Messingham, Klein Speak to Media Thursday
Apr 16, 2020 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham and quarterbacks coach Collin Klein met with members of the media over Zoom on Thursday 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.
COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On if he has been getting into a routine during this time...
"After two or three days of getting on Zoom meetings with players and then with us as a staff getting together, it started to become normal. I don't know what normal really is, but much more where you're used to going, 'Hey, this is the schedule.' That's one of the first things we said to our players. Try to map a schedule out, don't just get up and say, 'OK, I'm just going to try and roll along with the day.' Set a schedule. We've had a lot of our former players get on and talk, and a lot of those guys talked about, 'Guys, this is what it's like when you're in the NFL.' You get up in the offseason, and it's, 'I have to have a plan. I have to map my day out.' And that becomes a little more normal. I think after two or three days of us as a staff doing it, we kind of know what we're going to do and when we're going to do it."
On balancing new players in the offensive line…
"That will be interesting, because Coach [Conor] Riley is really going to have to work on how do we get the cohesion that you need from those five guys while still trying to find the actual best five players? But the bottom line is, who can play together the best. I'm not concerned with who would say, 'Well, there's no doubt that guy's the best left tackle.' I'm much more concerned with how do we put the best five out there that can communicate and play together? That was a huge deal for us last fall, was those five seniors all were in it for each other. We have to find five guys, but hopefully more like seven or eight, that can legitimately get out there and play for each other, communicate well together and then physically knock people off the ball and win the long-one battles. But, they have to do it as five."
On what he was most pleased with offensively last year...
"Well, two things – one, the buy in that the senior class had. It could have been very easy for those guys to want to say, 'Yeah, but we called it this or we called it that,' but as a senior class, they did a phenomenal job of embracing us and trying to learn a new system. The other thing, and it's easy to point too, I was very happy with the way we took care of the football for the most part, and I was very happy with our ability, when we were in the red zone, to figure out how to put points on the board. There were a couple of games, as we look back, if we could have scored touchdowns rather than field goals, we could have definitely changed the outcome. That will be something we continue to harp on, and Coach Klieman talks about it a ton. That's scoring touchdowns when you're in the red zone, not field goals."
On what specific areas he feels the offense needs to improve…
"The hard part is going to be, with so many new faces in the building, obviously the o-line people we talked about, but the backfield we have Harry [Trotter] and we have Tyler Burns back, and we have some young guys that we really feel are going to be good football players. But all of them, it's going to be a process where they're all learning, 'How do I fit?' So, it's going to be interesting for us. The first couple weeks – whenever we do get back – it has to be, for us, a big install, but from a coaching standpoint, we have to do a great job of evaluating what do we do well. Because there's no way, without spring ball, you don't know exactly how fall is going to be or summer is going to be. There's no way you're going to be able to install the entire offense. So, we have to install what we can do well. The problem is there's a bunch of guys where we don't know what their best features may be until we get out there and start practice."
On what the next step is for Skylar Thompson as a quarterback…
"Continually taking more ownership over who we're going to be on a given week. That means allowing him to not, per say, game plan, but definitely have input in that game plan. If it's third down, if it's what I feel the most comfortable with from a quarterback standpoint, I'm talking from his perspective, if it's, 'Hey, I don't believe their d-end who's playing is as athletic as I am.' We pick and choose when we want him to be a specific ballcarrier or in the weeks where you would say, 'No, it's all on the table.' Part of that is going to be his understanding of, 'What can I do against the players we're playing against?' As he keeps growing in our offense, he'll have more and more input as he wants it. That's where, if we're going to be as good as we want to be, he has to keep growing from that standpoint."
On his confidence in Harry Trotter handling a starting role at running back…
"I think he'll be able to handle it. He's very good as far as having blinders on a little bit, as far as just focusing on the task at hand. That being said, he has done a good job of continuing to reach out. Obviously, we're in an interesting situation here. He didn't get to lead out there on the football field for spring, but I think he's done a good job reaching out and engaging with his teammates. That's a huge part, and whether he's a starter or not a starter, that will all kind of shake out as the fall comes. But, I think he's ready for whatever role he gets handed."
On his confidence that K-State can stretch the field through the air in 2020…
"Well, I bet you we have 10 wideouts that I feel like really need to compete for playing time, but I think there are four or five guys that jump out pretty quick that you feel can make big plays. I want to stretch the field a little bit more, whether it be throwing the ball down the field. Texas Tech as an example, we had a huge play near the end of that game that really busted it open. Obviously, the start of the game against West Virginia, we threw a big ball down the field to Dalton [Schoen] for a touchdown. We have to do a better job of throwing some of those balls down the field for big plays, but we also have to keep getting the ball to guys out in space that can go make big plays happen. I actually talked yesterday to Josh Youngblood a little bit about the big plays he made as a kickoff-return guy. We have to get him in that type of space from a receiver standpoint. If that's handing it to him in the speed-sweep stuff or if that's throwing it to him, not just on a screen, but on an eight-yard route and he has space so he can go get 40, that will help us stretch the field a little. But, from a big-play standpoint, even if we're not throwing it 60 yards down the field."
On Joshua Youngblood's potential…
"The good thing that he's really done, and I talked to Coach [Jason] Ray a good deal about Josh and the wideouts in general, you know Josh has really done a good job of getting on the video and watching things on his own. With technology, it's crazy, everything that we have those players can get access to. All of them have iPads, all of them have the ability to watch and learn from what they did last year, and Josh is one of the best at, on his own, getting on and watching tape. That's why he's going to continue to grow. Obviously he's a big-time, phenomenal playmaker for us, especially in kick return, but I think he's going to keep growing as a receiver because of his desire to just keep learning."
On how freshman quarterback Will Howard is acclimating to K-State...
"He's done a phenomenal job of already – in that five-week weight room time – changing his body. You'd say, 'Well, how much can that happen?' Well, he got out of playing hoops – not that there's anything wrong with playing basketball. We want a guy to run up and down the court and be athletic. Heck, the best athletes in the world play basketball. But, I was surprised that in five weeks how much his body started to change. That's a credit to his desire to go to work right away. He could have easily said, 'Hey, put me over here in this group, and I'm just going to kind of feel my way around.' But he attacked and he started to see changes. He gained about 10 pounds in that short time, and it's good weight. It's kind of crazy the way that technology is now, their ability to scan those guys and see, 'Oh, you've gained 10 pounds, well six pounds of that was fat or four pounds was muscle.' His, obviously, was doing it the right way where he didn't just come in and all of a sudden have this great training table. He came in and actually packed on muscle weight, which was phenomenal."
On players staying in shape while away from the facility...
"A couple things – first, we talked to them, 'Make sure you know when your academic schedule is. You can't miss tutors. You can't miss any of your mentor sessions.' Obviously, classes are a little hit and miss. Not as many classes are Zoom-based lecture settings as I kind of anticipated there would be. A lot of it is giving them assignments and them having to make sure they get it done and get emailed in. First, obviously was to set up the academic side of it. The second part, they've probably spoken on the phone more with our strength staff than they have with our coaching staff. We run Zoom meetings and we'll have all of them together from a position standpoint. The NCAA allows us to have a number of hours that we can have position-type meetings, but our strength staff has been on the phone with them more than we have individually talking about what is your setting. Do you have a bench at home? Do you have dumbbells? What do you have? So, each guy has his mapped out a little bit through our strength staff. The bigger thing, though, for me and that schedule is I still am a big believer that you're going to grow and you're going to have gains if you'll sleep from 11 o'clock at night until six in the morning. Well, that's not the average young man. They're up at midnight or one or two [in the morning] playing games online with their buddies – and it's stuff that I don't know anything about hardly – but what I'm getting at is it's trying to get them to understand that I know that life has changed, but if you can map your day out and include everything from, 'When am I going to eat? What type of nutrition am I getting in? Ok, I'm going to work out.' A lot of our guys, it's crazy. They work out twice a day because it's just how do you fill the day? So, map those times out and actually, specifically write them down. Most of our guys that are having success are then trying to talk to their teammates about, 'Set a schedule, man. Let me help you set that schedule.' Obviously, the first part is we need them all academically in good shape. So, they have to do that first, but after that it's, 'What fits for you?' It's kind of amazing when you see nationally and see everything on Twitter and see guys with their dads out and building a dang gym in their garage. Not everybody can do that, not everybody is in that position, but everybody is trying to find their own way to keep working out, which is really kind of cool."
On how nice it is to have a veteran quarterback during this period of time...
"The quarterback battle would have been an interesting setting, but it's really more, do you have two or three – even if you did have a quarterback battle – do you have two or three guys – quarterbacks or not – who aren't afraid to reach out? Not afraid to get out of their comfort zone a little bit when it comes to the scenario that we've been dealt. To this point, and it will all show out when you get to fall, but to this point, Skylar [Thompson] has done a phenomenal job of trying to be that team leader. Trying not to just be an offensive guy, but trying to reach out across special teams, defense and offense, and say, 'Guys, we have to stay focused. Football is going to come. We don't know when, we don't know how the exact setting will be, but there's going to be football at some point, and we have to be ready to roll when that does come.'"
On players who will compete along the offensive line...
"I've told some people – and I think they think I'm crazy – but I think there's some aspects of our line that we can actually improve on from where we were last year. When you look at Cooper Beebe, as an example, you look at KT [Kaitori Leveston], you look at getting Dawson Delforge, you have some dudes that are all going to be 300-plus pounds that we're hoping – and that's one of the things we were hoping for spring ball was find those guys that can knock people off the ball a little bit more, that can maybe be true 'road-graders.' I'm not saying that that's the style that we're only going to try to knock them off ball and only run between the tackles, but I do think we have between 10 and 12 o-linemen that are all going to battle for starting jobs that can make us a pretty darn good offensive line. Obviously, you can say Josh [Rivas] was a part-time but could have been easily been a full-time starter. Other than that, there's not a lot of other guys back that have yet proven themselves, but we feel good that there are 10 to 12 guys that are truly going to complete. The bad part is we don't know if there is going to be three weeks to get ready, if it's going to be you get a summer and a fall camp to get ready or what that is. So, we do have to – as we started this with – we have to really use two weeks to figure it out and then start gameplanning on what we can get done."
COLLIN KLEIN, QUARTERBACKS COACH
On how freshman quarterback Will Howard had progressed since arriving in Manhattan…
"Will's done a great job – and obviously I was really excited about his potential even through the recruiting process – just understanding his makeup. He's a very organized learner, thinker, processor. Watching him come in and not just the weight that he added, but watching his body change – he came in right around that 215ish mark, probably closer to 220, and now he's up to like 226, 227, and, like I said, it's not just those seven or eight pounds. It was the composition of it. You can tell his definition in his lower body. It really improved even in that winter training session."
On what he's emphasizing to the quarterbacks and how difficult it is to improve during this time...
"It's definitely a challenge. None of us have played or coached under these circumstances before as far as just trying to create as many learning opportunities as you can. We were doing some assignments just two days ago. I gave them an assignment one night to go through just some different cadence stuff in the mirror, just trying to get actual reps, kind of walking yourself through it. Just trying to be creative like that. For an older guy [Skylar Thompson] having been through what he's been through, he's able to superimpose himself on the tape pretty well. Just watching more and more tape, going through and getting as many mental reps as you can. It's a challenge and we're doing the best we can."
On how helpful it is to have a senior quarterback who's familiar with the system…
"It's big time. Second year in the system, he's already been through it, has a lot of reps under his belt in live scenarios. Obviously, still miss the practice time, but if you have that experience, it's very helpful."
On the challenges for a quarterback playing with five new offensive linemen…
"At any position, you can't substitute experience. Those live bullets – I say all the time, things start to pop up when those live bullets are coming at you that you just haven't experienced until you're out there. But I'm excited. I think those young guys have done a nice job rising to the challenge. I know Noah Johnson has done a tremendous job stepping up and providing leadership that, obviously, losing a lot of seniors, that naturally happens, but he's done a great job of organizing film sessions with those guys and creating a lot of communication between those o-linemen, but also those -linemen with Skylar [Thompson]. So, they're already working on it. It's going to be a process. We all want it to happen and that gelling factor to happen a heck of a lot sooner than later, but we're going to walk through it one step at a time."
On how comfortable he has become with the current recruiting process...
"It's just put everything on pause. We've been – just like everybody has – making an aggressive effort to do everything like we would if we were in person as far as trying to get as good of an evaluation on these players as we can. Trying to build relationships virtually as best you can. Honestly, it's been great for us to build that infrastructure, so to speak, to be able to do that with recruits. It's probably been better than I expected walking into it. It's obviously not as good as you want it being able to shake their hand, have them on campus, and really get to them in person. It's hard for young guys, impossible really, for them to make final decisions and move forward with things until they actually get their feet on your campus. So, it's put a lot of things on hold, but we've still been able to develop good relationships and push forward."
On what his speech to Kansas State fans would be at this time...
"I think the biggest thing is just be patient. It's not really rah-rah, I guess. We just have to be patient. We have to hang together and know it's going to end. We're going to play football this fall. When we are able to get together, let's make it one heck of a family reunion. On our end it's going to be making sure that we're as prepared as we can be under adverse circumstances. Obviously, when everything is safe and everything is ready to roll, we pack that place out and come back together like never before."
On how Skylar Thompson grew as a passer in 2019 and where he can improve…
"He made some massive plays on third down. We had some possessions that were saved in 3rd and 7 to 10, 3rd and 11 plus, that statistically are really tough situations. He really made some big plays for us and continued drives where, ultimately, he was able to win some games for us and the passing was huge. Just even going back, the more we watch, the trust and continuity amongst our guys, between quarterback and receiver, got a lot better. What comes to mind, that touchdown he threw to Chabastin [Taylor] on that deep over route at Texas Tech, you look at when he had to let that thing go, I don't know if he lets that thing go as early as he did and has the trust in them if it was week two or three. I think that's going to do nothing but improve his trust and continuity with all those guys, Chabastin, Malik [Knowles], Wykeen [Gill], all those things. It happens so fast and there just has to be a high level of trust and confidence both ways that they're going to go win on the route, and we have to let the ball go. I think that's something that we will see improve as we move into next season. Skylar also does a great job of extending the play and making off-schedule plays, and balancing that with when to hang in the pocket and be able to wait that extra half-second to get it out of his hand and just knowing the fine line that is that balancing act. A lot of things as always, but proud of how he's attacking it and dissecting it and working on his craft. I'm excited to see and get out there on the field."
On if the staff has talked about the possibility of more decommitments during this time...
"That definitely could be a real thing, people making decisions now sight-unseen. Then October rolls around and they're able to get out, and who knows. It's all uncertain. Again, we're trying to really take time and build relationships at that grassroots level. So, I hope we're not going to face a lot of that, but that could be a trend. Who knows? This is all new. So, we'll all see how it goes and watch it."
On what he sees himself stressing with the backup quarterbacks when they return to campus...
"Well, I've already been stressing it to them. And, fortunately, this last January 1 my room will look the same as it does this August 1, which is kind of cool from the standpoint of I have six guys and it's going to be those six guys. My message from day one is, 'Hey, we have to compete. It's doesn't matter if you just got here and walked in the door or if you've been here for four years. You have to act, prepare and carry yourself like you're the starting quarterback.' We all know that Skylar [Thompson] is going to take the first snap, but after that it's every single day and everything you do – what I told them in January to whenever we report to camp or in summer and get started – you have to prepare like you are the starting quarterback and you are competing for that job. You never know when that day is going to come. That's the life of a quarterback. I always thought it was harder to back up than start because you never knew when, 'Hey, get in the game,' and you have to grab your helmet and go. The trust of your team is so important and so fragile. To earn that trust, those windows are small. So, when your number is called on and you're not ready and you don't answer, sometimes that's a hard thing to earn back. So, that's what I told them, and they've been doing a great job. We have a couple of guys that I'm excited to see how it all shakes out, but they'll be ready to go. I'm excited about it."
On the battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot this spring after practices this past season…
"I think it really varied by the day. Some days it was really close and some days we felt like Nick Ast's experience really kind of gave him the edge, which is why he stayed in that number two position. I think that the longer that competition goes, the better they will both get. Hopefully, some of these young guys will put their name in the hat and Will [Howard], Max [Marsh] and Bart [Harris], whoever it ends up being, can push those guys as well. We're going to have to get a good evaluation for three to five to six practices to see who, like you're saying, are going to be those two that are going to compete and ultimately get whoever is going to be that number two guy ready to go."
COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On if he has been getting into a routine during this time...
"After two or three days of getting on Zoom meetings with players and then with us as a staff getting together, it started to become normal. I don't know what normal really is, but much more where you're used to going, 'Hey, this is the schedule.' That's one of the first things we said to our players. Try to map a schedule out, don't just get up and say, 'OK, I'm just going to try and roll along with the day.' Set a schedule. We've had a lot of our former players get on and talk, and a lot of those guys talked about, 'Guys, this is what it's like when you're in the NFL.' You get up in the offseason, and it's, 'I have to have a plan. I have to map my day out.' And that becomes a little more normal. I think after two or three days of us as a staff doing it, we kind of know what we're going to do and when we're going to do it."
On balancing new players in the offensive line…
"That will be interesting, because Coach [Conor] Riley is really going to have to work on how do we get the cohesion that you need from those five guys while still trying to find the actual best five players? But the bottom line is, who can play together the best. I'm not concerned with who would say, 'Well, there's no doubt that guy's the best left tackle.' I'm much more concerned with how do we put the best five out there that can communicate and play together? That was a huge deal for us last fall, was those five seniors all were in it for each other. We have to find five guys, but hopefully more like seven or eight, that can legitimately get out there and play for each other, communicate well together and then physically knock people off the ball and win the long-one battles. But, they have to do it as five."
On what he was most pleased with offensively last year...
"Well, two things – one, the buy in that the senior class had. It could have been very easy for those guys to want to say, 'Yeah, but we called it this or we called it that,' but as a senior class, they did a phenomenal job of embracing us and trying to learn a new system. The other thing, and it's easy to point too, I was very happy with the way we took care of the football for the most part, and I was very happy with our ability, when we were in the red zone, to figure out how to put points on the board. There were a couple of games, as we look back, if we could have scored touchdowns rather than field goals, we could have definitely changed the outcome. That will be something we continue to harp on, and Coach Klieman talks about it a ton. That's scoring touchdowns when you're in the red zone, not field goals."
On what specific areas he feels the offense needs to improve…
"The hard part is going to be, with so many new faces in the building, obviously the o-line people we talked about, but the backfield we have Harry [Trotter] and we have Tyler Burns back, and we have some young guys that we really feel are going to be good football players. But all of them, it's going to be a process where they're all learning, 'How do I fit?' So, it's going to be interesting for us. The first couple weeks – whenever we do get back – it has to be, for us, a big install, but from a coaching standpoint, we have to do a great job of evaluating what do we do well. Because there's no way, without spring ball, you don't know exactly how fall is going to be or summer is going to be. There's no way you're going to be able to install the entire offense. So, we have to install what we can do well. The problem is there's a bunch of guys where we don't know what their best features may be until we get out there and start practice."
On what the next step is for Skylar Thompson as a quarterback…
"Continually taking more ownership over who we're going to be on a given week. That means allowing him to not, per say, game plan, but definitely have input in that game plan. If it's third down, if it's what I feel the most comfortable with from a quarterback standpoint, I'm talking from his perspective, if it's, 'Hey, I don't believe their d-end who's playing is as athletic as I am.' We pick and choose when we want him to be a specific ballcarrier or in the weeks where you would say, 'No, it's all on the table.' Part of that is going to be his understanding of, 'What can I do against the players we're playing against?' As he keeps growing in our offense, he'll have more and more input as he wants it. That's where, if we're going to be as good as we want to be, he has to keep growing from that standpoint."
On his confidence in Harry Trotter handling a starting role at running back…
"I think he'll be able to handle it. He's very good as far as having blinders on a little bit, as far as just focusing on the task at hand. That being said, he has done a good job of continuing to reach out. Obviously, we're in an interesting situation here. He didn't get to lead out there on the football field for spring, but I think he's done a good job reaching out and engaging with his teammates. That's a huge part, and whether he's a starter or not a starter, that will all kind of shake out as the fall comes. But, I think he's ready for whatever role he gets handed."
On his confidence that K-State can stretch the field through the air in 2020…
"Well, I bet you we have 10 wideouts that I feel like really need to compete for playing time, but I think there are four or five guys that jump out pretty quick that you feel can make big plays. I want to stretch the field a little bit more, whether it be throwing the ball down the field. Texas Tech as an example, we had a huge play near the end of that game that really busted it open. Obviously, the start of the game against West Virginia, we threw a big ball down the field to Dalton [Schoen] for a touchdown. We have to do a better job of throwing some of those balls down the field for big plays, but we also have to keep getting the ball to guys out in space that can go make big plays happen. I actually talked yesterday to Josh Youngblood a little bit about the big plays he made as a kickoff-return guy. We have to get him in that type of space from a receiver standpoint. If that's handing it to him in the speed-sweep stuff or if that's throwing it to him, not just on a screen, but on an eight-yard route and he has space so he can go get 40, that will help us stretch the field a little. But, from a big-play standpoint, even if we're not throwing it 60 yards down the field."
On Joshua Youngblood's potential…
"The good thing that he's really done, and I talked to Coach [Jason] Ray a good deal about Josh and the wideouts in general, you know Josh has really done a good job of getting on the video and watching things on his own. With technology, it's crazy, everything that we have those players can get access to. All of them have iPads, all of them have the ability to watch and learn from what they did last year, and Josh is one of the best at, on his own, getting on and watching tape. That's why he's going to continue to grow. Obviously he's a big-time, phenomenal playmaker for us, especially in kick return, but I think he's going to keep growing as a receiver because of his desire to just keep learning."
On how freshman quarterback Will Howard is acclimating to K-State...
"He's done a phenomenal job of already – in that five-week weight room time – changing his body. You'd say, 'Well, how much can that happen?' Well, he got out of playing hoops – not that there's anything wrong with playing basketball. We want a guy to run up and down the court and be athletic. Heck, the best athletes in the world play basketball. But, I was surprised that in five weeks how much his body started to change. That's a credit to his desire to go to work right away. He could have easily said, 'Hey, put me over here in this group, and I'm just going to kind of feel my way around.' But he attacked and he started to see changes. He gained about 10 pounds in that short time, and it's good weight. It's kind of crazy the way that technology is now, their ability to scan those guys and see, 'Oh, you've gained 10 pounds, well six pounds of that was fat or four pounds was muscle.' His, obviously, was doing it the right way where he didn't just come in and all of a sudden have this great training table. He came in and actually packed on muscle weight, which was phenomenal."
On players staying in shape while away from the facility...
"A couple things – first, we talked to them, 'Make sure you know when your academic schedule is. You can't miss tutors. You can't miss any of your mentor sessions.' Obviously, classes are a little hit and miss. Not as many classes are Zoom-based lecture settings as I kind of anticipated there would be. A lot of it is giving them assignments and them having to make sure they get it done and get emailed in. First, obviously was to set up the academic side of it. The second part, they've probably spoken on the phone more with our strength staff than they have with our coaching staff. We run Zoom meetings and we'll have all of them together from a position standpoint. The NCAA allows us to have a number of hours that we can have position-type meetings, but our strength staff has been on the phone with them more than we have individually talking about what is your setting. Do you have a bench at home? Do you have dumbbells? What do you have? So, each guy has his mapped out a little bit through our strength staff. The bigger thing, though, for me and that schedule is I still am a big believer that you're going to grow and you're going to have gains if you'll sleep from 11 o'clock at night until six in the morning. Well, that's not the average young man. They're up at midnight or one or two [in the morning] playing games online with their buddies – and it's stuff that I don't know anything about hardly – but what I'm getting at is it's trying to get them to understand that I know that life has changed, but if you can map your day out and include everything from, 'When am I going to eat? What type of nutrition am I getting in? Ok, I'm going to work out.' A lot of our guys, it's crazy. They work out twice a day because it's just how do you fill the day? So, map those times out and actually, specifically write them down. Most of our guys that are having success are then trying to talk to their teammates about, 'Set a schedule, man. Let me help you set that schedule.' Obviously, the first part is we need them all academically in good shape. So, they have to do that first, but after that it's, 'What fits for you?' It's kind of amazing when you see nationally and see everything on Twitter and see guys with their dads out and building a dang gym in their garage. Not everybody can do that, not everybody is in that position, but everybody is trying to find their own way to keep working out, which is really kind of cool."
On how nice it is to have a veteran quarterback during this period of time...
"The quarterback battle would have been an interesting setting, but it's really more, do you have two or three – even if you did have a quarterback battle – do you have two or three guys – quarterbacks or not – who aren't afraid to reach out? Not afraid to get out of their comfort zone a little bit when it comes to the scenario that we've been dealt. To this point, and it will all show out when you get to fall, but to this point, Skylar [Thompson] has done a phenomenal job of trying to be that team leader. Trying not to just be an offensive guy, but trying to reach out across special teams, defense and offense, and say, 'Guys, we have to stay focused. Football is going to come. We don't know when, we don't know how the exact setting will be, but there's going to be football at some point, and we have to be ready to roll when that does come.'"
On players who will compete along the offensive line...
"I've told some people – and I think they think I'm crazy – but I think there's some aspects of our line that we can actually improve on from where we were last year. When you look at Cooper Beebe, as an example, you look at KT [Kaitori Leveston], you look at getting Dawson Delforge, you have some dudes that are all going to be 300-plus pounds that we're hoping – and that's one of the things we were hoping for spring ball was find those guys that can knock people off the ball a little bit more, that can maybe be true 'road-graders.' I'm not saying that that's the style that we're only going to try to knock them off ball and only run between the tackles, but I do think we have between 10 and 12 o-linemen that are all going to battle for starting jobs that can make us a pretty darn good offensive line. Obviously, you can say Josh [Rivas] was a part-time but could have been easily been a full-time starter. Other than that, there's not a lot of other guys back that have yet proven themselves, but we feel good that there are 10 to 12 guys that are truly going to complete. The bad part is we don't know if there is going to be three weeks to get ready, if it's going to be you get a summer and a fall camp to get ready or what that is. So, we do have to – as we started this with – we have to really use two weeks to figure it out and then start gameplanning on what we can get done."
COLLIN KLEIN, QUARTERBACKS COACH
On how freshman quarterback Will Howard had progressed since arriving in Manhattan…
"Will's done a great job – and obviously I was really excited about his potential even through the recruiting process – just understanding his makeup. He's a very organized learner, thinker, processor. Watching him come in and not just the weight that he added, but watching his body change – he came in right around that 215ish mark, probably closer to 220, and now he's up to like 226, 227, and, like I said, it's not just those seven or eight pounds. It was the composition of it. You can tell his definition in his lower body. It really improved even in that winter training session."
On what he's emphasizing to the quarterbacks and how difficult it is to improve during this time...
"It's definitely a challenge. None of us have played or coached under these circumstances before as far as just trying to create as many learning opportunities as you can. We were doing some assignments just two days ago. I gave them an assignment one night to go through just some different cadence stuff in the mirror, just trying to get actual reps, kind of walking yourself through it. Just trying to be creative like that. For an older guy [Skylar Thompson] having been through what he's been through, he's able to superimpose himself on the tape pretty well. Just watching more and more tape, going through and getting as many mental reps as you can. It's a challenge and we're doing the best we can."
On how helpful it is to have a senior quarterback who's familiar with the system…
"It's big time. Second year in the system, he's already been through it, has a lot of reps under his belt in live scenarios. Obviously, still miss the practice time, but if you have that experience, it's very helpful."
On the challenges for a quarterback playing with five new offensive linemen…
"At any position, you can't substitute experience. Those live bullets – I say all the time, things start to pop up when those live bullets are coming at you that you just haven't experienced until you're out there. But I'm excited. I think those young guys have done a nice job rising to the challenge. I know Noah Johnson has done a tremendous job stepping up and providing leadership that, obviously, losing a lot of seniors, that naturally happens, but he's done a great job of organizing film sessions with those guys and creating a lot of communication between those o-linemen, but also those -linemen with Skylar [Thompson]. So, they're already working on it. It's going to be a process. We all want it to happen and that gelling factor to happen a heck of a lot sooner than later, but we're going to walk through it one step at a time."
On how comfortable he has become with the current recruiting process...
"It's just put everything on pause. We've been – just like everybody has – making an aggressive effort to do everything like we would if we were in person as far as trying to get as good of an evaluation on these players as we can. Trying to build relationships virtually as best you can. Honestly, it's been great for us to build that infrastructure, so to speak, to be able to do that with recruits. It's probably been better than I expected walking into it. It's obviously not as good as you want it being able to shake their hand, have them on campus, and really get to them in person. It's hard for young guys, impossible really, for them to make final decisions and move forward with things until they actually get their feet on your campus. So, it's put a lot of things on hold, but we've still been able to develop good relationships and push forward."
On what his speech to Kansas State fans would be at this time...
"I think the biggest thing is just be patient. It's not really rah-rah, I guess. We just have to be patient. We have to hang together and know it's going to end. We're going to play football this fall. When we are able to get together, let's make it one heck of a family reunion. On our end it's going to be making sure that we're as prepared as we can be under adverse circumstances. Obviously, when everything is safe and everything is ready to roll, we pack that place out and come back together like never before."
On how Skylar Thompson grew as a passer in 2019 and where he can improve…
"He made some massive plays on third down. We had some possessions that were saved in 3rd and 7 to 10, 3rd and 11 plus, that statistically are really tough situations. He really made some big plays for us and continued drives where, ultimately, he was able to win some games for us and the passing was huge. Just even going back, the more we watch, the trust and continuity amongst our guys, between quarterback and receiver, got a lot better. What comes to mind, that touchdown he threw to Chabastin [Taylor] on that deep over route at Texas Tech, you look at when he had to let that thing go, I don't know if he lets that thing go as early as he did and has the trust in them if it was week two or three. I think that's going to do nothing but improve his trust and continuity with all those guys, Chabastin, Malik [Knowles], Wykeen [Gill], all those things. It happens so fast and there just has to be a high level of trust and confidence both ways that they're going to go win on the route, and we have to let the ball go. I think that's something that we will see improve as we move into next season. Skylar also does a great job of extending the play and making off-schedule plays, and balancing that with when to hang in the pocket and be able to wait that extra half-second to get it out of his hand and just knowing the fine line that is that balancing act. A lot of things as always, but proud of how he's attacking it and dissecting it and working on his craft. I'm excited to see and get out there on the field."
On if the staff has talked about the possibility of more decommitments during this time...
"That definitely could be a real thing, people making decisions now sight-unseen. Then October rolls around and they're able to get out, and who knows. It's all uncertain. Again, we're trying to really take time and build relationships at that grassroots level. So, I hope we're not going to face a lot of that, but that could be a trend. Who knows? This is all new. So, we'll all see how it goes and watch it."
On what he sees himself stressing with the backup quarterbacks when they return to campus...
"Well, I've already been stressing it to them. And, fortunately, this last January 1 my room will look the same as it does this August 1, which is kind of cool from the standpoint of I have six guys and it's going to be those six guys. My message from day one is, 'Hey, we have to compete. It's doesn't matter if you just got here and walked in the door or if you've been here for four years. You have to act, prepare and carry yourself like you're the starting quarterback.' We all know that Skylar [Thompson] is going to take the first snap, but after that it's every single day and everything you do – what I told them in January to whenever we report to camp or in summer and get started – you have to prepare like you are the starting quarterback and you are competing for that job. You never know when that day is going to come. That's the life of a quarterback. I always thought it was harder to back up than start because you never knew when, 'Hey, get in the game,' and you have to grab your helmet and go. The trust of your team is so important and so fragile. To earn that trust, those windows are small. So, when your number is called on and you're not ready and you don't answer, sometimes that's a hard thing to earn back. So, that's what I told them, and they've been doing a great job. We have a couple of guys that I'm excited to see how it all shakes out, but they'll be ready to go. I'm excited about it."
On the battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot this spring after practices this past season…
"I think it really varied by the day. Some days it was really close and some days we felt like Nick Ast's experience really kind of gave him the edge, which is why he stayed in that number two position. I think that the longer that competition goes, the better they will both get. Hopefully, some of these young guys will put their name in the hat and Will [Howard], Max [Marsh] and Bart [Harris], whoever it ends up being, can push those guys as well. We're going to have to get a good evaluation for three to five to six practices to see who, like you're saying, are going to be those two that are going to compete and ultimately get whoever is going to be that number two guy ready to go."
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/ FootballK-State FB | Welcome back Collin Klein
Monday, December 08
K-State FB | Head Coach Collin Klein Radio Interview
Friday, December 05
K-State FB | Head Coach Collin Klein Official Introductory Event
Friday, December 05
K-State FB | Thank You Coach Klieman
Wednesday, December 03
