K-State Holds Weekly Football Press Conference

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder met with members of the media Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview Saturday's regular-season finale at Iowa State. Selected comments from Snyder's press conference are posted below.

K-STATE FOOTBALL WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
BILL SNYDER, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On Malik Knowles' work ethic…
"You either have it or you don't. I have never seen him back away from anything that was taxing. He makes the best effort that he can day in and day out. He is a guy who comes to work every day and does the best he can."

On Malik Knowles becoming the No. 1 receiver as a true freshman…
"I do not know necessarily if I would say that. Guys like Dalton (Schoen) and Zach (Reuter) have been very reliable young guys. It is not that Malik is not, he just has not been on the field enough and done it enough to know that there is certain things that he can react to in a ballgame. Because of his youth, sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't."

On the intensity of playing Iowa State…
"I think it speaks highly to Iowa State and how competitive they have become over the years. They do a heck of a job. It is not just us who they are playing a close ballgame against. They have beat two ranked teams this year. They've been in every game but the Texas game. As I have said before, top to bottom, this is as good as a conference that you'll find. Those that are somewhere near the bottom have the capacity to compete with those that aren't."

On how one play or coaching decision has affected the past games against Iowa State...
"It is not something I have given a great deal of thought to, other than from a strategic, fundamentals or schematic standpoint on what allows to maintain or create an edge. We expect a hard-fought ballgame, which we do every week. They are a physical football team that plays hard. I appreciate Matt (Campbell) very, very much. They do not make many mistakes and are fundamentally sound. They do not turn the ball over and just don't make those mistakes that get teams beat. Those teams are very hard to play against."

On if players have input in whether or not they play (with the new redshirt rule)…
"As I have always said if a player does not want to play, he doesn't have to play. That is a decision they can make."

On if his thoughts have changed in regard to the new redshirt rule…
"My thoughts have not changed. I have never been in favor of it. People ask me, and I have stated all along, if you are trying to pick out four ballgames to put in a young freshman as in somebody who can get on the field and still preserve their redshirt year, you are taking away their opportunity to put a number two guy on the field to gain experience. Then, if he gets hurt, then you have somebody with experience to step in as opposed to having a freshman late in the season not being able to play because he will use up his redshirt year. I do not like the rule because of that. However, I don't make the rules, so be it."

On his preference for the new redshirt rule against the old one…
"The old rule was in place and took in consideration for injuries, which I think was a big factor. I would have to go back and revisit. Like I said, nobody but you has ask me, so I would have to go back and formulate because I have not taken any additional time to put any thoughts to it. For the reason that I indicate I would like it to be closer to the old rule in place."

On Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy…
"I am impressed. He is a very fine athlete that can throw the ball and run around. He is athletic, but I am really impressed at a young age that he can manage his system as well as he does. It seems like a young guy that doesn't get them in the wrong things, and he executes what he has to execute and seems to do fine."

On being a double-digit underdog against Iowa State…
"I think we have earned the right to be the underdog because we haven't played well throughout the course of the year. So, I do not take issue with that at all. I think everybody in the program responds different. For some, it is motivational; for others, they could care less. So, I don't know if I could speak knowledgeably for what they feel. I don't pay attention to that. In fact, I get more information in here than I do outside of here."

On Iowa State's defense…
"They are a very sound defensive team. Schematically, they are very sound. They do not take a lot of chances. At the same time, they have that odd front package we've seen week in and week out in our conference that is more prevalent. They move guys around pretty well and do a lot of things with their linebackers that creates issues, yet they still leave enough guys in coverage to be secure and sound. Therefore, they are not a team that gives up big plays. They play hard and aggressively. They are a good tackling team."

On Iowa State ranking second nationally in red zone defense…
"It is pretty prevalent. They are very productive there, and it matches up, unfortunately, not well for us, at least statistically. We were down there seven times in the game last week and ended up with four field goals. So, we left 30 plus points up on the board. That being matched up with their defense is something we have a lot of work to do."

On his future…
"I have always said the same thing – if I was not wanted and didn't feel like I was having an impact on the lives of young people and my family wasn't interested in me continuing, then I certainly wouldn't."

On the defense playing better at home…
"I would hate to think that we would play differently. Part of it is the fans. We didn't have a lot of fans in the stands because of the weather the other day, but our players love to play at home and so do I. I love to play in front of the support we have. Part of it is who you play – sometimes you play a harder opponent on the road than you do at home. I think playing on the road is a matter of trying to be attuned to keeping the games between the white lines. So, when you do travel, you have the capacity to do that."

On the defense and defensive coordinator Blake Seiler's performance against Texas Tech…
"I think we played well for a number of different reasons. Number one, being with a blip here or there, we have done what we have desired to do. We have improved week in and week out. We have kept getting better, and hopefully you do that each week throughout the season, and I think we have done that. I think our coaches have done a good job in that respect. You have to make the right decisions about what you put on the field in addition to having players to play the schemes. I think it is a combination of all those things."

On the availability of quarterbacks Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson...
"It is only Tuesday. Our injury list is a day-to-day process, so I can't tell you yet."

On the challenges of injuries at quarterback…
"I don't know about challenge, as it creates some issues to a certain degree. But both of them have somewhat similar capabilities. As I have talked about very early in the season when we met, when you look at how Skylar (Thompson) throws it and Alex (Delton) runs it, I have always said that I think Skylar can run it as well and Alex can throw it as well. So, they both have the ability to be multi-faceted. The point is that either one of them fit into whatever the scheme might be. You don't have to change up the offense in order to accommodate which quarterback is on the field."

On success against Iowa State in the past, in particular Skylar Thompson's play last year…
"Well, it's better than the alternative for sure. As I've said so many times, last year doesn't really impact this year and I believe that, right or wrong. I think it's what we do, how we prepare and how we plan, and that's true for Skylar as well as it is for everybody else. You're right, he came in and played well. We were down 11 points with around eight minutes to go in the ballgame, and he leads us down to score and leads us down again and puts it in the endzone on the last snap. So that was a good feeling then, but we can't live off of that."

On what impresses him about Alex Barnes this season….
"What impresses me most about Alex is his approach and attitude to the game and the preparation for the game. You have heard me talk about a variety of different guys who every moment of every practice you are getting their very best effort and it carries over into gameday. The same is true for Alex. Those of you who follow us, you see every time he carries the ball, he's aggressive, he runs hard and he's competitive. You like that in practice every day. That is very impressive to me when young guys can do that in this day and age."

On game planning against Iowa State coach Matt Campbell...
"I've always seen Iowa State as pretty much the same I think, thinking back. I would have to reflect back on some previous notes or think about it a little bit to define what significant difference there might be either schematically or philosophically between Matt and the other coaches that have been there. More often than not, as it was indicated here, we've played close ballgames against them when Matt wasn't there. To me, part of it is kind of the nature and community of the state of Iowa and of that program, not unlike Kansas State, I think. It's a state university, ag school to a certain degree, having that blue-collar mentality, roll your sleeves up and go to work, being from the part of the country where that's somewhat prevalent. It's a variety of different things like that."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Alex Barnes

Alex Delton

Malik Knowles

Skylar Thompson

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