SE: K-State Football Notebook – October 14
Oct 14, 2020 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Will Howard will quarterback No. 22 Kansas State for the rest of the season after Skylar Thompson's season-ending injury. Deuce Vaughn has gone from change-of-pace option to pleasant surprise to the focal point of the K-State offense.
The Wildcats are going to play the kids in 2020, with true freshmen front-and-center on offense.
Some of that is about injuries forcing their hand, sure. But the confidence that the K-State coaching staff has in this group continues to grow. That much was clear on Tuesday afternoon.
"Don't take any opportunity you have to play for granted," Chris Klieman said. "Our other guys have to step up. Skylar was a great voice for the team but now Noah Johnson is going to become a bigger voice, Briley Moore is going to become a bigger voice, Chabastin Taylor and Harry Trotter have to become bigger voices."
This would seem to be a perfect time for a bye week, before the Dillons Sunflower Showdown kicks off a Big 12 gauntlet in the second half of the season.
In addition to getting Howard as many reps as possible, Klieman pointed out that COVID-19 precautions have cut practice time for the Wildcats across the board. The next two weeks will be massive for a K-State team with everything to play for down the stretch in 2020.
"Briley Moore and Drew Wiley have played every snap…those guys don't need as much this week, but other players have missed substantial time. Football is a hard sport to play when you just go out and practice one time," Klieman said. "It's like golf, you don't just pick up your sticks and go shoot 75. At least I don't."
Rallying Around Will Howard
Here is a list of facts about the No. 22 team in the country:
Lost to Arkansas State. Beat No. 3 Oklahoma. A freshman running back leads the team in receiving yards. A senior quarterback is out for the season. A freshman quarterback has the team's longest run of the season.
That's how K-State arrived in the AP Top 25 this season. How the Wildcats plan to stay there is a little more straightforward and it starts with the new guy under center in Howard.
"He's done a tremendous job, and I think for the phase he's in, he's extremely far along. He's managed the huddle and managed a lot of the things we're doing extremely smoothly and in a very mature manner," quarterbacks coach Collin Klein said. "It's a hard situation for him, too, with no spring practice and a limited number of snaps, but he's competing his butt off and preparing his butt off."
After entering the game during the second quarter against Texas Tech, Howard has been a steady presence for the Wildcats.
His 117 passing yards and game-breaking 80-yard run against TCU made Howard the only true freshman quarterback in school history to win his first road start.
During the bye week, Howard will have a chance to catch his breath after playing two games in eight days. And his head coach will have a chance to help K-State's new QB1 keep improving.
"When you get thrust into a role like Will did against Texas Tech and then ultimately against TCU, a lot of times you're just focused on what's the game plan?" Klieman said. "We knew when we recruited the young man that he had the 'it' factor. We didn't think it would be this year, but you never know when your opportunity does arise."
Skylar Thompson's Status
The news that Thompson will miss the rest of the 2020 season was a tough way for K-State to begin a bye week. Klieman didn't comment on the exact nature of Thompson's upper-body injury or the possibility that the fifth-year senior could return in 2021.
"Always looking for the best interest with all the student-athletes," he said. "We had conversations with Skylar and a couple of texts with his dad. I know that Coach Klein visited with his dad…I think Skylar was at peace at the end of the week."
Moving forward in 2020, Klieman indicated that Thompson will still have an important role as one of the senior leaders on this K-State team. After all, this isn't the first time the former North Dakota State head coach has needed to make a quarterback change in the middle of a season.
During his second season at the helm in Fargo, Klieman lost Carson Wentz to a broken wrist and rolled with redshirt freshman Easton Stick throughout the rest of the regular season.
"Carson was Easton's best coach," Klieman said. "Carson was with him every day helping with the game plan, helping him understand the schemes, and I challenged Skylar to do the same."
Big Strides on Defense
When the K-State defense takes the field against Kansas in two weeks, the confidence around the group should be higher than ever for a unit that has become one of the Big 12's best.
Some names, like AJ Parker, are players that the Wildcats expected to count on in 2020 – even if the senior defensive back continues to reinvent himself.
Parker has been playing more nickelback this season, providing much-needed flexibility in the back seven.
"He's a guy with a lot of experience," assistant head coach Van Malone said. "When you've played a lot of football, when you've seen a lot of pictures, then it doesn't really matter what position [you are] back there, you can fit in. And that's what AJ has shown. You can fit in and have success."
Parker's first interception of the season was a pick-six against TCU that gave K-State all the second half scoring they would need in Fort Worth.
Of course, guys like Justin Gardner and Ekow Boye-Doe weren't known commodities before the season began. That's changed quickly.
"I've always been proud of the way they work," Malone said. "Ekow, a guy who has not seen a lot of playing time, but to continue to fight, to continue to come to work every day and not know when your name will be called. I have great pride in that because those are the things we preach as coaches. That's what the program is built upon."
Will Howard will quarterback No. 22 Kansas State for the rest of the season after Skylar Thompson's season-ending injury. Deuce Vaughn has gone from change-of-pace option to pleasant surprise to the focal point of the K-State offense.
The Wildcats are going to play the kids in 2020, with true freshmen front-and-center on offense.
Some of that is about injuries forcing their hand, sure. But the confidence that the K-State coaching staff has in this group continues to grow. That much was clear on Tuesday afternoon.
"Don't take any opportunity you have to play for granted," Chris Klieman said. "Our other guys have to step up. Skylar was a great voice for the team but now Noah Johnson is going to become a bigger voice, Briley Moore is going to become a bigger voice, Chabastin Taylor and Harry Trotter have to become bigger voices."
This would seem to be a perfect time for a bye week, before the Dillons Sunflower Showdown kicks off a Big 12 gauntlet in the second half of the season.
In addition to getting Howard as many reps as possible, Klieman pointed out that COVID-19 precautions have cut practice time for the Wildcats across the board. The next two weeks will be massive for a K-State team with everything to play for down the stretch in 2020.
"Briley Moore and Drew Wiley have played every snap…those guys don't need as much this week, but other players have missed substantial time. Football is a hard sport to play when you just go out and practice one time," Klieman said. "It's like golf, you don't just pick up your sticks and go shoot 75. At least I don't."
Rallying Around Will Howard
Here is a list of facts about the No. 22 team in the country:
Lost to Arkansas State. Beat No. 3 Oklahoma. A freshman running back leads the team in receiving yards. A senior quarterback is out for the season. A freshman quarterback has the team's longest run of the season.
That's how K-State arrived in the AP Top 25 this season. How the Wildcats plan to stay there is a little more straightforward and it starts with the new guy under center in Howard.
"He's done a tremendous job, and I think for the phase he's in, he's extremely far along. He's managed the huddle and managed a lot of the things we're doing extremely smoothly and in a very mature manner," quarterbacks coach Collin Klein said. "It's a hard situation for him, too, with no spring practice and a limited number of snaps, but he's competing his butt off and preparing his butt off."
After entering the game during the second quarter against Texas Tech, Howard has been a steady presence for the Wildcats.
His 117 passing yards and game-breaking 80-yard run against TCU made Howard the only true freshman quarterback in school history to win his first road start.
During the bye week, Howard will have a chance to catch his breath after playing two games in eight days. And his head coach will have a chance to help K-State's new QB1 keep improving.
"When you get thrust into a role like Will did against Texas Tech and then ultimately against TCU, a lot of times you're just focused on what's the game plan?" Klieman said. "We knew when we recruited the young man that he had the 'it' factor. We didn't think it would be this year, but you never know when your opportunity does arise."
Skylar Thompson's Status
The news that Thompson will miss the rest of the 2020 season was a tough way for K-State to begin a bye week. Klieman didn't comment on the exact nature of Thompson's upper-body injury or the possibility that the fifth-year senior could return in 2021.
"Always looking for the best interest with all the student-athletes," he said. "We had conversations with Skylar and a couple of texts with his dad. I know that Coach Klein visited with his dad…I think Skylar was at peace at the end of the week."
Moving forward in 2020, Klieman indicated that Thompson will still have an important role as one of the senior leaders on this K-State team. After all, this isn't the first time the former North Dakota State head coach has needed to make a quarterback change in the middle of a season.
During his second season at the helm in Fargo, Klieman lost Carson Wentz to a broken wrist and rolled with redshirt freshman Easton Stick throughout the rest of the regular season.
"Carson was Easton's best coach," Klieman said. "Carson was with him every day helping with the game plan, helping him understand the schemes, and I challenged Skylar to do the same."
Big Strides on Defense
When the K-State defense takes the field against Kansas in two weeks, the confidence around the group should be higher than ever for a unit that has become one of the Big 12's best.
Some names, like AJ Parker, are players that the Wildcats expected to count on in 2020 – even if the senior defensive back continues to reinvent himself.
Parker has been playing more nickelback this season, providing much-needed flexibility in the back seven.
"He's a guy with a lot of experience," assistant head coach Van Malone said. "When you've played a lot of football, when you've seen a lot of pictures, then it doesn't really matter what position [you are] back there, you can fit in. And that's what AJ has shown. You can fit in and have success."
Parker's first interception of the season was a pick-six against TCU that gave K-State all the second half scoring they would need in Fort Worth.
Of course, guys like Justin Gardner and Ekow Boye-Doe weren't known commodities before the season began. That's changed quickly.
"I've always been proud of the way they work," Malone said. "Ekow, a guy who has not seen a lot of playing time, but to continue to fight, to continue to come to work every day and not know when your name will be called. I have great pride in that because those are the things we preach as coaches. That's what the program is built upon."
Players Mentioned
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