SE: Jesse Ertz — Future ‘Survivor’ Contestant — Ready to Thrive in Second Season as K-State’s Starting Quarterback
Aug 22, 2017 | Football, Sports Extra
What does K-State football and the hit reality series "Survivor" have in common? Jesse Ertz starred for both — at least that's the answer to a future trivia question K-State's senior signal caller hopes to create.
Ertz said he's watched "Survivor," which starts its 35th season in September, for "as long as I can remember." A native of Iowa, Ertz said he was drawn to the show for two main reasons.
"I just think it's really cool because my dad and my uncle always kind of raised me around wildlife, wilderness, things like that," Ertz said. "As far as the challenges, being in sports I thought the combination of the two was pretty cool. There's just a lot of strategy behind it that I think is pretty interesting."
While he has missed the end of some seasons due to various moves in his life, Ertz does admit he's enough of a fan to know the majority of the seasons' locations and winners. Still, he added that there's work to be done to accomplish his goal of making it on the show.
"The people on the show now, they know everything," he said. "They'll be talking about Season 3 and I don't know what they're talking about, so I have some studying up to do if I want to be on the show."
After his first full season as K-State's quarterback, Ertz certainly knows what it takes to survive in the Wildcats' offense and in the Big 12 Conference. Coming off a knee injury as a redshirt sophomore, Ertz was one of only four quarterbacks across the country to surpass 1,000 yards rushing and 1,500 yards passing in 2016.
While becoming the third-fastest player in school history to reach 1,000 rushing yards, the fleet-footed Ertz absorbed many hits but not enough to slow him down.
"Jesse's a competitor. I tell everyone that. Jesse's one of the biggest competitors I've ever met in my life and having a quarterback like that, it brings a lot of confidence as an offensive lineman," K-State right tackle Dalton Risner said. "He's going to be able to move around. If you get beat, he's still going to get out of trouble. I'm extremely confident in him. I think everyone on the offensive line is thankful to have Jesse Ertz behind us. "
Ertz, who amassed 183 carries last season, embraces the tough-natured role K-State quarterbacks face.
"That's the way this level is, especially for anybody who carries the ball a lot," the senior captain said. "That's part of the game. I know that's how it will be and I'm more than happy to keep doing it if that's what I need to do."
Ertz did undergo shoulder surgery in the offseason, which he said was "a lot easier than a knee," in terms of rehab. Since being fully released, Ertz's arm strength has impressed many of his teammates, some of whom relayed the good news to head coach Bill Snyder.
"The players tell me in their workouts that he's throwing the ball as hard and accurately as he has at any time in his career that they can remember," Snyder said. "So that's a good thing."
Another positive Ertz has going for him is experience. Unlike a year ago, Ertz knows what to expect heading into this season. Now, he looks to follow a trend among Snyder quarterbacks, who traditionally show significant improvement in their second year as starter.
Jake Waters, K-State's last two-year starter at quarterback before Ertz, increased his completion rate by 4.8 percent, racked up 1,104 more yards of total offense and accounted for seven more touchdowns in his second season leading the Wildcat offense.
Collin Klein, now coaching the position he used to play for the Wildcats, displayed similar growth from season one to season two as K-State's starting quarterback. The Heisman finalist upped his completion percentage from 57.3 to 64.8 while recording 502 more yards of total offense in K-State's 2012 Big 12 Championship season.
The list goes on and on, from Chad May to Michael Bishop. But what causes this sizable jump in production?
Ertz explained it like this: "Our offense is very sophisticated and the thing is, like Coach Snyder would say, we're going to have virtually everything you can do with a football in our offense and then what we do on game days will be determined by what we feel like we're best at. We practice a lot more than what we might put on the field, what people see, so there's a lot of different schemes. As a young player, you're learning them. I think the difference is experience, obviously, but having control of the offense, knowing how to use it to your advantage, is the biggest thing."
After studying last season on film, Klein said the progress he witnessed from Ertz was incredible. From Ertz's first game last season, a loss at Stanford, to his MVP performance in a Texas Bowl victory against Texas A&M, Klein saw a completely different player.
"What Jesse was able to do last year was truly tremendous, and he was really growing at a very, very fast rate. If you turn on the last game of the year and compare it to the first game of the year, he had improved drastically. I think there's a lot left on that growth curve for him," said Klein, before relating it to his own experience. "My first game to my last game, it wasn't the same player, and I think that's exciting. It's a great feeling when you're going through it and exhilarating to know that you're getting better. I'm excited for him. I think it's going to be very important for him to continue on that growth curve for him and for our whole team."
When asked where he felt the most growth from a year ago, Ertz quickly pointed to his decisiveness. He said this ability makes or breaks quarterbacks, who must be decisive in everything on the field.
"Confidence carries people so much further than their abilities. If you're not entirely sure about what's about to happen and what you're doing, then it's going to affect your performance, for sure," Ertz said. "I knew I could get to a stage where I was affective on the field but I didn't have quite the confidence that I probably needed, just because of a lack of experience, but by about halfway through the season I felt a lot better and it just kept getting better and better.
"I feel like I have pretty good control over everything. I'm just looking forward to the season. We have very a close-knit team. Everyone's together. The sky's the limit, really."
All contiguous seats for the season-opener against Central Arkansas on September 2 are sold out and standing-room only tickets are now available. Scattered singles and SRO tickets for the Central Arkansas game can be purchased through the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
Fans looking for additional reserved tickets for the season opener can do so though Vivid Seats, the official secondary ticket partner of K-State Athletics, by clicking here.
Following the Wildcats' 6:10 p.m., contest against Central Arkansas on September 2, K-State hosts Charlotte on September 9, in an 11 a.m., game that will be shown nationally on FSN. The Wildcats travel to Nashville, Tennessee, on September 16, to face Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m., on ESPNU.
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