SE: K-State Football Notebook – National Signing Day
Feb 04, 2021 | Football, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.
As a Kliemanism goes, "Win the Dang Day" might be a little more versatile, a little more T-Shirt ready, but the phrase that K-State's head coach ended his signing day press conference with does a nice job explaining the importance of a college football offseason.
"I've never been around a team that has done silly stuff off-the-field, whether it's class work, nutrition or strength & conditioning, and been lights out on the field," Chris Klieman said. "If you do things well off the field, it usually translates to success on the field."
In a wide-ranging conversation, Klieman touched on National Signing Day, players rehabbing from injuries and the state of K-State Football as the team begins winter workouts in Manhattan.
Here are a few scribbles and takeaways from Klieman's first press conference of 2021.
Injury Updates
One of the stories of the offseason has been Skylar Thompson.
His decision to return to Manhattan means the Wildcats could begin the season with a 30-game-starter under center, a luxury few teams will have at the most important position in the sport.
Of course, getting healthy should keep Thompson busy in an offseason when he won't need to worry about learning a new playbook.
On that front, his head coach was pleased with Thompson's progress.
"Skylar's beginning to soft toss a football, not just a Nerf ball, but a football. I know he's ahead of schedule from what the doctors told him and told me," Klieman said. "He has a great mindset and has done a great job leading for us and helping the wide receivers and quarterbacks. I fully believe he will be cutting it loose by mid-April or early May."
Having Thompson available this summer could be huge, after he went down with an upper-body injury in the third game of the season against Texas Tech.
Klieman also provided updates on defensive back TJ Smith and wide receiver Chabastin Taylor.
Smith, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against TCU, is further along in his recovery. Klieman said he could return to individual workouts as soon as the spring. Taylor will be out through the remainder of the spring, though Klieman said his rehab is going well.
Staying Local on Signing Day
With social media announcements and Early Signing Day coming in December, the spring is no longer the busiest time of the year for K-State Football on the recruiting trail.
But Wednesday morning was a still a chance for the Wildcats to officially add two more names to their 2021 recruiting class. As was the case in the transfer portal, K-State focused on defense.
The Wildcats signed defensive tackle Damian Ilalio from Manhattan and defensive back Desmond Purnell from Topeka, through some unconventional scouting.
"My son plays with [Damian Ilalio] at Manhattan High. I was able to watch an awful lot of those football games. I got to see a kid dominate the line of scrimmage, have an unbelievable motor," Klieman said. "Desmond Purnell, I was able to go and watch him play [against Manhattan]. I thought he was the best kid on the field that day. He really piqued my interest, and I kept watching clips that were sent to me. When I saw him live, I thought there was a kid that will have an impact on our program."
Klieman called it "the benefit of being a dad and not a coach."
National Signing Day was about more than just shoring up the defense for K-State. Wednesday also means that the Wildcats have signed seven of the top 11 high school players in the state of Kansas for 2021 according to 247Sports. No other program in the country has signed more than one.
News & Notes:
- Klieman plans on shuffling the coaching staff next season, as Courtney Messingham and Jason Ray will swap position groups, with Messingham coaching the wide receivers and Ray taking over as the tight ends and fullbacks' coach.
"The main reason I did that [was] I want the play caller, who is Coach Mess obviously, to be more actively involved in the passing game. That's something we talked about before Christmas as an offensive staff," Klieman said. "It had nothing to do with personnel or anything like that. I want the play caller to be more involved on a daily basis with the passing game."
- Skylar Thompson announced this week that he will switch to No. 7 next season, after wearing No. 10 during his first five seasons at K-State. It's the number he wore growing up and one made famous by K-State quarterbacks Michael Bishop and Collin Klein.
It was a decision that was easy for his head coach to get behind.
"Everything happens for a reason," Klieman said. "Him playing at Kansas State next year happened for a reason. Anything with Skylar is going to be well thought out, something he's going to evaluate, something he's going to share with his family to see what the best decision is. I was happy for him."
- One of the most intriguing additions of the offseason was tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe, who joined the Wildcats after stops at Florida, USC and Illinois.
He might be the only guy in college football next season who began his career catching passes from Sam Darnold and lining up alongside JuJu Smith-Schuster.
"Coach Tui (Mike Tuiasosopo) was with him at USC, so that started it out," Klieman said. "That was one of the areas we were looking to add someone. Daniel was able to come here, and we'll see what he can do. Big kid that can run really well."
Klieman pointed to K-State's addition of a graduate transfer tight end last season, Briley Moore, as one of the reasons his program was able to land Imatorbhebhe in 2021.
"Briley had good success within our system," Klieman said. "We have a couple of tight ends coming back that had some winter surgery, so we weren't going to have those guys. We're always looking to continue to improve the football team."
The way you do one thing is the way you do everything.
As a Kliemanism goes, "Win the Dang Day" might be a little more versatile, a little more T-Shirt ready, but the phrase that K-State's head coach ended his signing day press conference with does a nice job explaining the importance of a college football offseason.
"I've never been around a team that has done silly stuff off-the-field, whether it's class work, nutrition or strength & conditioning, and been lights out on the field," Chris Klieman said. "If you do things well off the field, it usually translates to success on the field."
In a wide-ranging conversation, Klieman touched on National Signing Day, players rehabbing from injuries and the state of K-State Football as the team begins winter workouts in Manhattan.
Here are a few scribbles and takeaways from Klieman's first press conference of 2021.
Injury Updates
One of the stories of the offseason has been Skylar Thompson.
His decision to return to Manhattan means the Wildcats could begin the season with a 30-game-starter under center, a luxury few teams will have at the most important position in the sport.
Of course, getting healthy should keep Thompson busy in an offseason when he won't need to worry about learning a new playbook.
On that front, his head coach was pleased with Thompson's progress.
"Skylar's beginning to soft toss a football, not just a Nerf ball, but a football. I know he's ahead of schedule from what the doctors told him and told me," Klieman said. "He has a great mindset and has done a great job leading for us and helping the wide receivers and quarterbacks. I fully believe he will be cutting it loose by mid-April or early May."
Having Thompson available this summer could be huge, after he went down with an upper-body injury in the third game of the season against Texas Tech.
Klieman also provided updates on defensive back TJ Smith and wide receiver Chabastin Taylor.
Smith, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against TCU, is further along in his recovery. Klieman said he could return to individual workouts as soon as the spring. Taylor will be out through the remainder of the spring, though Klieman said his rehab is going well.
Staying Local on Signing Day
With social media announcements and Early Signing Day coming in December, the spring is no longer the busiest time of the year for K-State Football on the recruiting trail.
But Wednesday morning was a still a chance for the Wildcats to officially add two more names to their 2021 recruiting class. As was the case in the transfer portal, K-State focused on defense.
The Wildcats signed defensive tackle Damian Ilalio from Manhattan and defensive back Desmond Purnell from Topeka, through some unconventional scouting.
Hometown hero
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) February 3, 2021
Damian Ilalio (@DamianIlalio) ✍️
📄 https://t.co/Nd9auQxdD4#KStateFB ⚒ #NSD21 pic.twitter.com/ITiEBYumXb
"My son plays with [Damian Ilalio] at Manhattan High. I was able to watch an awful lot of those football games. I got to see a kid dominate the line of scrimmage, have an unbelievable motor," Klieman said. "Desmond Purnell, I was able to go and watch him play [against Manhattan]. I thought he was the best kid on the field that day. He really piqued my interest, and I kept watching clips that were sent to me. When I saw him live, I thought there was a kid that will have an impact on our program."
Thunder and lightning
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) February 3, 2021
Desmond Purnell (@Des_Purnell) ✍️
📄 https://t.co/SVpyaF7Y8Q#KStateFB ⚒ #NSD21 pic.twitter.com/vx1E00Kzgh
Klieman called it "the benefit of being a dad and not a coach."
National Signing Day was about more than just shoring up the defense for K-State. Wednesday also means that the Wildcats have signed seven of the top 11 high school players in the state of Kansas for 2021 according to 247Sports. No other program in the country has signed more than one.
News & Notes:
- Klieman plans on shuffling the coaching staff next season, as Courtney Messingham and Jason Ray will swap position groups, with Messingham coaching the wide receivers and Ray taking over as the tight ends and fullbacks' coach.
"The main reason I did that [was] I want the play caller, who is Coach Mess obviously, to be more actively involved in the passing game. That's something we talked about before Christmas as an offensive staff," Klieman said. "It had nothing to do with personnel or anything like that. I want the play caller to be more involved on a daily basis with the passing game."
- Skylar Thompson announced this week that he will switch to No. 7 next season, after wearing No. 10 during his first five seasons at K-State. It's the number he wore growing up and one made famous by K-State quarterbacks Michael Bishop and Collin Klein.
Continue the legacy @skylar7thompson#KStateFB pic.twitter.com/dDOkWRI1BC
— K-State Football (@KStateFB) February 3, 2021
It was a decision that was easy for his head coach to get behind.
"Everything happens for a reason," Klieman said. "Him playing at Kansas State next year happened for a reason. Anything with Skylar is going to be well thought out, something he's going to evaluate, something he's going to share with his family to see what the best decision is. I was happy for him."
- One of the most intriguing additions of the offseason was tight end Daniel Imatorbhebhe, who joined the Wildcats after stops at Florida, USC and Illinois.
He might be the only guy in college football next season who began his career catching passes from Sam Darnold and lining up alongside JuJu Smith-Schuster.
"Coach Tui (Mike Tuiasosopo) was with him at USC, so that started it out," Klieman said. "That was one of the areas we were looking to add someone. Daniel was able to come here, and we'll see what he can do. Big kid that can run really well."
Klieman pointed to K-State's addition of a graduate transfer tight end last season, Briley Moore, as one of the reasons his program was able to land Imatorbhebhe in 2021.
"Briley had good success within our system," Klieman said. "We have a couple of tight ends coming back that had some winter surgery, so we weren't going to have those guys. We're always looking to continue to improve the football team."
Players Mentioned
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