K-State Coordinators Meets with Media Prior to Opener
Sep 10, 2020 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman met with members of the media via Zoom on Thursday as the Wildcats prepare for their 2020 season opener this Saturday against Arkansas State inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The Wildcats and Red Wolves kick off at 11 a.m., in a nationally-televised game on FOX.
COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On active COVID cases and how many players might be missing on Saturday...
"To be honest with you, I don't know the exact number. I know we have a number of guys who are going to be playing for us, and those are the guys we've been dealing with and worrying about. I don't think it's going to affect us very much. I think we're really in pretty good shape personnel wise with the ability to go out and play."
On exploiting the Arkansas State secondary…
"To be quite honest with you, I think Memphis came in with a high-octane offense, and I think for the most part Arkansas State probably gave them a little more credit than they deserved from a passing-game standpoint. I thought Memphis did a nice job of trying to exploit the run game. When you look at their one tight end (No. 5) and their one wide receiver (No. 10), both are explosive and dynamic guys. I was kind of surprised Arkansas State gave them as much respect as they did."
On if the number of players available has improved…
"It's gotten better. The last four, five, six days as far as everybody we thought would be in the game plan being back and being able to go. I really feel good about the running back position. I feel good about the receiver spots. The tight ends, obviously Briley (Moore) is going to be a great addition for us, but we have to go out and execute now. It seems like it's been forever since we had anything that meant anything. The bowl game was a long time ago, so I'm ready to get out there and see what we have."
On any other receivers that have high expectations…
"Like we've talked before, there's five, six, seven guys that I really feel comfortable with that you never know which game is going to be their game, where they have kind of a breakout game. The biggest thing I want is that consistency out there. I want to see if it's Malik (Knowles), or whoever it is, I want to see them every week be a guy that they should be nervous about or worry about them just going off on them. I felt like last year that our return game, using that as an example, it didn't matter if it was a punt return or kickoff return, whichever guy that was back there did a great job of making big plays. That's what we need to do at the receiver position each week."
On Memphis having success with the tight end against Arkansas State…
"A little bit we see that, but No. 5, the tight end from Memphis, I don't know what his true size is. He had the ability to stretch the field a little bit. He ran some really nice corner routes and did some nice things. We can do that, as well, but we don't have quite the same athlete. Even though he did play with his hand on the ground as a true tight end, I bet he's a 6-foot-2, 225-pound type of guy. I feel our guys are more 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 and 250 (pounds) and can still do some of those things, just maybe not quite to the receiver aspect that he did."
On Deuce Vaughn being a weapon in the backfield…
"He's obviously not very big, but he's the type of guy that can get lost behind our o-linemen. We have a big offensive line. We feel like when we do hand it to him, he can get in behind people, then squirt out and go make a big play. The other thing he does is that he has great ball skills. He really has the ability to catch the football and is a natural receiver even though he's a tailback."
On who the backup quarterback would be…
"I think the biggest thing there is when would it happen and what type of injury is it? If it was at the end of the game, I think it would be Nick Ast for sure. If it was earlier in the game, it would be quarterback by committee because I feel really good with both those guys."
On the added value of offensive linemen being able to play inside and outside…
"100 percent. We need to be, and I think we will be, multiple in our ability to play a tackle at guard and even possibly a guard out at tackle. The center position, generally speaking, you feel like it's generally either a guard or a center playing the guard or center position. Our tackles, we really need them to be able to play wherever we need them. We're not yet to a position where we feel like we have nine guys. We're more sitting there at about seven guys, and how do we make them work?"
On Will Howard as a backup…
"I think he'd be in that discussion no matter the circumstances. Honestly, if we would've had a true spring ball, he could've continued to show even more, because he's done a phenomenal job since he's been here."
On other guys at the running back position to keep an eye on…
"We talked about six or seven a week and a half ago. We feel good, still, about all of them. The running back position right now, unfortunately, there's not enough football to go around. It's like a basketball team out there where you have a bunch of guys who can score. We do feel good about that position. Now, when you do get an opportunity, take full advantage of it. We're going to try to get people on the field and see what they can do."
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On if he sees similarities between the pace of Texas Tech and Arkansas State…
"I do. When you watch tape, there's a lot of people that aren't getting lined up. There's a lot of people that are very basic. There's a lot of people that maybe deviate a little bit from what they want to do, just because they're a little nervous that they won't be able to get lined up and get communication out. It's certainly a concern, but it's something we've been working on an awful lot."
On how the defensive personnel has been affected by COVID-19…
"Yeah I mean, it is what it is I guess. We've been affected. I imagine every team in the country's been affected a little bit. But we have what we have . The calvary's not coming. Let's go play ball."
On the challenges of facing the tall wide receivers from Arkansas state...
"Well, we're going to put springs in the bottom of all of our corners cleats and see if that helps. If they're not able to run fast, then we'll go back to the normal shoe. It's just about technique when it comes to what's going on on the edge. If you have good body position on a guy, you can really negate the size advantage that a receiver might have. It's not the only time in the year that we're going to see big guys. We're going to see that weekly. If that's an issue for us, we have a big problem ahead. It will be an issue, those guys are good players. They go up and track the ball really well, but we're good at corner, too, and we're not afraid to let those guys go out there and play a little bit. We're going to try and throw different looks at those guys and see what we can do out there."
On who will start at cornerback…
"To be honest with you, it's still a competition going on to this day. You're going to see a heavy dose of A.J. Parker. You're going to see a heavy dose of Lance Robinson. You're going to see a heavy dose of Kiondre Thomas. You're going to see Justin Gardner. I will say that all four of those guys have been impressive. All four of those guys deserve the opportunity to start. Unfortunately, we can only start with a couple of them at a time. So, we're going to go through today's practice yet before we make that determination."
On throwing new schemes at Arkansas State…
"They're going to go back and check when I was the coach of a powder puff team back in high school. They'll see some new things from us, certainty. I think that they're going to have a pretty good idea of where we are and who we are. I don't think there's going to be anything drastic that they don't anticipate. We're going to go out and execute what we do. They're going to go out and execute what they do, and we're going to see where chips fall."
On balancing the pass rush…
"Overall, I think that you have to make the quarterback uncomfortable. He can't just sit back there and throw seven-on-seven. If you're able to generate pressure with four, I think that's the big determining factor. We have to get that guy off his spot. We have to get him moving, and if we can do that with four guys, all the better. If we can't, then we have to find a way to generate some of that stuff with pressure."
On the defensive end battle between Khalid Duke and Bronson Massie…
"Very tight. Again, Khalid has had a phenomenal camp. He's emerged as a guy that's not just a guy – he's a difference maker. And Boom (Bronson Massie) is so solid in what he does. He's physical, he's played a lot of ball here. I'm very, very comfortable with him also, so you're right. Again, we're going to go through today and see how that all pans out, but we're excited to see them both."
On new players on the defensive line...
"You're going to see D. Hentz (Robert Hentz II) inside, you'll see Derick Newton inside – both guys that are new to the program. You're going to see Felix Anudike, new to the program. You're going to see Kirmari Gainous, new to the program. All guys that have been practicing with us for about three weeks. We feel great about where they are, feel great about where they are physically, feel good about where they are mentally. I'm excited to get those guys out there and see how they perform in the heat."
On how important sacking the quarterback will be on Saturday…
"Generating momentum for everything will help you. If you're a corner and you're playing man coverage and you getting some good connections on guys, it's going to make you feel a little better about yourself. So, when you're able to get some good rushes in, especially early, it's going to make you feel so much better about yourself later on in the game and later on in the season. It's going to make you think, 'Hey, I can do this.' It just changes the whole mentality of who you are as a player. We hope to get those guys off early and get them in some opportunities where they can get some one-on-ones and see what they can do."
On new faces and early defensive packages…
"We will be a much better football team in the middle of October than we are right now. That I can guarantee you. We are going to see pictures so many more times and react so much faster and communicate so much cleaner. We are still a work in progress, that's for sure."
On the linebackers…
"Two guys that have had great camps are Daniel Green and Cody Fletcher. You are going to see a good amount of those guys in there. I wouldn't be surprised if you see some Austin Moore. We do feel pretty good about some of those guys. Obviously, Daniel and Cody have been in the heat a little bit, and I'm excited to see how Austin will react when he gets under the lights. I'm excited to get Justin (Hughes) back in the fold, I really am. You can talk about all the game experience he has, but that game experience has been a while. He's dusty, so I'm excited to get him back. We haven't had many opportunities to scrimmage live and a lot of tackling in camp, so I think everybody – going all the way back to December 31st – is ready to get physical with somebody."
COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On active COVID cases and how many players might be missing on Saturday...
"To be honest with you, I don't know the exact number. I know we have a number of guys who are going to be playing for us, and those are the guys we've been dealing with and worrying about. I don't think it's going to affect us very much. I think we're really in pretty good shape personnel wise with the ability to go out and play."
On exploiting the Arkansas State secondary…
"To be quite honest with you, I think Memphis came in with a high-octane offense, and I think for the most part Arkansas State probably gave them a little more credit than they deserved from a passing-game standpoint. I thought Memphis did a nice job of trying to exploit the run game. When you look at their one tight end (No. 5) and their one wide receiver (No. 10), both are explosive and dynamic guys. I was kind of surprised Arkansas State gave them as much respect as they did."
On if the number of players available has improved…
"It's gotten better. The last four, five, six days as far as everybody we thought would be in the game plan being back and being able to go. I really feel good about the running back position. I feel good about the receiver spots. The tight ends, obviously Briley (Moore) is going to be a great addition for us, but we have to go out and execute now. It seems like it's been forever since we had anything that meant anything. The bowl game was a long time ago, so I'm ready to get out there and see what we have."
On any other receivers that have high expectations…
"Like we've talked before, there's five, six, seven guys that I really feel comfortable with that you never know which game is going to be their game, where they have kind of a breakout game. The biggest thing I want is that consistency out there. I want to see if it's Malik (Knowles), or whoever it is, I want to see them every week be a guy that they should be nervous about or worry about them just going off on them. I felt like last year that our return game, using that as an example, it didn't matter if it was a punt return or kickoff return, whichever guy that was back there did a great job of making big plays. That's what we need to do at the receiver position each week."
On Memphis having success with the tight end against Arkansas State…
"A little bit we see that, but No. 5, the tight end from Memphis, I don't know what his true size is. He had the ability to stretch the field a little bit. He ran some really nice corner routes and did some nice things. We can do that, as well, but we don't have quite the same athlete. Even though he did play with his hand on the ground as a true tight end, I bet he's a 6-foot-2, 225-pound type of guy. I feel our guys are more 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 and 250 (pounds) and can still do some of those things, just maybe not quite to the receiver aspect that he did."
On Deuce Vaughn being a weapon in the backfield…
"He's obviously not very big, but he's the type of guy that can get lost behind our o-linemen. We have a big offensive line. We feel like when we do hand it to him, he can get in behind people, then squirt out and go make a big play. The other thing he does is that he has great ball skills. He really has the ability to catch the football and is a natural receiver even though he's a tailback."
On who the backup quarterback would be…
"I think the biggest thing there is when would it happen and what type of injury is it? If it was at the end of the game, I think it would be Nick Ast for sure. If it was earlier in the game, it would be quarterback by committee because I feel really good with both those guys."
On the added value of offensive linemen being able to play inside and outside…
"100 percent. We need to be, and I think we will be, multiple in our ability to play a tackle at guard and even possibly a guard out at tackle. The center position, generally speaking, you feel like it's generally either a guard or a center playing the guard or center position. Our tackles, we really need them to be able to play wherever we need them. We're not yet to a position where we feel like we have nine guys. We're more sitting there at about seven guys, and how do we make them work?"
On Will Howard as a backup…
"I think he'd be in that discussion no matter the circumstances. Honestly, if we would've had a true spring ball, he could've continued to show even more, because he's done a phenomenal job since he's been here."
On other guys at the running back position to keep an eye on…
"We talked about six or seven a week and a half ago. We feel good, still, about all of them. The running back position right now, unfortunately, there's not enough football to go around. It's like a basketball team out there where you have a bunch of guys who can score. We do feel good about that position. Now, when you do get an opportunity, take full advantage of it. We're going to try to get people on the field and see what they can do."
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On if he sees similarities between the pace of Texas Tech and Arkansas State…
"I do. When you watch tape, there's a lot of people that aren't getting lined up. There's a lot of people that are very basic. There's a lot of people that maybe deviate a little bit from what they want to do, just because they're a little nervous that they won't be able to get lined up and get communication out. It's certainly a concern, but it's something we've been working on an awful lot."
On how the defensive personnel has been affected by COVID-19…
"Yeah I mean, it is what it is I guess. We've been affected. I imagine every team in the country's been affected a little bit. But we have what we have . The calvary's not coming. Let's go play ball."
On the challenges of facing the tall wide receivers from Arkansas state...
"Well, we're going to put springs in the bottom of all of our corners cleats and see if that helps. If they're not able to run fast, then we'll go back to the normal shoe. It's just about technique when it comes to what's going on on the edge. If you have good body position on a guy, you can really negate the size advantage that a receiver might have. It's not the only time in the year that we're going to see big guys. We're going to see that weekly. If that's an issue for us, we have a big problem ahead. It will be an issue, those guys are good players. They go up and track the ball really well, but we're good at corner, too, and we're not afraid to let those guys go out there and play a little bit. We're going to try and throw different looks at those guys and see what we can do out there."
On who will start at cornerback…
"To be honest with you, it's still a competition going on to this day. You're going to see a heavy dose of A.J. Parker. You're going to see a heavy dose of Lance Robinson. You're going to see a heavy dose of Kiondre Thomas. You're going to see Justin Gardner. I will say that all four of those guys have been impressive. All four of those guys deserve the opportunity to start. Unfortunately, we can only start with a couple of them at a time. So, we're going to go through today's practice yet before we make that determination."
On throwing new schemes at Arkansas State…
"They're going to go back and check when I was the coach of a powder puff team back in high school. They'll see some new things from us, certainty. I think that they're going to have a pretty good idea of where we are and who we are. I don't think there's going to be anything drastic that they don't anticipate. We're going to go out and execute what we do. They're going to go out and execute what they do, and we're going to see where chips fall."
On balancing the pass rush…
"Overall, I think that you have to make the quarterback uncomfortable. He can't just sit back there and throw seven-on-seven. If you're able to generate pressure with four, I think that's the big determining factor. We have to get that guy off his spot. We have to get him moving, and if we can do that with four guys, all the better. If we can't, then we have to find a way to generate some of that stuff with pressure."
On the defensive end battle between Khalid Duke and Bronson Massie…
"Very tight. Again, Khalid has had a phenomenal camp. He's emerged as a guy that's not just a guy – he's a difference maker. And Boom (Bronson Massie) is so solid in what he does. He's physical, he's played a lot of ball here. I'm very, very comfortable with him also, so you're right. Again, we're going to go through today and see how that all pans out, but we're excited to see them both."
On new players on the defensive line...
"You're going to see D. Hentz (Robert Hentz II) inside, you'll see Derick Newton inside – both guys that are new to the program. You're going to see Felix Anudike, new to the program. You're going to see Kirmari Gainous, new to the program. All guys that have been practicing with us for about three weeks. We feel great about where they are, feel great about where they are physically, feel good about where they are mentally. I'm excited to get those guys out there and see how they perform in the heat."
On how important sacking the quarterback will be on Saturday…
"Generating momentum for everything will help you. If you're a corner and you're playing man coverage and you getting some good connections on guys, it's going to make you feel a little better about yourself. So, when you're able to get some good rushes in, especially early, it's going to make you feel so much better about yourself later on in the game and later on in the season. It's going to make you think, 'Hey, I can do this.' It just changes the whole mentality of who you are as a player. We hope to get those guys off early and get them in some opportunities where they can get some one-on-ones and see what they can do."
On new faces and early defensive packages…
"We will be a much better football team in the middle of October than we are right now. That I can guarantee you. We are going to see pictures so many more times and react so much faster and communicate so much cleaner. We are still a work in progress, that's for sure."
On the linebackers…
"Two guys that have had great camps are Daniel Green and Cody Fletcher. You are going to see a good amount of those guys in there. I wouldn't be surprised if you see some Austin Moore. We do feel pretty good about some of those guys. Obviously, Daniel and Cody have been in the heat a little bit, and I'm excited to see how Austin will react when he gets under the lights. I'm excited to get Justin (Hughes) back in the fold, I really am. You can talk about all the game experience he has, but that game experience has been a while. He's dusty, so I'm excited to get him back. We haven't had many opportunities to scrimmage live and a lot of tackling in camp, so I think everybody – going all the way back to December 31st – is ready to get physical with somebody."
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