K-State Holds Weekly Football Press Conference
Sep 25, 2018 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder and select players met with members of the media Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview Saturday's Big 12 home opener against 18th-ranked Texas. Selected comments from Snyder's press conference (also streamed live and archived here) are posted below, along with a collection of comments from players.
Saturday's game against the Longhorns is set for a 2:30 p.m., kickoff and can be seen nationally on FS1. A Wildcat 4-Pack of tickets start at less than $50 per ticket in the lower bowl and approximately $37 per ticket in the view level. Fans can order tickets online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
K-STATE FOOTBALL WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
BILL SNYDER, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On the quarterback situation for Saturday...
"I would anticipate both of them would play. Both of them played reasonably well in the course of the ballgame at West Virginia. The decision to go from one to the other was not necessarily because Skylar (Thompson) was playing bad, it was because we had to get a touchdown on the board, which certainly was not Skylar's fault. It was just a collective number of things. We will see who gets the start, but I will anticipate, as always, that both of them will be on the field contributing."
On how he feels about the 2018 team going forward…
"Every day is a new day and thoughts and feelings change from day to day. They are always reactive and then on how your players are doing and what their response is day to day, what their effort has to be during the course of a practice. We had a good practice yesterday, yet last week we had a good Monday practice and practiced poorly on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today becomes a very critical day. Right now, based on yesterday's work, I feel pretty good about that and tomorrow will kind of depend on today. It is not a team yet with an identity, that remains to be seen, but nothing has changed in that respect. I am looking for improvement in all aspects of the game. You see some of it and you see some of it that maybe occurs then disappears. Penalties came back to get us, and we thought we had really reduced those, and we thought we handled our discipline and focus. We thought we had gotten through dropped passes, and that popped up again through the course of the ballgame. The consistency is not there for sure. We need to improve to the point where we are consistently improving."
On Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger…
"He is a well-rounded quarterback that can do a lot of things. He is very athletic. He can throw the ball. They will throw the ball short, but they will put the ball downfield and take their shots depending on how well they are doing over the course of the ballgame. His athletic ability is good. He is a big, physical guy who can run. The quarterback run game hurt us last year. His scrambling and quarterback draws hurt us last year. He is versatile enough to impact all phases of the game and can manage the game quite well, too."
On his input with offensive coaches...
"We constantly have dialogue about that. The fact that we are not getting it into the endzone, I do not fault anybody in particular, I do not fault our coaches or our players. Everybody has improvement to make and that starts with me and our coaching staff. We have to get better at what we are doing. This is an offensive staff that is different when you consider the assignments of each and they are growing together. Part of it, I think, is improving that has not shown up with points on the board, but nevertheless I see that improving. It is getting acclimated to it and continuing to make the improvement. The interaction with it has not changed from day one."
On this team compared to other teams in recent years…
"I was just visiting with our coaches a little bit ago and I do not know right now. We have not really established an identity. I do not know if I can answer that question, but I think we will find out rather quickly. With a 2-2 start last year, we will have something to compare it with, quite obviously, when we get through the next few ballgames. Watching tape of last year's ballgame with Texas and watching our offense, which is mostly the same people, and you go back and it was a close ballgame. We lost that game on a penalty in the second overtime, so offensively we did alright. We played reasonably well against a good Texas defensive football team. To me there is not any reason why we should not be a better team from an offensive standpoint, being able to score as readily as we did and to move the ball enough to score 40 points or whatever the number was, it has not happened. There are all these things that need to be corrected and I know that but we identify the problems, and we work hard at trying to get them corrected and the players work hard at trying to get them corrected. It does not remain consistent and they pop back up again. It is developing that consistency and being able to improve very improvable mistakes.
"When I look at defense and special teams as well, I think we are going through some growing pains, but nevertheless in all reality they had one big play that scored seven points in the first half, that is how it could have played out. So, they were doing some very, very good things, which tells me there is a capability to be able to do that even if we are banged up a little bit and altering positions.
"Special teams, we have been okay but we have not excelled quite like we should, particularly in our return game. Our kickoff cover game has been pretty good and our punt game picked up a little bit last week as far as hitting the ball – we had a 65-yard punt that we killed on the four-yard line which is a major play in a ball game. It dramatically impacts the field position. The cover unit, with that exception of one long kick and an 18-yard return, had been pretty good. It is our return team that has not done very much. In the kicking game, that is where the most improvement needs to come. I think there is a lot of reasons why it is not there right now, but most of them are just doing what you are supposed to do and things will work out. If you go back and look at our last ballgame, I know for our players it is hard to believe, and I really should not harp on it. I am trying to allow them to realize how close they really are."
On how surprised he is by the offensive line's performance this year…
"First and foremost, it is not all on the offensive line. There are a lot of things going into whether we are effective moving the ball or not and all of it is not those five guys up front. They have a hand in it, certainly, and it falls on all of us; it is a collective thing. However, your expectations would be elevated a great deal because we have all of the guys returning up front and they have the capacity to play together and understand each other. We have not played to the capabilities that we have. One of the highlights of our practice yesterday was the offensive line. There was some spirit with them and communication that I have not seen during the course of this season so far. I mean football communication as in being able to pick up movements and stunts and all that goes along with it, how they interacted before and after each snap in practice to try and help each other out. I was pleased with the way they approached the practice. They realize they have to get better as well, they understand that."
On defensive tackle Jordan Mittie…
"He is a smart player. He is not one of those guys that lines up and says, 'It is me against you and I am going to knock you around.' You have to use that element of it, but he is a young guy who understands a good deal about what offensive tendencies exist and how to play against certain guys that he lines up against and how to react to it. He is a guy that processes information pretty well before the snap, so he can read and react a little quicker than others. He is a smart player."
On Terence Newman and Mark Simoneau being inducted into K-State Hall of Fame…
"It is a special honor, and any time we can get young guys that have been in our program recognized in that way, I think it is pretty special. They are guys that still follow the program and have still have an emotional investment in the program. They are guys that want to see good things happen and continue to happen. They are always there for you if you need them, and they are very deserving of the awards. They are good young men."
ZACH REUTER, SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On the opportunity to win this game to create a confidence booster…
"Absolutely. Another ranked team coming in, this is definitely a game we need to come out and be at our best because we have a lot to prove now. We've shown twice that we've taken steps back and we really need to take a big step forward to kind of push our season in the right direction."
On offensive struggles…
"It's all across the board, it's consistency. I feel repetitive saying it, but it's the small things – they seem small, but they're big in the grand scheme of a drive, or a game. Really, it's just being able to be detail oriented and being able to execute at the maximum level."
On how the running game affects the passing game…
"With the games we've been playing, we've been getting a lot of one-high teams. It really hasn't changed a whole lot of our game because they're not necessarily dropping everyone back. They're still honoring the run, even though we (receivers) were having a little bit of success in the past. Overall, I don't think it has a huge effect in the past game. Going forward it will. It will definitely impact how teams will play us and approach our offense."
On getting back on the right track before hitting the road…
"It's a huge game for us to put this season in the right direction. We started a little slow and in past years it's happened also. I think this is a great opportunity to really be able to show what we're capable of and execute as we're capable."
ADAM HOLTORF, JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
On the running game…
"Yeah, it's been frustrating as an offensive line because the biggest thing is we can do it, but we're not doing it consistently. First play out of the gate at West Virginia, we pop the run for eight or so yards. Consistency is hit or miss. We know what we're capable of. We know we've got great backs, quarterbacks around the ball too. We're lacking that consistency to hit that 200-yard mark in a game. So, yeah, that's frustrating."
On not yet reaching the point they want to be at this year…
"I say it all the time, but I think it's a consistency thing. We each sometimes take our turn having a bad play here or there, and eventually those bad plays add up. I think that's what's been holding us back a lot lately. It's just that lack of consistency, play in, play out, drive in, drive out."
On blocking better for the run against West Virginia…
"Yeah, absolutely. I think we did some good things, but at the same time we didn't do it consistently enough to put the drives together. We had a couple of drives where we'd move the ball pretty well down the field, and then there was one that stalled out at the eight. We'd move the ball 30, 40 yards and then it just kind of fizzles out. In those instances, you'd like to be able to run the ball better. I think we can do good things, whether that's consistency or finishing drives. That's what's hurting us right now."
On Texas' defensive front…
"They've always been physical guys up front. Great defensive front to try and play against. We know the challenge it presents, being they've been so successful against the run and not allowing yardage. That just increases the challenge. We know we've been struggling in the run game, and here's a great team that's been playing really well against the run. It makes that challenge even greater for us."
ALEX BARNES, JUNIOR RUNNING BACK
On the running game…
"It is for sure going to be a challenge. We've had our struggles, and they've had their successes in the run game. It's just about how we execute and come back to preform."
On coming back from being 2-2…
"We do a lot of the same stuff. There is a lot of resilience in this team that we had back then. It's just about us being able to control what we can control and to just come back each and every day and do our best in practice and games. We've got to do a little bit more and we are realizing that."
On offensive problems…
"The problems are obviously frustrating. We want to have success, and when you aren't getting that success, it's frustrating. Like I said, it just about being able to control what we can control and be better at what we do."
On bouncing back with confidence…
"If were able to come back and get a victory this week in Manhattan against a ranked opponent, that would be huge for our guys going forward, confidence and everything. We're going to do everything we can to play our best football and that the ultimate goal were looking for."
On the season so far…
"It's really surprising. We're just trying to figure out what is wrong, how to get better and how to improve. It's a day-by-day process. That is something we're still working on."
On the main problem with the running game…
"I'm not really sure what the main problem is. Defense is checking whenever we can check at the line. We're getting a lot of looks we're not expecting at certain times and its resulting in struggles. If it were easy to fix, it'd be fixed. We'd be doing a lot better if it were easy to fix."
JOE DAVIES, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE TACKLE
On the defensive tackle group at this point of the year…
"I feel like we're just rough around the edges. There are some good things that we're doing as a defensive tackle group, but there are still some things we can do to improve on it to be even better."
On Jordan Mittie's contributions…
"He was able to give us some experience coming in, and he's definitely shown it on the field. That definitely helps boost our talent in the group."
On facing Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger vs. previous styles of quarterbacks…
"The quarterbacks that we see at Texas are more of a pocket passer, but they will move around, kind of similar to Will Grier in terms of scrambling to extend the play. We're seeing them more as a pocket passer than a scrambler."
Saturday's game against the Longhorns is set for a 2:30 p.m., kickoff and can be seen nationally on FS1. A Wildcat 4-Pack of tickets start at less than $50 per ticket in the lower bowl and approximately $37 per ticket in the view level. Fans can order tickets online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
K-STATE FOOTBALL WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
BILL SNYDER, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On the quarterback situation for Saturday...
"I would anticipate both of them would play. Both of them played reasonably well in the course of the ballgame at West Virginia. The decision to go from one to the other was not necessarily because Skylar (Thompson) was playing bad, it was because we had to get a touchdown on the board, which certainly was not Skylar's fault. It was just a collective number of things. We will see who gets the start, but I will anticipate, as always, that both of them will be on the field contributing."
On how he feels about the 2018 team going forward…
"Every day is a new day and thoughts and feelings change from day to day. They are always reactive and then on how your players are doing and what their response is day to day, what their effort has to be during the course of a practice. We had a good practice yesterday, yet last week we had a good Monday practice and practiced poorly on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today becomes a very critical day. Right now, based on yesterday's work, I feel pretty good about that and tomorrow will kind of depend on today. It is not a team yet with an identity, that remains to be seen, but nothing has changed in that respect. I am looking for improvement in all aspects of the game. You see some of it and you see some of it that maybe occurs then disappears. Penalties came back to get us, and we thought we had really reduced those, and we thought we handled our discipline and focus. We thought we had gotten through dropped passes, and that popped up again through the course of the ballgame. The consistency is not there for sure. We need to improve to the point where we are consistently improving."
On Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger…
"He is a well-rounded quarterback that can do a lot of things. He is very athletic. He can throw the ball. They will throw the ball short, but they will put the ball downfield and take their shots depending on how well they are doing over the course of the ballgame. His athletic ability is good. He is a big, physical guy who can run. The quarterback run game hurt us last year. His scrambling and quarterback draws hurt us last year. He is versatile enough to impact all phases of the game and can manage the game quite well, too."
On his input with offensive coaches...
"We constantly have dialogue about that. The fact that we are not getting it into the endzone, I do not fault anybody in particular, I do not fault our coaches or our players. Everybody has improvement to make and that starts with me and our coaching staff. We have to get better at what we are doing. This is an offensive staff that is different when you consider the assignments of each and they are growing together. Part of it, I think, is improving that has not shown up with points on the board, but nevertheless I see that improving. It is getting acclimated to it and continuing to make the improvement. The interaction with it has not changed from day one."
On this team compared to other teams in recent years…
"I was just visiting with our coaches a little bit ago and I do not know right now. We have not really established an identity. I do not know if I can answer that question, but I think we will find out rather quickly. With a 2-2 start last year, we will have something to compare it with, quite obviously, when we get through the next few ballgames. Watching tape of last year's ballgame with Texas and watching our offense, which is mostly the same people, and you go back and it was a close ballgame. We lost that game on a penalty in the second overtime, so offensively we did alright. We played reasonably well against a good Texas defensive football team. To me there is not any reason why we should not be a better team from an offensive standpoint, being able to score as readily as we did and to move the ball enough to score 40 points or whatever the number was, it has not happened. There are all these things that need to be corrected and I know that but we identify the problems, and we work hard at trying to get them corrected and the players work hard at trying to get them corrected. It does not remain consistent and they pop back up again. It is developing that consistency and being able to improve very improvable mistakes.
"When I look at defense and special teams as well, I think we are going through some growing pains, but nevertheless in all reality they had one big play that scored seven points in the first half, that is how it could have played out. So, they were doing some very, very good things, which tells me there is a capability to be able to do that even if we are banged up a little bit and altering positions.
"Special teams, we have been okay but we have not excelled quite like we should, particularly in our return game. Our kickoff cover game has been pretty good and our punt game picked up a little bit last week as far as hitting the ball – we had a 65-yard punt that we killed on the four-yard line which is a major play in a ball game. It dramatically impacts the field position. The cover unit, with that exception of one long kick and an 18-yard return, had been pretty good. It is our return team that has not done very much. In the kicking game, that is where the most improvement needs to come. I think there is a lot of reasons why it is not there right now, but most of them are just doing what you are supposed to do and things will work out. If you go back and look at our last ballgame, I know for our players it is hard to believe, and I really should not harp on it. I am trying to allow them to realize how close they really are."
On how surprised he is by the offensive line's performance this year…
"First and foremost, it is not all on the offensive line. There are a lot of things going into whether we are effective moving the ball or not and all of it is not those five guys up front. They have a hand in it, certainly, and it falls on all of us; it is a collective thing. However, your expectations would be elevated a great deal because we have all of the guys returning up front and they have the capacity to play together and understand each other. We have not played to the capabilities that we have. One of the highlights of our practice yesterday was the offensive line. There was some spirit with them and communication that I have not seen during the course of this season so far. I mean football communication as in being able to pick up movements and stunts and all that goes along with it, how they interacted before and after each snap in practice to try and help each other out. I was pleased with the way they approached the practice. They realize they have to get better as well, they understand that."
On defensive tackle Jordan Mittie…
"He is a smart player. He is not one of those guys that lines up and says, 'It is me against you and I am going to knock you around.' You have to use that element of it, but he is a young guy who understands a good deal about what offensive tendencies exist and how to play against certain guys that he lines up against and how to react to it. He is a guy that processes information pretty well before the snap, so he can read and react a little quicker than others. He is a smart player."
On Terence Newman and Mark Simoneau being inducted into K-State Hall of Fame…
"It is a special honor, and any time we can get young guys that have been in our program recognized in that way, I think it is pretty special. They are guys that still follow the program and have still have an emotional investment in the program. They are guys that want to see good things happen and continue to happen. They are always there for you if you need them, and they are very deserving of the awards. They are good young men."
ZACH REUTER, SENIOR WIDE RECEIVER
On the opportunity to win this game to create a confidence booster…
"Absolutely. Another ranked team coming in, this is definitely a game we need to come out and be at our best because we have a lot to prove now. We've shown twice that we've taken steps back and we really need to take a big step forward to kind of push our season in the right direction."
On offensive struggles…
"It's all across the board, it's consistency. I feel repetitive saying it, but it's the small things – they seem small, but they're big in the grand scheme of a drive, or a game. Really, it's just being able to be detail oriented and being able to execute at the maximum level."
On how the running game affects the passing game…
"With the games we've been playing, we've been getting a lot of one-high teams. It really hasn't changed a whole lot of our game because they're not necessarily dropping everyone back. They're still honoring the run, even though we (receivers) were having a little bit of success in the past. Overall, I don't think it has a huge effect in the past game. Going forward it will. It will definitely impact how teams will play us and approach our offense."
On getting back on the right track before hitting the road…
"It's a huge game for us to put this season in the right direction. We started a little slow and in past years it's happened also. I think this is a great opportunity to really be able to show what we're capable of and execute as we're capable."
ADAM HOLTORF, JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
On the running game…
"Yeah, it's been frustrating as an offensive line because the biggest thing is we can do it, but we're not doing it consistently. First play out of the gate at West Virginia, we pop the run for eight or so yards. Consistency is hit or miss. We know what we're capable of. We know we've got great backs, quarterbacks around the ball too. We're lacking that consistency to hit that 200-yard mark in a game. So, yeah, that's frustrating."
On not yet reaching the point they want to be at this year…
"I say it all the time, but I think it's a consistency thing. We each sometimes take our turn having a bad play here or there, and eventually those bad plays add up. I think that's what's been holding us back a lot lately. It's just that lack of consistency, play in, play out, drive in, drive out."
On blocking better for the run against West Virginia…
"Yeah, absolutely. I think we did some good things, but at the same time we didn't do it consistently enough to put the drives together. We had a couple of drives where we'd move the ball pretty well down the field, and then there was one that stalled out at the eight. We'd move the ball 30, 40 yards and then it just kind of fizzles out. In those instances, you'd like to be able to run the ball better. I think we can do good things, whether that's consistency or finishing drives. That's what's hurting us right now."
On Texas' defensive front…
"They've always been physical guys up front. Great defensive front to try and play against. We know the challenge it presents, being they've been so successful against the run and not allowing yardage. That just increases the challenge. We know we've been struggling in the run game, and here's a great team that's been playing really well against the run. It makes that challenge even greater for us."
ALEX BARNES, JUNIOR RUNNING BACK
On the running game…
"It is for sure going to be a challenge. We've had our struggles, and they've had their successes in the run game. It's just about how we execute and come back to preform."
On coming back from being 2-2…
"We do a lot of the same stuff. There is a lot of resilience in this team that we had back then. It's just about us being able to control what we can control and to just come back each and every day and do our best in practice and games. We've got to do a little bit more and we are realizing that."
On offensive problems…
"The problems are obviously frustrating. We want to have success, and when you aren't getting that success, it's frustrating. Like I said, it just about being able to control what we can control and be better at what we do."
On bouncing back with confidence…
"If were able to come back and get a victory this week in Manhattan against a ranked opponent, that would be huge for our guys going forward, confidence and everything. We're going to do everything we can to play our best football and that the ultimate goal were looking for."
On the season so far…
"It's really surprising. We're just trying to figure out what is wrong, how to get better and how to improve. It's a day-by-day process. That is something we're still working on."
On the main problem with the running game…
"I'm not really sure what the main problem is. Defense is checking whenever we can check at the line. We're getting a lot of looks we're not expecting at certain times and its resulting in struggles. If it were easy to fix, it'd be fixed. We'd be doing a lot better if it were easy to fix."
JOE DAVIES, JUNIOR DEFENSIVE TACKLE
On the defensive tackle group at this point of the year…
"I feel like we're just rough around the edges. There are some good things that we're doing as a defensive tackle group, but there are still some things we can do to improve on it to be even better."
On Jordan Mittie's contributions…
"He was able to give us some experience coming in, and he's definitely shown it on the field. That definitely helps boost our talent in the group."
On facing Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger vs. previous styles of quarterbacks…
"The quarterbacks that we see at Texas are more of a pocket passer, but they will move around, kind of similar to Will Grier in terms of scrambling to extend the play. We're seeing them more as a pocket passer than a scrambler."
Players Mentioned
DT
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