SE: 'Unbelievable Ride' for K-State Football Sets Groundwork for Even More
Dec 05, 2019 | Football, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Picked ninth, finished tied for third. Doubted, proved wrong. Down, at times, but never out.
K-State football's first regular season under head coach Chris Klieman provided plenty of excitement, as well as more wins than any of the program's other seasons under first-year head coaches.
After K-State (8-4, 5-4) capped the regular season with a 27-17 win against No. 23 Iowa State last Saturday, Klieman did nothing but deflect credit for this year's success, however.
It was the players, he emphasized, who bought into a new voice in the front the room. It was the 27 seniors, he added, who embraced a "disruption" in their careers and laid the foundation with their leadership. It was the assistant coaches who helped organize and game plan for the program's highest conference finish since 2014.
"It's been an unbelievable ride and unbelievable ride for all of us. You're never going to hear me say 'me.' It's been an unbelievable ride for all of us as a staff," Klieman said, as K-State will find out its bowl destination on Sunday. "Once again, my hat goes off to our seniors because they're the ones that had to embrace us, they're the ones that had the disruption four years, five years into their time, that they got a new staff and a new coach.
"We gave them everything we had. We poured our heart and soul into those kids and they responded."
More than once, too.
From a 3-0 start that included a win at Mississippi State, the program's first road victory against a team that was in the SEC at the time the game was played, to consecutive losses to open its Big 12 schedule. From the three-straight victories that followed, highlighted by K-State's first home win against four-time defending conference champion Oklahoma since 1996, to consecutive heart-breaking losses by a combined seven points.
Through it all, Klieman's message stayed the same: Block out the noise and focus on each other.
"There's been some tough times. We've been a little bit of a rollercoaster, but we continued to get better and the guys would continue to buy in and learn more and take more ownership and get more invested in the program," Klieman said. "They've done that. Let's give credit where credit is due, and that's with the players and the assistant coaches."
The players found it easy to buy into Klieman's messaging. His energy connected with them. His positivity propelled their belief. He helped give them an edge, and they ran with it.
"A lot of people overlooked us, but we knew as long as we would buy into Coach Klieman and his program and keep believing every single day and week by week, the results would come," sophomore defensive end Wyatt Hubert said. "And 8-4 isn't the best record, but we're pretty happy with it, especially being Klieman's first season. The guys really came together, were tight-knit and we've been playing well."
"The way we came together," redshirt freshman defensive back Lance Robinson said of what he's most proud of this season. "Everyone, we're brothers. Everyone on this team I know, personally. We're buying into what Coach Klieman's saying and we're brothers, so we're going to go out there and battle for each other."
It's led to some impressive wins that were built, at least partially, on a few eye-popping numbers.
To start, K-State ranks second in the NCAA in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert 25.9 percent on third-down chances this season. The Wildcats also held 11 of their 12 opponents under their season scoring averages.
On offense, K-State ranks third in the NCAA in red zone offense, scoring on 96 percent of its trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
K-State also continued its tradition of dominant special teams, with a nation-leading four kickoff-return scores. True freshman Joshua Youngblood accounted for three of those touchdowns, all of which occurred in the last four weeks and helped earn him consecutive Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors. The Tampa, Florida native was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year on Wednesday, becoming the first freshman in the conference's history to earn a player of the year distinction on offense, defense or special teams.
"It's a great feeling," Youngblood said of the season. "Last year, those guys didn't make a bowl game, so just to come in and have a high standard…next year we're going to have a higher standard, set the bar even higher. So, just coming in at eight wins, that's a great steppingstone, but we still have one more game to try to get win number nine. It's a great foundation."
While more than two dozen Wildcat seniors will depart after the bowl game, young players like Youngblood should help keep that foundation from cracking. K-State started the season with the eighth-most freshmen in the country on its roster.
"There's a lot of great young guys that you haven't seen much of yet," senior graduate transfer running back Jordon Brown said, "and they're all going to get better."
K-State will return its starting quarterback in redshirt junior Skylar Thompson, one of four Wildcat quarterbacks ever to record 4,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards; Hubert, a First Team All-Big 12 selection after leading the team and finishing second in the conference with seven sacks; redshirt freshman Malik Knowles, who, despite injuries, showed flashes of being a game-changing playmaker; Wayne Jones, a redshirt freshman safety who ranks third on the team in tackles; Phillip Brooks, another redshirt freshman receiver who's second on the team in catches (26) and third in receiving yards (253) this season; and Jacardia Wright, a true freshman running back who broke out for 60 yards and a touchdown on six carries against Iowa State.
"It just shows that we have a great foundation, but it (also) shows we have great leadership," Youngblood said of the young impact players. "The senior class and upperclassmen really embraced the freshmen this summer and fall camp. It's just been a great environment to be in."
"It's really bright," senior defensive end Reggie Walker said of the program's future. "These kids coming in, they're going to buy into this program because there are some great coaches, all the positions. I can't wait to see the future of K-State."
Picked ninth, finished tied for third. Doubted, proved wrong. Down, at times, but never out.
K-State football's first regular season under head coach Chris Klieman provided plenty of excitement, as well as more wins than any of the program's other seasons under first-year head coaches.
After K-State (8-4, 5-4) capped the regular season with a 27-17 win against No. 23 Iowa State last Saturday, Klieman did nothing but deflect credit for this year's success, however.
It was the players, he emphasized, who bought into a new voice in the front the room. It was the 27 seniors, he added, who embraced a "disruption" in their careers and laid the foundation with their leadership. It was the assistant coaches who helped organize and game plan for the program's highest conference finish since 2014.
"It's been an unbelievable ride and unbelievable ride for all of us. You're never going to hear me say 'me.' It's been an unbelievable ride for all of us as a staff," Klieman said, as K-State will find out its bowl destination on Sunday. "Once again, my hat goes off to our seniors because they're the ones that had to embrace us, they're the ones that had the disruption four years, five years into their time, that they got a new staff and a new coach.
"We gave them everything we had. We poured our heart and soul into those kids and they responded."
More than once, too.
From a 3-0 start that included a win at Mississippi State, the program's first road victory against a team that was in the SEC at the time the game was played, to consecutive losses to open its Big 12 schedule. From the three-straight victories that followed, highlighted by K-State's first home win against four-time defending conference champion Oklahoma since 1996, to consecutive heart-breaking losses by a combined seven points.
Through it all, Klieman's message stayed the same: Block out the noise and focus on each other.
"There's been some tough times. We've been a little bit of a rollercoaster, but we continued to get better and the guys would continue to buy in and learn more and take more ownership and get more invested in the program," Klieman said. "They've done that. Let's give credit where credit is due, and that's with the players and the assistant coaches."
The players found it easy to buy into Klieman's messaging. His energy connected with them. His positivity propelled their belief. He helped give them an edge, and they ran with it.
"A lot of people overlooked us, but we knew as long as we would buy into Coach Klieman and his program and keep believing every single day and week by week, the results would come," sophomore defensive end Wyatt Hubert said. "And 8-4 isn't the best record, but we're pretty happy with it, especially being Klieman's first season. The guys really came together, were tight-knit and we've been playing well."
"The way we came together," redshirt freshman defensive back Lance Robinson said of what he's most proud of this season. "Everyone, we're brothers. Everyone on this team I know, personally. We're buying into what Coach Klieman's saying and we're brothers, so we're going to go out there and battle for each other."
It's led to some impressive wins that were built, at least partially, on a few eye-popping numbers.
To start, K-State ranks second in the NCAA in third-down defense, allowing opponents to convert 25.9 percent on third-down chances this season. The Wildcats also held 11 of their 12 opponents under their season scoring averages.
On offense, K-State ranks third in the NCAA in red zone offense, scoring on 96 percent of its trips inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
K-State also continued its tradition of dominant special teams, with a nation-leading four kickoff-return scores. True freshman Joshua Youngblood accounted for three of those touchdowns, all of which occurred in the last four weeks and helped earn him consecutive Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors. The Tampa, Florida native was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year on Wednesday, becoming the first freshman in the conference's history to earn a player of the year distinction on offense, defense or special teams.
"It's a great feeling," Youngblood said of the season. "Last year, those guys didn't make a bowl game, so just to come in and have a high standard…next year we're going to have a higher standard, set the bar even higher. So, just coming in at eight wins, that's a great steppingstone, but we still have one more game to try to get win number nine. It's a great foundation."
While more than two dozen Wildcat seniors will depart after the bowl game, young players like Youngblood should help keep that foundation from cracking. K-State started the season with the eighth-most freshmen in the country on its roster.
"There's a lot of great young guys that you haven't seen much of yet," senior graduate transfer running back Jordon Brown said, "and they're all going to get better."
K-State will return its starting quarterback in redshirt junior Skylar Thompson, one of four Wildcat quarterbacks ever to record 4,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards; Hubert, a First Team All-Big 12 selection after leading the team and finishing second in the conference with seven sacks; redshirt freshman Malik Knowles, who, despite injuries, showed flashes of being a game-changing playmaker; Wayne Jones, a redshirt freshman safety who ranks third on the team in tackles; Phillip Brooks, another redshirt freshman receiver who's second on the team in catches (26) and third in receiving yards (253) this season; and Jacardia Wright, a true freshman running back who broke out for 60 yards and a touchdown on six carries against Iowa State.
"It just shows that we have a great foundation, but it (also) shows we have great leadership," Youngblood said of the young impact players. "The senior class and upperclassmen really embraced the freshmen this summer and fall camp. It's just been a great environment to be in."
"It's really bright," senior defensive end Reggie Walker said of the program's future. "These kids coming in, they're going to buy into this program because there are some great coaches, all the positions. I can't wait to see the future of K-State."
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