Klanderman, Malone Speak to Media Wednesday
Apr 15, 2020 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and assistant head coach Van Malone met with members of the media over Zoom on Wednesday to discuss the 2020 Wildcats and how they continue to communicate with the team during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a transcript of the press conference, and linked above are videos of each in addition to a full audio version.
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On building off a strong season from the K-State defense in 2019...
"All those stats are great – and that's certainly something that last year's team can be proud of – but when you go back and look at it, there were still a lot of missed opportunities out there. There was a lot of stuff that, when you watch the film closely, there's indecision, technique errors, communication errors and things where we can continue to get better. Those mistakes are going to be common in year one of any system, especially something that was so drastically different from what they had done here in the past. I think the statistics and all of those things will take care of themselves if we just worry about our execution. We've just have to get better at what we do, and that's the goal."
On if his defense will be even more aggressive in 2020...
"Scottie [Hazelton] and I come from the same tree, that is correct. Some of the things that worry him don't worry me as much, and vice versa, maybe some of the things that worry me didn't worry him as much. Philosophically, I think I'm similar to Scottie in that I think if you play sound defense and eliminate explosive plays, you're going to give yourself a chance. Now, can you play sound defense and bring pressure? Sure. I don't think I'm a crazy pressure man. Maybe what Denzel [Goolsby] is referring to is that I think maybe we could have been a little more aggressive in some of our zones, we maybe could have been a little bit more aggressive in some of our play-calling situations. I'm not saying anything was wrong. I'm just saying that the way we fundamentally teach some things may be a little bit more aggressive."
On the biggest adjustment to his new role as K-State's defensive coordinator...
"As I'm finding out right now, through this time, one of the biggest adjustments is recruiting and how you touch different recruits. That's a big thing. The recruits want to get touched by the head coach, it's a big deal to get touched by the coordinator, and I think we're doing a good job as a staff of touching everybody. In terms of the way that I think about things and approach my week, I would say you're probably right, the biggest difference is just having the responsibility of calling the game. I always approached every decision – because I was a coordinator in the past – I approached every decision with the global picture in mind. So, my thinking in terms of how we structure our week won't change much. But yeah, I'm going to have to spend a little more time on how I want to call the game and things that I didn't have to worry about last year."
On his approach to installing a defense with limited access to his players...
"Well, that's the million-dollar question isn't it? We're certainly taking advantage of the four hours that we're given. But to me, there are all different types of learners. With a young football team, the majority of our guys would learn best with the walk-through aspect, the pictures and we're not getting that right now. What we're trying to do right now is just make sure – and I think we're doing a good job – but just making sure that the staff is on the same page. Obviously, with [linebackers coach] Steve [Stanard] being new, that's a challenge in and of itself. But even the guys that were here, with only being year two in the system, there were a lot of things that we needed to hash out, and I think we're doing a good job of getting that done. If we're all on the same page in the same voice, it's going to help us move faster once we can get everybody together. So right now, it's film with the guys, it's terminology with the guys and learning that stuff, the walkthroughs and the actual pictures so we don't have to wait until we get some actual face-time with them."
On how things are going with new linebackers coach Steve Stanard...
"Really good. Obviously, his background with Coach Klieman helps because some of the terminology that I use is stuff that they would have used at North Dakota State when he was there. He was brought up as a Tampa 2 guy, so he understands a lot of that stuff. Some of the Cover 3 stuff is a little bit new to him, but he's had some exposure to it. He's just a really sharp football coach. Even though his learning curve might be great, he picks it up really quickly."
On making up for the loss of spring football once his players are back on campus...
"It's uncharted waters here isn't it? It's not ideal. Everybody is in the same boat though. I guess the way that I think about it is if we're maximizing our time, we're getting ahead. I think that we're doing that as best we can. As far as how that's going to affect us, we're probably going to have to simplify the package a little bit. Maybe all of the things that we wanted to do originally we're not going to be able to do. At least not initially in the season. The other thing is that when we get back – we're getting plenty of meeting time right now – but when we get back we're going to have to spend more time in walkthroughs on our feet than we would have otherwise."
On how long it will take K-State to be game-ready in 2020...
"I think that's a philosophical question. For us, the way that we play ball, our style, is about execution. It takes a while to get that down. I think other teams, a Texas Tech, that's all about tempo, just going as fast as you can and the execution part is what it is. I think they might be able to get going a little bit faster. We need to be on the same page. We need to have our timing down, offensively and defensively, so it definitely will be a challenge. I didn't answer your question, but I'm saying I don't know the answer to that question. I would love to have as much time as possible, and I know that might not be the reality."
On the process of how he was hired as K-State's defensive coordinator...
"I had been interviewing for this job for six years, so I think that Coach [Klieman] knew what I was all about. I certainly didn't lobby for it or anything like that. I think that he knew that I was ready. I certainly feel that I'm ready. Again, it was just how I approached every scenario. I always thought about it through a coordinator's eyes even though I wasn't the coordinator. Long story short, he approached me, we had a great conversation, he asked me philosophically about what I thought and what I thought was best for the Big 12 and what I thought was best for our personnel moving forward. I gave him answers. I think he and I very much see eye-to-eye, and it was just a perfect match. I understand – because I've been around Coach for so long – what his message is. I understand how he wants to get formulated. I understand what he wants the players to think. I understand how he wants everybody to approach things. And I don't think there's anybody on earth that can convey that message to the players better that I could. In that respect, I thought it was the perfect fit."
On if his routine this offseason has started to feel more normal...
"Yes. We have a very good staff routine. Our mornings are all about ball, us as a staff getting on the same page, working through our installation, working through our terminology and then our afternoons are filled with recruiting and then we generally do our position meetings and stuff in the late afternoon. We've kind of gotten into a daily routine as strange as it sounds."
On what players he has looked to for defensive leadership...
"Some guys that come to my mind right away are Wyatt Hubert, I think he's been phenomenal. I think our players have done a great job of organizing themselves and keeping themselves motivated, checking in on themselves even though they are spread out all over the country, those guys are still very much interconnected. I think there's daily communication going on with pretty much everybody on the football team. Wyatt Hubert comes to mind, Brock Monty comes to mind as a guy that's been above and beyond leadership-wise, and I'm just talking about defensive guys. Justin Hughes has been phenomenal. I think Coach Klieman has been very instrumental in organizing that. He encouraged it from the outset, so the communication has been great from the outset. Our message has been we're going to over communicate. Daily, we're dealing with people and each other. Not to leave anybody out, there are a number of guys that have been really good with it, but those are three guys that for sure on all three levels come to my mind."
On what can translate from this coaching staff's success at the FCS level to the Big 12...
"The Cover 3 system that we had used was something that was different in the Big 12. Not many people, when you look at Big 12 football, by and large it was three-down quarters and that's what most teams did. Now, they did it differently and they had different spices with it, but that's what you saw and playing three deep or playing with a safety in the middle of the field was just a little bit different and something that the league hadn't seen, or not on a grand scale anyway. Just having the philosophy of, we're going to play sound football. It might not always be the best situations, but we're going to put guys in positions where if we do our jobs, we can have success. Rather than trying to junk things up or be perfect in every scenario, I thought what we did best was just try and keep things as simple as we could and let guys play fast. That translated really well because that was similar to the philosophy at North Dakota State. Now at North Dakota State, when you're in year six, seven or eight in a system, you can put a lot more sugar on the toppings, so to speak. We couldn't do that a year ago. We're hoping to get to some of that stuff this year, which will hopefully make it seem more stout."
On handling the challenges of communicating with players and recruits...
"Again, the overriding philosophy that we have as a staff is that we're going to over-communicate with you. We're going to touch these guys every day. In some cases, multiple times a day. You're right, when I'm alone and I'm in Atlanta, Georgia and I don't hear from my coach for a week, my mind goes all over the place. But when I'm alone and I'm in Atlanta, Georgia and my teammates are calling me up at 10 a.m. and my coach is calling me up at 12 p.m. and I've got a position meeting at 4 p.m., in some ways, it gets to be a routine for those guys too and they do feel connected. You're absolutely right, you run the risk of those guys being on their own and can we be there to supervise them? No, but can we be involved in their lives, have daily discussions with them and make sure they don't get too far off the task at hand? Absolutely. I would just say that our biggest thing with it has been doing the best we can to over-communicate. We've also made sure that they have resources, be it Ben Newman, be it Joe Hall, who works with our football team. They can talk to other people besides their position coach if they have issues at home. They have the same support structure there as they would have had if they were here."
On differences for players joining K-State as early enrollees...
"It really stinks for those guys because they came here with a purpose of wanting to play early and learn what we're doing. The fortunate thing is that a lot of those guys got a jump, whether it was individual meeting with us, coming in and learning terminology and learning some of that stuff. We have a little bit of a handle because of what we were doing with winter conditioning. We have a little bit of an evaluation of their movement skills and that kind of thing. We have a little bit better of an evaluation of those guys over the guys who would still be in high school. But, you're right, in terms of the reps and in terms of the pictures, they're going to lose that and they're going to be just like everybody else. They might have a little bit of a jump on the learning, but as far as us getting an on-the-field with pads evaluation of them, it stinks and it's unfortunate for those guys, especially since we have a great number of them."
VAN MALONE, ASSISTANT HEAD COACH
On if his routine this offseason has started to feel more normal...
"For guys with gray hair like you, not me [laughs], this is a little bit strange because this is not chief notebook time, this is time when we've actually talked about, when we first arrived here, the fact that sometime as coaches you have to be willing to get out of your zone and your place of comfort and go into another place. For our guys, they live on FaceTime and they've lived in these Zoom meetings before, so it's a little bit of an adjustment for us. But, at the end of the day, just like we talk about in recruiting, if you want to establish relationships with people, you're recruiting and you want to establish a relationship with your fans and if you want to establish a relationship with your players and you're committed to doing that, this is where we are, this is our new normal."
On how recruits have responded to the challenges of remote communication…
"We talk about some of the stress that our players are going through, and I think high school kids and recruits because in some cases, kids had the vision of coming on a visit, visiting these different campuses and committing at a certain point here at the end of spring. That's not going to happen. So, some of these kids are stressing out as well. On the phone with them, we try and spend time lifting them up as well. One of the messages that we try and give to our players through all of this is that you have to make sure you stay in the huddle. I know offense and defense, we're really fast-paced these days, but we want to keep them in the huddle. When you're in the huddle, you get warnings and you get alerts. When you're in the huddle, you get encouragement and you get lifted up. When you're in the huddle, you get direction and you get instruction. So, even though our players are spread all over the country and we're recruiting kids all over the country, we do everything we can to keep them in the huddle. When it comes to the message, again, we can choose to be negative and think about how bad this thing is or we can be positive. If you know our staff at all, if you know Coach Klieman at all, you've got to know that we're going to choose to be positive, and we're going to choose to find ways that we can get something out of this place that we're in."
On how they are finding an edge during the pandemic…
"What I've talked to our guys and what I've talked to recruits about it is there are some ways you can get better, which we've done that as a staff. If you go look at every one of the games you've played in, what are those things that you can improve upon? I'm talking about go back to the lab and start over. In our lives we never really have time to do that because we're always busy living. But, there's not a lot of activity going on in these kids' lives and ours as coaches. So, it's time to slow down, go back and let's remake ourselves in a lot of different ways, not just talking football, but in a lot of different ways. So, that's an edge to me. Brock Monty, one of our players, said it early on when he had an opportunity to do a video for the team, he said that the best teams, the greatest teams – and Coach [Klieman] always says it as well – will be the teams that handle this the right way, will be the teams that understand the challenges that are placed in this situation for me as an individual, confined, locked away in a setting. What am I doing with that time? Am I wasting that time or am I making the most of that time? The teams across America – high school, college – that individually make the most of those times, they're going to be the teams that you'll see having success."
On how his role has changed as Assistant Head Coach...
"I was really excited about that opportunity. There have been some days where it's been a challenge, but that's what we do this for, we do this for challenges. I've been really impressed to be able to work alongside Coach Klieman and watch how he has led this program with guys all over the country. What I've really tried to do is offer support to him, ask, 'What do you need me to handle in this situation? What can I do more?" because being a head coach and being a leader of the program, it can be lonely at times. Your decisions affect a whole lot of people, they affect families, so I let him make the really tough ones and once it's all settled, I come in and pick up the pieces."
On what his additional title of Passing Game Coordinator entails...
"Really, it's not much because one of the things that I think is very important is when our defensive coaches speak, there's one voice, and that voice is Coach Klanderman. What I do in that role is I really support him in our defensive pass coverage attack and how we will defend our opponent's passing game, but that's what I've always done. So, at the end of the day, I've worked with a lot of defensive backs coaches, and when you have two defensive backs coaches on the defense, it's almost like two people in the kitchen, they're bumping into each other. But I like what Joe and I do. We mesh well together. I've had great joy in working with him. He's an organized, open-minded, innovative coach, so I'm excited about being able to support him in his new role."
On the return of defensive back AJ Parker and the potential of defensive back Will Jones…
"AJ of course suffered an injury during the season and has worked really hard to regain himself. When a guy gets hurt, there's a period where he's frustrated, he's depressed, he wants to be out there. So, we've gone through all those emotions and now he's in the place where – like all of them – he just wants to be and to get things going again. I'm excited about what he's done and where he is, this is his final season, so it should be time for him to be as excited as he is. Will, from the day he stepped on campus, has been an exciting player to watch. He's a smart, heady player. He has incredible ability, he can run. The thing that we continually want him to do – and he's working hard at that and he's progressing really well – is him gaining weight. I can see why all the players are excited about him. He's always shown flashes of natural ability. We can't wait to be able to have him and give him the opportunity to be out there and do what he's done best."
On if there will be many changes in the defense from last year…
"I think that many of the things that Coach [Scottie] Hazelton instituted for us defensively, they were at the core of who this defensive staff is. I don't think we'll stray far away from those things. Now, Scottie had a personality and Joe, as a playcaller, will have a personality. So, I think it will be a little bit different there, but for the most part, I don't foresee us making many wholesale changes."
On the impact of having linebacker Justin Hughes back…
"Justin, the only thing that he didn't do last season was run out there and play. He coached on the sidelines, he coached during the games, he motivated players, he called players out. To have him back and healthy and moving in that direction is vital. He's done a great job so far during this time in terms of leading players, in terms of helping younger guys, in terms of motivating, in terms of being a guy that guys like Tee Denson and Levi Archer can lean on. So, I'm excited to have Justin back, of course, wish we wouldn't have lost him to injury when we did, but I'm excited about what he continues to bring to our team."
On players staying motivated while away...
"The thing that we've really stressed for guys is to continually seek improvement. So, if you are stationed away from home base no matter what the circumstances are – we have guys lifting milk jugs – doing all those things that aren't in the fancy weight room that they're accustomed to. We kind of talked about this the other day. Where the challenge is is you continually seek improvement every single day. I'm not worried about our guys being motivated because when they left here, they knew they had work to do. Different guys had work they had to do to gain weight, and different guys had to get stronger, different guys had to lock in and learn the system better. So, there's always things that we have to improve upon, so I think that's motivation enough. Then, when you couple it with the fact that they're away from their teammates – for us, when you walk around our building it says, 'Family,' all around. We talk about family in recruiting. So, when these guys are away – and during this time, there's stress on family – so when you're committed to that, to hold each other accountable to that – and I think we have a great group of leaders on our team that hold you accountable. Motivation, once they return, it will be there because for some of these guys football is their life. Sometimes we take things that are very important to us for granted. Then, when you're blessed to have it back, then you cherish it, you value it even more. So, that's what I will see in this situation once we're all back together."
On how much AJ Parker would have been able to do this spring…
"As we were in our workouts, he would do some things, so I thought he was progressing along well. As I've talked to him about where he is physically. Of course, he could be rehabbing with our staff much better than he would be at home, but he did participate at different times in our morning workouts. Like I said, I thought he was progressing well, but he's an athlete, he's a competitor, so I anticipate him coming back full go."
On having starters at cornerback return and who will fill in as depth...
"It's important that our guys always know that tomorrow is not at all connected to yesterday. So, yeah those guys [AJ Parker and Walter Neil, Jr.] started some games last year, but that's about all that means. We have a couple of guys who will enter our fold – Tee Denson, who was here as a freshman, and Justin Gardner, a junior-college guy that we signed. So, I'm excited about the group because also in the group is Lance Robinson, who played in place of AJ and Walt when those guys were injured. I'm excited about Ekow [Boye-Doe], who's done a great job and who was really progressing well before virus and us being forced to break away. So, I'm excited about having those two guys who started a lot of games and played a lot of games in their careers, but I'm also excited about the new guys that as they walk through the door and look to these guys for their leadership."
On how important it will be to have continuity on the staff with no spring football in 2020…
"If you think about it, that would have been quite a big deal for our players to know that they would have to learn a new system once they return. So, for us as coaches, it's been refreshing to be able to know the calls and know the defenses so that we can sharpen that. We've had opportunities to meet with our players, so as we're meeting with our players and we're instructing them and giving them lessons, it's not the same as when you're learning the system. It's not the same as a coach, when you're learning as they're learning. To have coaches be in the system for two years and players be in the system for multiple years, I think is an incredible advantage and that's something that Coach Klieman talked about, he wanted to make sure that he kept the staff intact as best he could, and I think that's happened for us. I think that's a great thing for us and then for our staff as well."
On how he has recruited without being able to host campus visits…
"The thing about Manhattan is it's not necessarily the buildings, it's the people. What we've tried to convey to the kids that we have been recruiting during this time, as we hop on the phone with them nine and 10 deep, is that you're important, and if you were not important, then we wouldn't be doing this. We've tried to do things that the other teams are not doing in terms of recruiting. We've tried to take the extra step, the same things that we do with our players, and to us, it's just about being elite as recruiters and elite as coaches. When you make a commitment to be that, then those are the things that you do. You go the extra step. When we talk about the fact that we can't get these kids to Manhattan, well we're going to take Manhattan to them. We're going to take the locker room, we're going to take what we do with our players, we're going to take that to them. It's unfortunate that we don't have our players because they are the number one recruiters for our team. The fact that we don't have that interaction between recruits and our current players, that's a challenge. But what we've tried to do as a coaching staff – offensively, defensively and with Coach Klieman – is just reach and do things that other staffs across the country are not doing when it comes to conveying the message of family. Like I said, this is the time when everyone goes their own separate ways and goes into their shells, but not here. Not at K-State and not this staff. That's what we've shown to our players as well as the kids we're recruiting."
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On building off a strong season from the K-State defense in 2019...
"All those stats are great – and that's certainly something that last year's team can be proud of – but when you go back and look at it, there were still a lot of missed opportunities out there. There was a lot of stuff that, when you watch the film closely, there's indecision, technique errors, communication errors and things where we can continue to get better. Those mistakes are going to be common in year one of any system, especially something that was so drastically different from what they had done here in the past. I think the statistics and all of those things will take care of themselves if we just worry about our execution. We've just have to get better at what we do, and that's the goal."
On if his defense will be even more aggressive in 2020...
"Scottie [Hazelton] and I come from the same tree, that is correct. Some of the things that worry him don't worry me as much, and vice versa, maybe some of the things that worry me didn't worry him as much. Philosophically, I think I'm similar to Scottie in that I think if you play sound defense and eliminate explosive plays, you're going to give yourself a chance. Now, can you play sound defense and bring pressure? Sure. I don't think I'm a crazy pressure man. Maybe what Denzel [Goolsby] is referring to is that I think maybe we could have been a little more aggressive in some of our zones, we maybe could have been a little bit more aggressive in some of our play-calling situations. I'm not saying anything was wrong. I'm just saying that the way we fundamentally teach some things may be a little bit more aggressive."
On the biggest adjustment to his new role as K-State's defensive coordinator...
"As I'm finding out right now, through this time, one of the biggest adjustments is recruiting and how you touch different recruits. That's a big thing. The recruits want to get touched by the head coach, it's a big deal to get touched by the coordinator, and I think we're doing a good job as a staff of touching everybody. In terms of the way that I think about things and approach my week, I would say you're probably right, the biggest difference is just having the responsibility of calling the game. I always approached every decision – because I was a coordinator in the past – I approached every decision with the global picture in mind. So, my thinking in terms of how we structure our week won't change much. But yeah, I'm going to have to spend a little more time on how I want to call the game and things that I didn't have to worry about last year."
On his approach to installing a defense with limited access to his players...
"Well, that's the million-dollar question isn't it? We're certainly taking advantage of the four hours that we're given. But to me, there are all different types of learners. With a young football team, the majority of our guys would learn best with the walk-through aspect, the pictures and we're not getting that right now. What we're trying to do right now is just make sure – and I think we're doing a good job – but just making sure that the staff is on the same page. Obviously, with [linebackers coach] Steve [Stanard] being new, that's a challenge in and of itself. But even the guys that were here, with only being year two in the system, there were a lot of things that we needed to hash out, and I think we're doing a good job of getting that done. If we're all on the same page in the same voice, it's going to help us move faster once we can get everybody together. So right now, it's film with the guys, it's terminology with the guys and learning that stuff, the walkthroughs and the actual pictures so we don't have to wait until we get some actual face-time with them."
On how things are going with new linebackers coach Steve Stanard...
"Really good. Obviously, his background with Coach Klieman helps because some of the terminology that I use is stuff that they would have used at North Dakota State when he was there. He was brought up as a Tampa 2 guy, so he understands a lot of that stuff. Some of the Cover 3 stuff is a little bit new to him, but he's had some exposure to it. He's just a really sharp football coach. Even though his learning curve might be great, he picks it up really quickly."
On making up for the loss of spring football once his players are back on campus...
"It's uncharted waters here isn't it? It's not ideal. Everybody is in the same boat though. I guess the way that I think about it is if we're maximizing our time, we're getting ahead. I think that we're doing that as best we can. As far as how that's going to affect us, we're probably going to have to simplify the package a little bit. Maybe all of the things that we wanted to do originally we're not going to be able to do. At least not initially in the season. The other thing is that when we get back – we're getting plenty of meeting time right now – but when we get back we're going to have to spend more time in walkthroughs on our feet than we would have otherwise."
On how long it will take K-State to be game-ready in 2020...
"I think that's a philosophical question. For us, the way that we play ball, our style, is about execution. It takes a while to get that down. I think other teams, a Texas Tech, that's all about tempo, just going as fast as you can and the execution part is what it is. I think they might be able to get going a little bit faster. We need to be on the same page. We need to have our timing down, offensively and defensively, so it definitely will be a challenge. I didn't answer your question, but I'm saying I don't know the answer to that question. I would love to have as much time as possible, and I know that might not be the reality."
On the process of how he was hired as K-State's defensive coordinator...
"I had been interviewing for this job for six years, so I think that Coach [Klieman] knew what I was all about. I certainly didn't lobby for it or anything like that. I think that he knew that I was ready. I certainly feel that I'm ready. Again, it was just how I approached every scenario. I always thought about it through a coordinator's eyes even though I wasn't the coordinator. Long story short, he approached me, we had a great conversation, he asked me philosophically about what I thought and what I thought was best for the Big 12 and what I thought was best for our personnel moving forward. I gave him answers. I think he and I very much see eye-to-eye, and it was just a perfect match. I understand – because I've been around Coach for so long – what his message is. I understand how he wants to get formulated. I understand what he wants the players to think. I understand how he wants everybody to approach things. And I don't think there's anybody on earth that can convey that message to the players better that I could. In that respect, I thought it was the perfect fit."
On if his routine this offseason has started to feel more normal...
"Yes. We have a very good staff routine. Our mornings are all about ball, us as a staff getting on the same page, working through our installation, working through our terminology and then our afternoons are filled with recruiting and then we generally do our position meetings and stuff in the late afternoon. We've kind of gotten into a daily routine as strange as it sounds."
On what players he has looked to for defensive leadership...
"Some guys that come to my mind right away are Wyatt Hubert, I think he's been phenomenal. I think our players have done a great job of organizing themselves and keeping themselves motivated, checking in on themselves even though they are spread out all over the country, those guys are still very much interconnected. I think there's daily communication going on with pretty much everybody on the football team. Wyatt Hubert comes to mind, Brock Monty comes to mind as a guy that's been above and beyond leadership-wise, and I'm just talking about defensive guys. Justin Hughes has been phenomenal. I think Coach Klieman has been very instrumental in organizing that. He encouraged it from the outset, so the communication has been great from the outset. Our message has been we're going to over communicate. Daily, we're dealing with people and each other. Not to leave anybody out, there are a number of guys that have been really good with it, but those are three guys that for sure on all three levels come to my mind."
On what can translate from this coaching staff's success at the FCS level to the Big 12...
"The Cover 3 system that we had used was something that was different in the Big 12. Not many people, when you look at Big 12 football, by and large it was three-down quarters and that's what most teams did. Now, they did it differently and they had different spices with it, but that's what you saw and playing three deep or playing with a safety in the middle of the field was just a little bit different and something that the league hadn't seen, or not on a grand scale anyway. Just having the philosophy of, we're going to play sound football. It might not always be the best situations, but we're going to put guys in positions where if we do our jobs, we can have success. Rather than trying to junk things up or be perfect in every scenario, I thought what we did best was just try and keep things as simple as we could and let guys play fast. That translated really well because that was similar to the philosophy at North Dakota State. Now at North Dakota State, when you're in year six, seven or eight in a system, you can put a lot more sugar on the toppings, so to speak. We couldn't do that a year ago. We're hoping to get to some of that stuff this year, which will hopefully make it seem more stout."
On handling the challenges of communicating with players and recruits...
"Again, the overriding philosophy that we have as a staff is that we're going to over-communicate with you. We're going to touch these guys every day. In some cases, multiple times a day. You're right, when I'm alone and I'm in Atlanta, Georgia and I don't hear from my coach for a week, my mind goes all over the place. But when I'm alone and I'm in Atlanta, Georgia and my teammates are calling me up at 10 a.m. and my coach is calling me up at 12 p.m. and I've got a position meeting at 4 p.m., in some ways, it gets to be a routine for those guys too and they do feel connected. You're absolutely right, you run the risk of those guys being on their own and can we be there to supervise them? No, but can we be involved in their lives, have daily discussions with them and make sure they don't get too far off the task at hand? Absolutely. I would just say that our biggest thing with it has been doing the best we can to over-communicate. We've also made sure that they have resources, be it Ben Newman, be it Joe Hall, who works with our football team. They can talk to other people besides their position coach if they have issues at home. They have the same support structure there as they would have had if they were here."
On differences for players joining K-State as early enrollees...
"It really stinks for those guys because they came here with a purpose of wanting to play early and learn what we're doing. The fortunate thing is that a lot of those guys got a jump, whether it was individual meeting with us, coming in and learning terminology and learning some of that stuff. We have a little bit of a handle because of what we were doing with winter conditioning. We have a little bit of an evaluation of their movement skills and that kind of thing. We have a little bit better of an evaluation of those guys over the guys who would still be in high school. But, you're right, in terms of the reps and in terms of the pictures, they're going to lose that and they're going to be just like everybody else. They might have a little bit of a jump on the learning, but as far as us getting an on-the-field with pads evaluation of them, it stinks and it's unfortunate for those guys, especially since we have a great number of them."
VAN MALONE, ASSISTANT HEAD COACH
On if his routine this offseason has started to feel more normal...
"For guys with gray hair like you, not me [laughs], this is a little bit strange because this is not chief notebook time, this is time when we've actually talked about, when we first arrived here, the fact that sometime as coaches you have to be willing to get out of your zone and your place of comfort and go into another place. For our guys, they live on FaceTime and they've lived in these Zoom meetings before, so it's a little bit of an adjustment for us. But, at the end of the day, just like we talk about in recruiting, if you want to establish relationships with people, you're recruiting and you want to establish a relationship with your fans and if you want to establish a relationship with your players and you're committed to doing that, this is where we are, this is our new normal."
On how recruits have responded to the challenges of remote communication…
"We talk about some of the stress that our players are going through, and I think high school kids and recruits because in some cases, kids had the vision of coming on a visit, visiting these different campuses and committing at a certain point here at the end of spring. That's not going to happen. So, some of these kids are stressing out as well. On the phone with them, we try and spend time lifting them up as well. One of the messages that we try and give to our players through all of this is that you have to make sure you stay in the huddle. I know offense and defense, we're really fast-paced these days, but we want to keep them in the huddle. When you're in the huddle, you get warnings and you get alerts. When you're in the huddle, you get encouragement and you get lifted up. When you're in the huddle, you get direction and you get instruction. So, even though our players are spread all over the country and we're recruiting kids all over the country, we do everything we can to keep them in the huddle. When it comes to the message, again, we can choose to be negative and think about how bad this thing is or we can be positive. If you know our staff at all, if you know Coach Klieman at all, you've got to know that we're going to choose to be positive, and we're going to choose to find ways that we can get something out of this place that we're in."
On how they are finding an edge during the pandemic…
"What I've talked to our guys and what I've talked to recruits about it is there are some ways you can get better, which we've done that as a staff. If you go look at every one of the games you've played in, what are those things that you can improve upon? I'm talking about go back to the lab and start over. In our lives we never really have time to do that because we're always busy living. But, there's not a lot of activity going on in these kids' lives and ours as coaches. So, it's time to slow down, go back and let's remake ourselves in a lot of different ways, not just talking football, but in a lot of different ways. So, that's an edge to me. Brock Monty, one of our players, said it early on when he had an opportunity to do a video for the team, he said that the best teams, the greatest teams – and Coach [Klieman] always says it as well – will be the teams that handle this the right way, will be the teams that understand the challenges that are placed in this situation for me as an individual, confined, locked away in a setting. What am I doing with that time? Am I wasting that time or am I making the most of that time? The teams across America – high school, college – that individually make the most of those times, they're going to be the teams that you'll see having success."
On how his role has changed as Assistant Head Coach...
"I was really excited about that opportunity. There have been some days where it's been a challenge, but that's what we do this for, we do this for challenges. I've been really impressed to be able to work alongside Coach Klieman and watch how he has led this program with guys all over the country. What I've really tried to do is offer support to him, ask, 'What do you need me to handle in this situation? What can I do more?" because being a head coach and being a leader of the program, it can be lonely at times. Your decisions affect a whole lot of people, they affect families, so I let him make the really tough ones and once it's all settled, I come in and pick up the pieces."
On what his additional title of Passing Game Coordinator entails...
"Really, it's not much because one of the things that I think is very important is when our defensive coaches speak, there's one voice, and that voice is Coach Klanderman. What I do in that role is I really support him in our defensive pass coverage attack and how we will defend our opponent's passing game, but that's what I've always done. So, at the end of the day, I've worked with a lot of defensive backs coaches, and when you have two defensive backs coaches on the defense, it's almost like two people in the kitchen, they're bumping into each other. But I like what Joe and I do. We mesh well together. I've had great joy in working with him. He's an organized, open-minded, innovative coach, so I'm excited about being able to support him in his new role."
On the return of defensive back AJ Parker and the potential of defensive back Will Jones…
"AJ of course suffered an injury during the season and has worked really hard to regain himself. When a guy gets hurt, there's a period where he's frustrated, he's depressed, he wants to be out there. So, we've gone through all those emotions and now he's in the place where – like all of them – he just wants to be and to get things going again. I'm excited about what he's done and where he is, this is his final season, so it should be time for him to be as excited as he is. Will, from the day he stepped on campus, has been an exciting player to watch. He's a smart, heady player. He has incredible ability, he can run. The thing that we continually want him to do – and he's working hard at that and he's progressing really well – is him gaining weight. I can see why all the players are excited about him. He's always shown flashes of natural ability. We can't wait to be able to have him and give him the opportunity to be out there and do what he's done best."
On if there will be many changes in the defense from last year…
"I think that many of the things that Coach [Scottie] Hazelton instituted for us defensively, they were at the core of who this defensive staff is. I don't think we'll stray far away from those things. Now, Scottie had a personality and Joe, as a playcaller, will have a personality. So, I think it will be a little bit different there, but for the most part, I don't foresee us making many wholesale changes."
On the impact of having linebacker Justin Hughes back…
"Justin, the only thing that he didn't do last season was run out there and play. He coached on the sidelines, he coached during the games, he motivated players, he called players out. To have him back and healthy and moving in that direction is vital. He's done a great job so far during this time in terms of leading players, in terms of helping younger guys, in terms of motivating, in terms of being a guy that guys like Tee Denson and Levi Archer can lean on. So, I'm excited to have Justin back, of course, wish we wouldn't have lost him to injury when we did, but I'm excited about what he continues to bring to our team."
On players staying motivated while away...
"The thing that we've really stressed for guys is to continually seek improvement. So, if you are stationed away from home base no matter what the circumstances are – we have guys lifting milk jugs – doing all those things that aren't in the fancy weight room that they're accustomed to. We kind of talked about this the other day. Where the challenge is is you continually seek improvement every single day. I'm not worried about our guys being motivated because when they left here, they knew they had work to do. Different guys had work they had to do to gain weight, and different guys had to get stronger, different guys had to lock in and learn the system better. So, there's always things that we have to improve upon, so I think that's motivation enough. Then, when you couple it with the fact that they're away from their teammates – for us, when you walk around our building it says, 'Family,' all around. We talk about family in recruiting. So, when these guys are away – and during this time, there's stress on family – so when you're committed to that, to hold each other accountable to that – and I think we have a great group of leaders on our team that hold you accountable. Motivation, once they return, it will be there because for some of these guys football is their life. Sometimes we take things that are very important to us for granted. Then, when you're blessed to have it back, then you cherish it, you value it even more. So, that's what I will see in this situation once we're all back together."
On how much AJ Parker would have been able to do this spring…
"As we were in our workouts, he would do some things, so I thought he was progressing along well. As I've talked to him about where he is physically. Of course, he could be rehabbing with our staff much better than he would be at home, but he did participate at different times in our morning workouts. Like I said, I thought he was progressing well, but he's an athlete, he's a competitor, so I anticipate him coming back full go."
On having starters at cornerback return and who will fill in as depth...
"It's important that our guys always know that tomorrow is not at all connected to yesterday. So, yeah those guys [AJ Parker and Walter Neil, Jr.] started some games last year, but that's about all that means. We have a couple of guys who will enter our fold – Tee Denson, who was here as a freshman, and Justin Gardner, a junior-college guy that we signed. So, I'm excited about the group because also in the group is Lance Robinson, who played in place of AJ and Walt when those guys were injured. I'm excited about Ekow [Boye-Doe], who's done a great job and who was really progressing well before virus and us being forced to break away. So, I'm excited about having those two guys who started a lot of games and played a lot of games in their careers, but I'm also excited about the new guys that as they walk through the door and look to these guys for their leadership."
On how important it will be to have continuity on the staff with no spring football in 2020…
"If you think about it, that would have been quite a big deal for our players to know that they would have to learn a new system once they return. So, for us as coaches, it's been refreshing to be able to know the calls and know the defenses so that we can sharpen that. We've had opportunities to meet with our players, so as we're meeting with our players and we're instructing them and giving them lessons, it's not the same as when you're learning the system. It's not the same as a coach, when you're learning as they're learning. To have coaches be in the system for two years and players be in the system for multiple years, I think is an incredible advantage and that's something that Coach Klieman talked about, he wanted to make sure that he kept the staff intact as best he could, and I think that's happened for us. I think that's a great thing for us and then for our staff as well."
On how he has recruited without being able to host campus visits…
"The thing about Manhattan is it's not necessarily the buildings, it's the people. What we've tried to convey to the kids that we have been recruiting during this time, as we hop on the phone with them nine and 10 deep, is that you're important, and if you were not important, then we wouldn't be doing this. We've tried to do things that the other teams are not doing in terms of recruiting. We've tried to take the extra step, the same things that we do with our players, and to us, it's just about being elite as recruiters and elite as coaches. When you make a commitment to be that, then those are the things that you do. You go the extra step. When we talk about the fact that we can't get these kids to Manhattan, well we're going to take Manhattan to them. We're going to take the locker room, we're going to take what we do with our players, we're going to take that to them. It's unfortunate that we don't have our players because they are the number one recruiters for our team. The fact that we don't have that interaction between recruits and our current players, that's a challenge. But what we've tried to do as a coaching staff – offensively, defensively and with Coach Klieman – is just reach and do things that other staffs across the country are not doing when it comes to conveying the message of family. Like I said, this is the time when everyone goes their own separate ways and goes into their shells, but not here. Not at K-State and not this staff. That's what we've shown to our players as well as the kids we're recruiting."
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Monday, December 08
K-State FB | Head Coach Collin Klein Radio Interview
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K-State FB | Head Coach Collin Klein Official Introductory Event
Friday, December 05
K-State FB | Thank You Coach Klieman
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