SE: Sullivan’s Enhanced Preparation, Appreciation for Football Showing for K-State
Oct 04, 2019 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Scottie Hazelton loves to coach players like Elijah Sullivan. K-State's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach referenced a story in fall camp to explain why.
Sullivan, a fifth-year junior linebacker for K-State, was in a position meeting this offseason. The linebackers were taking a quiz to test their familiarity with Hazelton's new system. Sullivan, Hazelton recalled, got mad during it.
"He was doing OK on it," Hazelton said, "but he got really frustrated because he didn't know every answer."
The next morning, another quiz. This time, Hazelton said Sullivan slammed it down with confidence when he finished. "I went home and studied," Hazelton said Sullivan told him. He aced it.
"When you have kids like that who just love ball, it makes it easy to coach those guys," Hazelton said, "because, as long as you can point out a flaw, they work on that flaw."
Sullivan, who's started K-State's first four games at middle linebacker, had a lot to work on this offseason.
To start, he worked his way back to full health after missing all but three games last year with an injury. He received a medical hardship to retain that year of eligibility, but Sullivan said he also gained a rejuvenated appreciation for the sport that brought him to K-State from Tucker, Georgia.
"It's just the love of the game, just not taking anything for granted and actually appreciating everything you're doing," Sullivan said of the injury's impact. "You have to be more prepared. I wouldn't say I wasn't prepared last year, but you (can always) do a lot more to keep yourself prepared and keep everything into it, from your body, your mind, and even your spirit, going to church and doing all these things to keep your mind up."
Sullivan's enhanced preparation took on even more importance after starting middle linebacker Justin Hughes suffered a season-ending knee injury during spring ball. Suddenly, Sullivan was not only learning a new defensive system but also a new position, as he moved to middle linebacker.
"Being a Will backer for most of his life, to go to play the middle doesn't seem like a lot to the laymen people but, in football terms, that's tough because you're the quarterback of the defense now," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said this week, as the Wildcats (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) host Baylor on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., on ESPN2. "He's done a really good job of settling in there."
Last week at Oklahoma State, Sullivan leapt in the air to snatch an interception in traffic. The week before, at Mississippi State, he matched his career high with six tackles and broke up two passes.
"Coming back this season healthy, he definitely has a lot to prove," sophomore defensive end Wyatt Hubert said. "He's always going to go out there and play hard."
Klieman agreed. If nothing else, K-State can always count on Sullivan's effort. So far, it's led to 14 tackles, one away from being tied for third on the team.
"I just love the way he's playing and how fast he's playing. There are no loafs. There are no plays off," Klieman said. "That kid plays at a million miles an hour, and that's what I so appreciate is when you turn on film, you say, 'Boy, that kid loves the game and loves to play.'"
The fact that Sullivan had the game taken away from him last season only increased his love for it.
"I always really respected the way he handled that," quarterback Skylar Thompson said, "because that could be really hard for how talented he is, getting hurt and not being able to play and show what he's capable of."
"As a football player, when you get hurt like that, you're going to take it hard," defensive back AJ Parker added. "But his resiliency and his commitment to go back to work and get back to the level he was at and higher was motivation for everybody, just watching him work, fight every day to be the best he could be."
Scottie Hazelton loves to coach players like Elijah Sullivan. K-State's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach referenced a story in fall camp to explain why.
Sullivan, a fifth-year junior linebacker for K-State, was in a position meeting this offseason. The linebackers were taking a quiz to test their familiarity with Hazelton's new system. Sullivan, Hazelton recalled, got mad during it.
"He was doing OK on it," Hazelton said, "but he got really frustrated because he didn't know every answer."
The next morning, another quiz. This time, Hazelton said Sullivan slammed it down with confidence when he finished. "I went home and studied," Hazelton said Sullivan told him. He aced it.
"When you have kids like that who just love ball, it makes it easy to coach those guys," Hazelton said, "because, as long as you can point out a flaw, they work on that flaw."
Sullivan, who's started K-State's first four games at middle linebacker, had a lot to work on this offseason.
To start, he worked his way back to full health after missing all but three games last year with an injury. He received a medical hardship to retain that year of eligibility, but Sullivan said he also gained a rejuvenated appreciation for the sport that brought him to K-State from Tucker, Georgia.
"It's just the love of the game, just not taking anything for granted and actually appreciating everything you're doing," Sullivan said of the injury's impact. "You have to be more prepared. I wouldn't say I wasn't prepared last year, but you (can always) do a lot more to keep yourself prepared and keep everything into it, from your body, your mind, and even your spirit, going to church and doing all these things to keep your mind up."
Sullivan's enhanced preparation took on even more importance after starting middle linebacker Justin Hughes suffered a season-ending knee injury during spring ball. Suddenly, Sullivan was not only learning a new defensive system but also a new position, as he moved to middle linebacker.
"Being a Will backer for most of his life, to go to play the middle doesn't seem like a lot to the laymen people but, in football terms, that's tough because you're the quarterback of the defense now," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said this week, as the Wildcats (3-1, 0-1 Big 12) host Baylor on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., on ESPN2. "He's done a really good job of settling in there."
Last week at Oklahoma State, Sullivan leapt in the air to snatch an interception in traffic. The week before, at Mississippi State, he matched his career high with six tackles and broke up two passes.
"Coming back this season healthy, he definitely has a lot to prove," sophomore defensive end Wyatt Hubert said. "He's always going to go out there and play hard."
Klieman agreed. If nothing else, K-State can always count on Sullivan's effort. So far, it's led to 14 tackles, one away from being tied for third on the team.
"I just love the way he's playing and how fast he's playing. There are no loafs. There are no plays off," Klieman said. "That kid plays at a million miles an hour, and that's what I so appreciate is when you turn on film, you say, 'Boy, that kid loves the game and loves to play.'"
The fact that Sullivan had the game taken away from him last season only increased his love for it.
"I always really respected the way he handled that," quarterback Skylar Thompson said, "because that could be really hard for how talented he is, getting hurt and not being able to play and show what he's capable of."
"As a football player, when you get hurt like that, you're going to take it hard," defensive back AJ Parker added. "But his resiliency and his commitment to go back to work and get back to the level he was at and higher was motivation for everybody, just watching him work, fight every day to be the best he could be."
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