every single day virtually the same way and every season the same way and every game the same way. We try to remain consistent. We try to base everything we do on a minute-to-minute environment, and the basis of the program really is to find ways to get better every single minute that we possibly can," Snyder said. "I'd like to instill a value within them that creates their desire to become better every single day in all facets of their life — their faith, their family, being a better person, being a better student, as well as being a better football athlete every single day, and that's kind of the way we approach it virtually every single day."
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