Kansas State University Athletics
Klieman, Defensive Assistants Meet with Media on Tuesday
Aug 24, 2021 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman, along with three defensive coaches – Buddy Wyatt, Steve Stanard and Mike Tuiasosopo – met with members of the media on Tuesday inside the Shamrock Zone of Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Above are links to video and audio of the press conferences, and below is a complete transcript.
CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"Quite the facility we're in here. Glad we're able to do it over here in the Shamrock Zone to be able to see this great venue that we're excited to be a part of and excited to add to gameday atmosphere at the Bill. Busy week for us. The players were off yesterday. We finished fall camp on Sunday, gave them the first day of classes off to try to get their bearings and will go back to work today. Pretty full week, continuing to work on game plan for Stanford. Continued to massage the depth chart, so to speak, and see what guys fit into this game plan. It's obviously a very talented team we're playing. So, we've got our work cut out for us, but we're excited to get back into football realm and really into game planning."
On injuries during fall camp...
"We lost one in fall camp, a really good player in Taylor Poitier, to a lower body injury. He'll miss this season, and we're sad for Taylor because he's such a tremendous kid and a tremendous football player. But, Taylor will miss this season."
On the offensive line…
"I still think we're in that eight, nine mode. We obviously lose one player in Taylor (Poitier), but I know that there's eight for sure that we talked about yesterday as a staff that we see contributing significantly, and we hope to still be able to get that to nine. I know we won't just play five guys. We have a lot of depth there and guys that have had a lot of experience. So, we'll play a number of guys."
On how he evaluates Skylar Thompson...
"It's still efficiency and making great decisions. We've put them, both he and Will (Howard), put them in a lot of different situations during fall camp, situational stuff where it's late in the game to some play drives against the defense where we put them in some 3rd and long and 3rd and 4th down situations where we have to get a first down here and it's 3rd and 9. Does that mean you have to throw a pass for 10 or 12 yards? No, maybe we get us into 4th and 3 or 4th and 4 situations and we can go for it. So, just the efficiency and making great decisions, and he's been so good this fall camp. Arm is live. Body looks good, moving around really well. We're adding more and more because we can to his plate, in terms of game planning and decisions at the line of scrimmage. He's really, really sharp on those right now. Now we'll get into the game planning part of it, so we have to dissect a little bit what he thinks he can do and what we think we do against Stanford.
On what stats he looks at most for quarterbacks...
"Yeah, don't turn the ball over. That's the number one thing. Possess the football, and that's making great decisions. Then just being able to keep drives alive. Making the 3rd and 5 play, 3rd and 8 play, 3rd and 2 play, whether it's with your feet or with your arm, you just have to be able to keep possession. That's what, for us, comes down to is we hope we're more of a quick-strike offense with some of the people we have outside, but we have to be able to manufacture drives. We have to be able to stay on the field and keep the other team's offense off the field."
On what similarities Skylar Thompson has with his past quarterbacks...
"Well, he's closer in my mind to Easton (Stick) as far as played as much football as he had. Easton played 50-some games in college, and Skylar is going to come pretty close to that mark himself. So, just the experience factor that those two shared, and I know they've had conversations. But, the fact of being in a system now for going on your third year, there's confidence. There's a comfort level. So, we're really excited about how he's playing right now and how that's going to impact our offense."
On where the team has improved most over the past few weeks...
"We're progressing in all areas. There's not a real strength where I say, 'Boy, we're really, really solid at this spot.' I think we're good across the board. Your weaknesses are going to be found out, unfortunately, as you get into game settings, but hopefully we've done enough things to shore up some of the depth issues we've had in the secondary. That's an area that was of concern that I feel better about because of depth. We're deeper at wide receiver, and that's been an area of concern last year. So it still comes down to being able to make plays when you get to the game."
On if wide receiver Tyrone Howell will play early on this year...
"Yeah, I think so. How much, it depends on what personnel groupings and things we're in, but we're excited about what he can do. Chabastin Taylor is still coming back from his offseason injury, and we think Chabastin will be ready to play against Stanford. I don't know if he's going to take a full load of 60 plays or 45 plays, so then that becomes a lot of different people. The guy that's been so impressive to me in fall camp from a wide receiver standpoint is Landry Weber, simply because Landry was beat up all last year, had an offseason surgery that has made him so much better. You can see that he feels confident, and he's making a lot of plays, not only catching the ball but blocking as well. So, he's one that we were unsure of coming into the season because of some of his injuries in the past that has really had a phenomenal fall camp."
On the linebackers after the starters...
"Well, the first one that we feel really good about as Nick Allen. Nick has played an awful lot for us on special teams. The game slowed down for him. He'll back up Daniel Green but will play an awful lot. We're excited about Nick's progress, and then at the other backer spot we really are looking at three guys based on different packages that we have. Austin Moore is going to play significantly for us. Kienen Gaskin is going to play and Eric Munoz. All those guys are playing a little bit of both the mike and the will spot. So, we have some depth there and just based on situations where which guy will go in the game."
On the ability to keep defenses on their heels...
"I feel a lot better, obviously, than last season with limitations we had at a variety of positions on both sides of the ball, but we're better at tight end right now. Sammy Wheeler, he didn't play at the end of the season. He's playing really well right now. Daniel Imatorbhebhe is playing really well. Jax Dineen is doing some really good things. Those are the names that you don't hear as much about. You hear about the Malik (Knowles) and Philip (Brooks) and Deuce Vaughn, but you throw Tyrone Howell and some of the tight ends I mentioned. Joe Ervin has been really, really good this fall. So, we have more bodies there. You have an experienced quarterback which helps too, so I know we're deeper with explosive players."
On the importance of the transfer portal moving forward...
"Each year will be different. This year was really important for us because of the amount of guys that we had lost during the season. The year before or at the end of the season, it's still going to come down to a little bit of what happens. This roster management thing is going to be really difficult for all head coaches, and I don't know how many kids that are seniors that could be juniors are coming back, and if they all come back, you're not in the market as much. If a few of them come back, you're in the market more. Yeah, it's one of the things you can't answer today and probably be later in the season when you do, once you start having those conversations, but that's the thing that all of us coaches are trying to figure out. Unfortunately, you're not going to figure that out until later. You can't prepare for it because I just don't know what's going to happen there."
On mixing it up defensively...
"We sure hope so with the amount of safeties that we have planned. The ones that people know about are (Jahron) McPherson and Ross Elder. You have Russ Yeast and TJ Smith is healthy, and what a difference it is to have a healthy TJ Smith. Cincere Mason can help us back there. Aamaris Brown, so we have a lot of guys that can do different things, have different skill sets, plus then you throw in the corners. You throw Julius Brents in there. Throw Reggie Stubblefield in there, as well as the guys that played last year. We have more bodies. Can we match up better against the 10 and 11 personnel spread teams? We think so. This week or two weeks from whenever we play Stanford, it might not be that. It might be more bigger bodies because of the nature of the offense, but we feel we're deeper. We don't feel like we're going to have to play a kid like Jahron McPherson 70 snaps a game. Russ Yeast is playing really, really well right now. So, we should be able to cut a lot of snaps in half in the backend."
On the running back position...
"It obviously runs through Deuce (Vaughn), and he's going to get a good chunk of the reps. You throw in Joe Ervin that is going to play an awful lot of football for us, whether it's him being the single back or the fact that we're going two-back set or the three-back set. Jacardia Wright will be in that mix. DJ Giddens, I really believe, will be in that mix, whether it's now or as the season goes along. He's done some really good things that we're excited about him possibly playing as a freshman. We just have to continue to slow the game down for him. So, no, we feel like we're gaining some versatility there and more guys than other than just Deuce can make plays."
On moving the receivers around...
"Yeah, it will. But we still have Phillip (Brooks) out there that we have to get the football to. There's a reason why he's an All-American as a punt returner, and we have to give him the freedom to find creative ways to get him the football. We're doing that right now, and he's becoming a much better just pure receiver running routes and understanding concepts and understanding coverages. He'll still be a slot for us, but we'll put him outside as well. We have to find ways that it can't be just a running back out there, although Deuce (Vaughn) is pretty good out there. Philip is having had a great fall camp. We have to find ways get him in football."
On the importance of depth at running back...
"Keep them fresh is the easy answer. The second one would be the fact that we're playing a lot of two-back sets and sometimes they are flexed out or the stress you put on a defense by running two and three-back sets. You don't know exactly where the play is going to start at, and a lot of those guys are on special teams. So, it's just been something where we want to make sure that we have enough guys engaged that can make plays, because you know it's hard to play running back in any level of football and be a guy that's taking the punishment for 25 or 30 reps a game. So, we need to make sure that we're able to spread that around."
On balancing game planning for Stanford and individual work...
"Still a little bit of both, obviously. In fall camp, that's all it was was working against each other. We spent a little time on Stanford, but now we kind of flip the script and we have to start getting into some scout team looks. We'll do that starting today, but we still are going to sharpen each other. We're still going to do a lot of things K-State vs. K-State. I think it makes us better. It makes us more alert and some of the speed of the game, especially at wide receiver and defensive back, for us to do some 7-on-7 and some red zone stuff. We need Timmy Horne going against Noah Johnson, because I think it makes both those guys better. So, it'll be limited but we'll still do some on a daily basis."
On running back DJ Giddens...
"Well, he's just from right down the road at Junction City, so that's how we ended up here. We knew who he was all the way through the last few years, and I was able to watch him play when my son played over there and knew he had an unbelievable amount of ability. Coach (Brian) Anderson did a great job recruiting him. We knew his athleticism and now how could he understand what we're doing? How good was he to be able to comprehend as well as the maturity factor to play college football? It's just different from high school, and he's done a nice job. He's a very strong running back, beaks arm tackles and stuff. We're having him continue to learn the protections, and he's getting so much better. He has nice hands out the backfield. You're not going to force feed a kid like that 40 to 50 plays early on in the season, but he's somebody that we think has a chance to help us this year."
On if DJ Giddens was under the radar...
"No, he didn't fall under the radar in our mind. We were well aware of him and well aware of his ability for a while. And no, we were not surprised. We were pleased with how quickly he was able to acclimate to college football. So, he's a guy that we've been on for a while, and we're excited about getting him here."
On if Taylor Portier missing the season has Cooper Beebe moving inside to play guard...
"Both. He's moving around. KT (Leveston) is moving around. Carver Willis allows us to move guys around because Carver is strictly playing tackle and doing a really nice job out there. Another player that we're really pleased with and is going to play a lot of football for us this year is Hadley Panzer. We're playing him inside more, but it frees up a lot of rotations, whether it's KT outside or Beebe outside. Hadley's done some good things. Whether or not it's early in the season or as the season goes along, Hadley is going to play a lot of football for us. We're excited about his progress as a young player."
On who the captains will be...
"We're in the process of it, and should have it done early to mid week."
On other true freshmen making an impact...
"Well, if you'd look at it the other way, Deuce Vaughn is a true freshman, so I get mixed up on what's your version of a true freshman. We're going to play a lot of young guys. I think Marvin Martin is a guy that has done some really good things in the back end, whether or not he can be an impact there. RJ Garcia II has done some really good things at wide receiver. Just a couple names off the top of my head that are what you would call a true freshman with a chance to help us out. That's still an ongoing process. That's why we're still to the question we had, we're still doing K-State vs. K-State and not always scout because we need to continue to develop and find guys."
On who else is standing out in the wide receivers...
"We talked Landry (Weber) already. We talked Tyrone Howell. The other one that I'm really excited about – he was nicked up a little bit middle of fall camp but now is back healthy – is Keenan Garber. Keenan is one that is extremely talented, getting bigger, getting stronger, more confident. Keenan is going to play a lot of football for us, too."
On what Joe Klanderman learned in his first year as defensive coordinator at K-State...
"Well, I think all of us learned so much last year. How do you gameplan when four or five of your starters are out on Friday? It's not a fair thing for any of those guys. I know he learned a ton just about how he fits, how he uses the coaches. Joe is one of the most intelligent football guys I've ever been around, and I'm excited for him because I think your first year you learn so much about yourself more than you do about being a defensive coordinator and calling things. I know he'll have a really good year. I think it's all of us, though. Everybody on defense – and I'm probably more on defense right now than I have been since I've been here as far as actively doing drills and actively meeting with players and coaching to just utilizing all the people and all the pieces you have. I know Joe is doing a great job of that right now."
On the specialists...
"Taiten Winkel has really done a nice job, and all those jobs are ongoing. Still Ty (Zentner) and Jack (Blumer) punting. Taiten and Ty a little bit on field goals, and Taiten has really had a really good fall camp. Chris Tennant has helped us on kickoffs as well. We have depth at the specialist right now. In a perfect world, we still would want to give Ty a break. I feel comfortable to say Jack could punt, and we saw that last year. I feel comfortable to say Taiten could kick field goals, and I feel comfortable that Chris Tennant can probably kick off. So, I know we're going to be able to, but we still have to work through that and see what skill set is Ty's best, because he's a really talented kicker."
On the nickel position...
"Yeah, at nickel for us right now would be Reggie Stubblefield and Aamaris Brown. We have a couple of different packages where we'll use a little bit bigger player in Wayne Jones and Ryan Henington. Then we have more of our speed nickel package where we're using more of Reggie and Aamaris Brown, but that's a position that we feel much better about at the end of fall camp than we did at the beginning of fall camp. So, we feel like we have four candidates there that are all going to play some."
On Ryan Henington and Wayne Jones...
"Henny and Wayne Jones are playing really the nickel spot in our base defense, so it's against Stanford they're going to play what is the nickel, but it's really an outside backer in our four-down stuff just because there's not as many wide receivers in the game. If you put a plethora of wide receivers in, then we'd probably go with the speed kids playing nickel. So, it's going to be a little bit based on what the personnel is that we see. But, I'm pleased with Henny and Wayne playing. Our nickel is still our Sam backer on our four down, so they're both going to play as well as those two nickels."
On the defense improving from last season...
"Well, we need to, and we're practicing better as far as running through our leverage tackling. That's what it all comes down to is explosive plays and if you can eliminate explosive plays by making open-field tackles and not getting beat over the top. Ours was more of an issue of missing tackles. We've really emphasized it a bunch in spring and fall. I know we have better personnel than we did last year across the board. We had some elite players last year, but overall depth wise across the board, we're deeper. I think that'll help us, but still proof is in the pudding. We have to show it out on the field, and we have to tackle better. Even though we've emphasized the heck out of it, you still only can tackle so much in a practice before in a game situation. It's got to come to fruition, and so I'm excited to see how much better we are as a tackling team."
BUDDY WYATT, DEFENSIVE ENDS
On who will make splash plays this season after Wyatt Hubert was drafted...
"Getting right to the point, huh? Okay, well obviously Wyatt had a very successful career here. It's going to be hard to hard to replace him, but I think we have some guys that can step up. It's going to be more by committee, probably, than just one person. I'm excited. The guys have been working really hard. They've really improved. Guys like Felix Anudike, Nate Matlack, 'Boom' Bronson Massie. We know him as 'Boom,' and also Spencer Trussell. Those guys have really stepped up and had a really good camp."
On what Felix Anudike needs to do to improve...
"First of all, I forgot Khalid Duke (in the previous answer). But Felix, physically, he's really improved. He's gotten a lot stronger. The biggest thing with him is experience. He played a little bit last year (in a) very, very limited role. Now we were asking him to do a lot more things. So, just experience. He if he continues to progress and he gets that experience, I think he's a be something special."
On what he will ask Nate Matlack to do as opposed to Felix Anudike...
"They have a different makeup, physically. Nate is a really long, wiry, fast guy that can really cover ground. I liked the way he's progressing in the pass rush department. Whereas Felix, in the run game and in the passing game, he's made progress. So, we're going to continue to develop both of them, obviously, overall. But, right now, I'd have to say Nate is probably better pass rusher or has progressed faster as a pass rusher, and Felix has kind of progressed in both areas."
On the next step for Khalid Duke...
"I think now is consistency with Khalid. He's always been a role guy. You've had Wyatt (Hubert) and then Khalid started to make some gains for us. Now, people are going to be looking at him more and preparing for him more just because that's who they see on film more. I think he has to continue to just to be more consistent in that area. He's still going to make the dynamic plays, the splash plays because he's a dynamic guy. My goal for him is to be more consistent in the run game and in the pass game."
On the comparison the ceiling for Khalid Duke...
"Yeah, I think they are different. Wyatt was strong and big and explosive. Felix is fast and quick. But, I think they can both make big plays and in their own in their own right. I think Khalid can do more things, probably, than Wyatt in space, just because he's a little better athlete than Wyatt was. Wyatt was so dominating in the run game for us and, of course, he was great in the pass rush as well."
On Timmy Horne opening things up on the outside...
"I'm so excited about Eli (Huggins), Tim (Timmy Horne), (Jaylen) Pickle and D Hentz (Robert Hentz II), some of those guys inside. That had really become a strong point in our defense. Obviously, they're helping some of those young ends come along. Now, you have to pay attention to not just one guy but several guys along that front."
On Kirmari Gainous...
"He's coming. Kirmari had some setbacks with injuries in the spring. He's still working his way back up. Those other guys have just been playing a little bit better than Kirmari. I'm not disappointed in Kirmari. He was a little bit behind coming out of spring, and he's still trying to catch up"
On Nate Matlack's coachability...
"Nate is just an easy guy to coach. You tell Nate to do something, and he's going to try his best to get it done. He isn't going to make any excuses. He's not going to try to get around anything. He's just a Kansas State football player. He's a hard-nosed, tough kid, very smart, very bright football player. He can do a lot of different things for us. To me, his attitude is just what has stood out among anything else."
STEVE STANARD, LINEBACKERS
On who the new voices of the group will be...
"Both Daniel Green and Cody Fletcher played so much for us (last year). They probably played a third of the snaps, if not more. So, I think those two are really starting to come into their own, which has been really encouraging. It was great to get Cody back for his 'Super Senior' year. Both of them have really started to kind of come out of their shell a little bit, because with Justin (Hughes) and Eli (Elijah Sullivan) in the room, they got a little overshadowed personality wise. It's been fun to watch the whole room come together and the culture change."
On Austin Moore...
"Austin is a very focused young man. He doesn't say a lot. One time in practice I said, 'You know, Austin, you can enjoy this a little bit.' He said, 'I just want to get it right, coach.' So, that's just kind of his demeanor. They call him 'The Machine,' because that's how he approaches everything in the weight room and on the field. Both Austin and Nick Allen have really done a nice job. I'm encouraged that they're going to be able to spell Deuce (Daniel Green) and Cody (Fletcher) at times in certain situations. So, we're going to both have some rotation there and the ability to get some reps off of Deuce and Cody."
On if the amount of reps for the starters will remain the same as last year...
"Maybe not at the start. We'll see how things progress and how they do when they get their opportunity. Last year, we rotated right out of the gate with Deuce (Daniel Green), and Cody (Fletcher) a lot. I have confidence in both Nick (Allen) and Austin (Moore), they just have not played in as many games as Cody and Daniel had coming into last year."
On the ceiling for Daniel Green...
"I'm really excited. Daniel has had an outstanding fall camp. He's playing extremely fast right now, and he's playing more physical. Daniel has really applied himself in the offseason, in the weight room and on the field. Just in his stance alone and his knee bend, because Daniel is a taller guy. He can bend at the waist sometimes, which gets him in tough situations, whether it be in coverage, whether it be in the run game. He has really worked hard at that. He's really sprinting through his leverage right now, and he's developed into a really good blitzer right now. So, I'm really pleased with where Daniel is."
On Kienen Gaskin...
"He has a tremendous motor, Kienen does. He has great acceleration, really good speed. He's still learning the game. He's like a lot of high school linebackers. He wants to get to the ball every snap. He wants to make every play. You want that attitude, but he's he's still learning responsibilities, making those plays through his responsibilities and not voiding those responsibilities. I think Kienen is going to be able to help us in certain situation, especially special teams. He might help us on some third down situations right now. But, we're excited about Kienen's future."
On improving the tackling...
"They're getting better sprinting through their leverage, meaning they're not slowing down as they approach contact. Now, you can't tackle every practice, obviously, but first part of is understanding your leverage. We call it the cup, but sprinting through that cup, sprinting through that leverage, I think as a whole defensive group, they're all understanding the cup probably better than they have the last couple of years. So, hopefully our guys are going to put themselves in better positions so we can minimize those explosive plays and those missed tackles."
On the defense improving on last season...
"The difference between last year and two years ago was we got ourselves off the field on third down. We were a better third-down defense. Improvement needs to come on normal down and distances so we can put ourselves in a position where it's 3rd and 8, 9, 10, not 3rd and 5, 3rd and 4. (That's a) big difference. That's getting them off schedule on first down, and second down. I think we're putting ourselves in a position where we're not relying on just one guy to make the tackle. I think guys are doing a better job of understanding their gaps of responsibility, but also understanding they have to get better block destruction and get off blocks. I think that's one area where we've made good strides. From winter conditioning all the way through spring football it's been a major focus of our ability to get off blocks. Last year we got tied up with people too long."
On Nick Allen...
"A couple things - I think Nick has done a good job of transforming his body. His body fat percentage has gone down. Nick has always been a strong guy, but his movement skills, his changed direction, his lateral movement is improved. Nick has made tremendous strides, mentally, understanding the game and understanding what we're doing schematically. If you had to say one guy had the best spring, it would probably be Nick. He has continued that through fall camp. Nick is going to be a valuable player for us this year. He's a tremendous special team player - he's on all four special teams - but he's worked himself into a situation where he's going to deserve an opportunity to garnish some linebacker reps.
On the freshmen linebackers...
"It was just Friday that we had a little bit of scrimmage with some of the younger guys. With Krew (Jackson), he's long, he's tall. I'm anxious to see how he grows into his body. Right now, he looks like a baby giraffe out there. But, once we started scrimmaging, he was really running to the ball. He had some really nice sprint-through tackles, which was one of the things you worry about when a guy is that long, He's 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-5 and a half, and I don't think he's 200 pounds yet. But, he showed his willingness to strike people, which is really encouraging with what we're going to build to do with him down the road. Gaven (Haselhorst), he's just learning to play linebacker. He was the defensive end at Hays and came off the edge. So, we took him because of his motor, and he showed desire to play the game at a high speed. He's still learning linebacker, so he's not playing at the speed he probably did in high school, but that will come with time. Then same thing with DaVonte (Pritchard). DaVonte is just learned eye discipline and reading keys and those things. I think all three of them have a chance to have bright futures here. Linebacker is kind of like o-line - it's hard to just step in and play linebacker right out of the gate. Sometimes they can help you on special teams as freshmen. I don't know if those three are in that position right now, but you just never know."
MIKE TUIASOSOPO, DEFENSIVE TACKLES
On how enjoyable it is to coach Timmy Horne...
"Very enjoyable. It's very enjoyable to coach the guys in the room too. Tim has brought a lot of flavor to the room, if you will. But, he is tremendous young man."
On the depth at the d-tackle position...
"I tell you what - and I know he got nicked up a little bit - but Robert Hentz II was coming. He had a tremendous as offseason of some work as anybody in d-tackle room. I'm looking for great things from him. Not only just maturity wise, but really honing in on some details that we talked about at the end of last season on things that he needed to get fixed. But, he's obviously in better shape, (he's) stronger, plays much better technique. We're really looking forward to his work. Then, Tyrone Taleni is another young man that can help us in a variety of spots. He's gotten himself improved both on and off the field, in the weight room. We're counting on him to be part of the rotation."
On what stands out about Timmy Horne...
"Girth, strong, hard to move him. Just the way he plays. He plays hard, he plays strong, he plays and tough. The other thing I like about Tim is he's quite a technician. He's really into the details of his work. Those are the things I appreciate about him. He asks very pertinent and relevant questions. It feels like I have a pro in my room, to be honest with you, with just the things that he asks. It's not just to Tim. We have some good guys in that room in Eli Huggins, Jaylen Pickle. But, as far as Tim is concerned, he brings incredible size, incredible strength and we'll count on him for big things."
On where Eli Huggins has improved the most...
"He's a very crafty player, a really smart player. He gets it, he understands it. Sometimes he'll see things before they happen. It's just his ability to understand the game at a high level and knowing his spots and where he needs to be in the run game are the reasons why he makes a lot of plays. Then in the pass game, he gets it. He's a great compliment to everyone around him. Speaking of Eli, those older guys have been tremendous for our young players, developing them, nurturing them, putting their arms around them, loving them. They've been unbelievable in that way."
On the challenges the defense faced last season...
"It just felt like there were times where we weren't completed loaded. We weren't playing with a full hand, if you will. There was a lot of shifting and moving things around, but it just felt like we weren't complete. Whereas this year, I told the guys this in our room, this is the best shape I've ever seen our d-lineman in since I've been here. The guys have worked very hard offseason. But, to answer your question about last year, we may be strong in the d-tackle position, for instance, but it just felt like we were never complete. Never at full strength."
On the confidence in the defense this season...
"Right now I feel good. We still have a lot of things to iron out here before September 4. But, in terms of where we are from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint, I feel good. Truthfully, the credit goes to the players because they're the ones that were challenged, and they're the ones that rose up to the challenge to get themselves mentally and physically ready for our season."
On what he expects from Jaylen Pickle...
"He's another young man that I felt like had a tremendous camp, and I'm excited to see Jaylen take the next step in his development and his growth. Maybe more than anybody in our room, I'm excited to see Jaylen taking the next steps to being the player that he is certainly capable of."
On Damian Ilalio…
"I have great hope for Damian. Damian just came in and worked. He hardly says a word, a typical freshman just trying to figure out his way, but I have great hope for Damian. He's going to help us down the road. Now I can't say that about this year, for sure. Who knows, but Damian is a great addition to our program. He's everything we thought he was going to be - tough kid, sharp kid on the field. He gets the game. But, maybe more than anything, he's just explosive and he's tough. And, you have to have that in there."
On coaching his son...
"This is new for me. I'd never coached my son, not even a Pop Warner because of the same season. So, this is new for me, it's new for him, but I can't think of a better place for him to be than to be with me. I'm really excited about it."
CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement...
"Quite the facility we're in here. Glad we're able to do it over here in the Shamrock Zone to be able to see this great venue that we're excited to be a part of and excited to add to gameday atmosphere at the Bill. Busy week for us. The players were off yesterday. We finished fall camp on Sunday, gave them the first day of classes off to try to get their bearings and will go back to work today. Pretty full week, continuing to work on game plan for Stanford. Continued to massage the depth chart, so to speak, and see what guys fit into this game plan. It's obviously a very talented team we're playing. So, we've got our work cut out for us, but we're excited to get back into football realm and really into game planning."
On injuries during fall camp...
"We lost one in fall camp, a really good player in Taylor Poitier, to a lower body injury. He'll miss this season, and we're sad for Taylor because he's such a tremendous kid and a tremendous football player. But, Taylor will miss this season."
On the offensive line…
"I still think we're in that eight, nine mode. We obviously lose one player in Taylor (Poitier), but I know that there's eight for sure that we talked about yesterday as a staff that we see contributing significantly, and we hope to still be able to get that to nine. I know we won't just play five guys. We have a lot of depth there and guys that have had a lot of experience. So, we'll play a number of guys."
On how he evaluates Skylar Thompson...
"It's still efficiency and making great decisions. We've put them, both he and Will (Howard), put them in a lot of different situations during fall camp, situational stuff where it's late in the game to some play drives against the defense where we put them in some 3rd and long and 3rd and 4th down situations where we have to get a first down here and it's 3rd and 9. Does that mean you have to throw a pass for 10 or 12 yards? No, maybe we get us into 4th and 3 or 4th and 4 situations and we can go for it. So, just the efficiency and making great decisions, and he's been so good this fall camp. Arm is live. Body looks good, moving around really well. We're adding more and more because we can to his plate, in terms of game planning and decisions at the line of scrimmage. He's really, really sharp on those right now. Now we'll get into the game planning part of it, so we have to dissect a little bit what he thinks he can do and what we think we do against Stanford.
On what stats he looks at most for quarterbacks...
"Yeah, don't turn the ball over. That's the number one thing. Possess the football, and that's making great decisions. Then just being able to keep drives alive. Making the 3rd and 5 play, 3rd and 8 play, 3rd and 2 play, whether it's with your feet or with your arm, you just have to be able to keep possession. That's what, for us, comes down to is we hope we're more of a quick-strike offense with some of the people we have outside, but we have to be able to manufacture drives. We have to be able to stay on the field and keep the other team's offense off the field."
On what similarities Skylar Thompson has with his past quarterbacks...
"Well, he's closer in my mind to Easton (Stick) as far as played as much football as he had. Easton played 50-some games in college, and Skylar is going to come pretty close to that mark himself. So, just the experience factor that those two shared, and I know they've had conversations. But, the fact of being in a system now for going on your third year, there's confidence. There's a comfort level. So, we're really excited about how he's playing right now and how that's going to impact our offense."
On where the team has improved most over the past few weeks...
"We're progressing in all areas. There's not a real strength where I say, 'Boy, we're really, really solid at this spot.' I think we're good across the board. Your weaknesses are going to be found out, unfortunately, as you get into game settings, but hopefully we've done enough things to shore up some of the depth issues we've had in the secondary. That's an area that was of concern that I feel better about because of depth. We're deeper at wide receiver, and that's been an area of concern last year. So it still comes down to being able to make plays when you get to the game."
On if wide receiver Tyrone Howell will play early on this year...
"Yeah, I think so. How much, it depends on what personnel groupings and things we're in, but we're excited about what he can do. Chabastin Taylor is still coming back from his offseason injury, and we think Chabastin will be ready to play against Stanford. I don't know if he's going to take a full load of 60 plays or 45 plays, so then that becomes a lot of different people. The guy that's been so impressive to me in fall camp from a wide receiver standpoint is Landry Weber, simply because Landry was beat up all last year, had an offseason surgery that has made him so much better. You can see that he feels confident, and he's making a lot of plays, not only catching the ball but blocking as well. So, he's one that we were unsure of coming into the season because of some of his injuries in the past that has really had a phenomenal fall camp."
On the linebackers after the starters...
"Well, the first one that we feel really good about as Nick Allen. Nick has played an awful lot for us on special teams. The game slowed down for him. He'll back up Daniel Green but will play an awful lot. We're excited about Nick's progress, and then at the other backer spot we really are looking at three guys based on different packages that we have. Austin Moore is going to play significantly for us. Kienen Gaskin is going to play and Eric Munoz. All those guys are playing a little bit of both the mike and the will spot. So, we have some depth there and just based on situations where which guy will go in the game."
On the ability to keep defenses on their heels...
"I feel a lot better, obviously, than last season with limitations we had at a variety of positions on both sides of the ball, but we're better at tight end right now. Sammy Wheeler, he didn't play at the end of the season. He's playing really well right now. Daniel Imatorbhebhe is playing really well. Jax Dineen is doing some really good things. Those are the names that you don't hear as much about. You hear about the Malik (Knowles) and Philip (Brooks) and Deuce Vaughn, but you throw Tyrone Howell and some of the tight ends I mentioned. Joe Ervin has been really, really good this fall. So, we have more bodies there. You have an experienced quarterback which helps too, so I know we're deeper with explosive players."
On the importance of the transfer portal moving forward...
"Each year will be different. This year was really important for us because of the amount of guys that we had lost during the season. The year before or at the end of the season, it's still going to come down to a little bit of what happens. This roster management thing is going to be really difficult for all head coaches, and I don't know how many kids that are seniors that could be juniors are coming back, and if they all come back, you're not in the market as much. If a few of them come back, you're in the market more. Yeah, it's one of the things you can't answer today and probably be later in the season when you do, once you start having those conversations, but that's the thing that all of us coaches are trying to figure out. Unfortunately, you're not going to figure that out until later. You can't prepare for it because I just don't know what's going to happen there."
On mixing it up defensively...
"We sure hope so with the amount of safeties that we have planned. The ones that people know about are (Jahron) McPherson and Ross Elder. You have Russ Yeast and TJ Smith is healthy, and what a difference it is to have a healthy TJ Smith. Cincere Mason can help us back there. Aamaris Brown, so we have a lot of guys that can do different things, have different skill sets, plus then you throw in the corners. You throw Julius Brents in there. Throw Reggie Stubblefield in there, as well as the guys that played last year. We have more bodies. Can we match up better against the 10 and 11 personnel spread teams? We think so. This week or two weeks from whenever we play Stanford, it might not be that. It might be more bigger bodies because of the nature of the offense, but we feel we're deeper. We don't feel like we're going to have to play a kid like Jahron McPherson 70 snaps a game. Russ Yeast is playing really, really well right now. So, we should be able to cut a lot of snaps in half in the backend."
On the running back position...
"It obviously runs through Deuce (Vaughn), and he's going to get a good chunk of the reps. You throw in Joe Ervin that is going to play an awful lot of football for us, whether it's him being the single back or the fact that we're going two-back set or the three-back set. Jacardia Wright will be in that mix. DJ Giddens, I really believe, will be in that mix, whether it's now or as the season goes along. He's done some really good things that we're excited about him possibly playing as a freshman. We just have to continue to slow the game down for him. So, no, we feel like we're gaining some versatility there and more guys than other than just Deuce can make plays."
On moving the receivers around...
"Yeah, it will. But we still have Phillip (Brooks) out there that we have to get the football to. There's a reason why he's an All-American as a punt returner, and we have to give him the freedom to find creative ways to get him the football. We're doing that right now, and he's becoming a much better just pure receiver running routes and understanding concepts and understanding coverages. He'll still be a slot for us, but we'll put him outside as well. We have to find ways that it can't be just a running back out there, although Deuce (Vaughn) is pretty good out there. Philip is having had a great fall camp. We have to find ways get him in football."
On the importance of depth at running back...
"Keep them fresh is the easy answer. The second one would be the fact that we're playing a lot of two-back sets and sometimes they are flexed out or the stress you put on a defense by running two and three-back sets. You don't know exactly where the play is going to start at, and a lot of those guys are on special teams. So, it's just been something where we want to make sure that we have enough guys engaged that can make plays, because you know it's hard to play running back in any level of football and be a guy that's taking the punishment for 25 or 30 reps a game. So, we need to make sure that we're able to spread that around."
On balancing game planning for Stanford and individual work...
"Still a little bit of both, obviously. In fall camp, that's all it was was working against each other. We spent a little time on Stanford, but now we kind of flip the script and we have to start getting into some scout team looks. We'll do that starting today, but we still are going to sharpen each other. We're still going to do a lot of things K-State vs. K-State. I think it makes us better. It makes us more alert and some of the speed of the game, especially at wide receiver and defensive back, for us to do some 7-on-7 and some red zone stuff. We need Timmy Horne going against Noah Johnson, because I think it makes both those guys better. So, it'll be limited but we'll still do some on a daily basis."
On running back DJ Giddens...
"Well, he's just from right down the road at Junction City, so that's how we ended up here. We knew who he was all the way through the last few years, and I was able to watch him play when my son played over there and knew he had an unbelievable amount of ability. Coach (Brian) Anderson did a great job recruiting him. We knew his athleticism and now how could he understand what we're doing? How good was he to be able to comprehend as well as the maturity factor to play college football? It's just different from high school, and he's done a nice job. He's a very strong running back, beaks arm tackles and stuff. We're having him continue to learn the protections, and he's getting so much better. He has nice hands out the backfield. You're not going to force feed a kid like that 40 to 50 plays early on in the season, but he's somebody that we think has a chance to help us this year."
On if DJ Giddens was under the radar...
"No, he didn't fall under the radar in our mind. We were well aware of him and well aware of his ability for a while. And no, we were not surprised. We were pleased with how quickly he was able to acclimate to college football. So, he's a guy that we've been on for a while, and we're excited about getting him here."
On if Taylor Portier missing the season has Cooper Beebe moving inside to play guard...
"Both. He's moving around. KT (Leveston) is moving around. Carver Willis allows us to move guys around because Carver is strictly playing tackle and doing a really nice job out there. Another player that we're really pleased with and is going to play a lot of football for us this year is Hadley Panzer. We're playing him inside more, but it frees up a lot of rotations, whether it's KT outside or Beebe outside. Hadley's done some good things. Whether or not it's early in the season or as the season goes along, Hadley is going to play a lot of football for us. We're excited about his progress as a young player."
On who the captains will be...
"We're in the process of it, and should have it done early to mid week."
On other true freshmen making an impact...
"Well, if you'd look at it the other way, Deuce Vaughn is a true freshman, so I get mixed up on what's your version of a true freshman. We're going to play a lot of young guys. I think Marvin Martin is a guy that has done some really good things in the back end, whether or not he can be an impact there. RJ Garcia II has done some really good things at wide receiver. Just a couple names off the top of my head that are what you would call a true freshman with a chance to help us out. That's still an ongoing process. That's why we're still to the question we had, we're still doing K-State vs. K-State and not always scout because we need to continue to develop and find guys."
On who else is standing out in the wide receivers...
"We talked Landry (Weber) already. We talked Tyrone Howell. The other one that I'm really excited about – he was nicked up a little bit middle of fall camp but now is back healthy – is Keenan Garber. Keenan is one that is extremely talented, getting bigger, getting stronger, more confident. Keenan is going to play a lot of football for us, too."
On what Joe Klanderman learned in his first year as defensive coordinator at K-State...
"Well, I think all of us learned so much last year. How do you gameplan when four or five of your starters are out on Friday? It's not a fair thing for any of those guys. I know he learned a ton just about how he fits, how he uses the coaches. Joe is one of the most intelligent football guys I've ever been around, and I'm excited for him because I think your first year you learn so much about yourself more than you do about being a defensive coordinator and calling things. I know he'll have a really good year. I think it's all of us, though. Everybody on defense – and I'm probably more on defense right now than I have been since I've been here as far as actively doing drills and actively meeting with players and coaching to just utilizing all the people and all the pieces you have. I know Joe is doing a great job of that right now."
On the specialists...
"Taiten Winkel has really done a nice job, and all those jobs are ongoing. Still Ty (Zentner) and Jack (Blumer) punting. Taiten and Ty a little bit on field goals, and Taiten has really had a really good fall camp. Chris Tennant has helped us on kickoffs as well. We have depth at the specialist right now. In a perfect world, we still would want to give Ty a break. I feel comfortable to say Jack could punt, and we saw that last year. I feel comfortable to say Taiten could kick field goals, and I feel comfortable that Chris Tennant can probably kick off. So, I know we're going to be able to, but we still have to work through that and see what skill set is Ty's best, because he's a really talented kicker."
On the nickel position...
"Yeah, at nickel for us right now would be Reggie Stubblefield and Aamaris Brown. We have a couple of different packages where we'll use a little bit bigger player in Wayne Jones and Ryan Henington. Then we have more of our speed nickel package where we're using more of Reggie and Aamaris Brown, but that's a position that we feel much better about at the end of fall camp than we did at the beginning of fall camp. So, we feel like we have four candidates there that are all going to play some."
On Ryan Henington and Wayne Jones...
"Henny and Wayne Jones are playing really the nickel spot in our base defense, so it's against Stanford they're going to play what is the nickel, but it's really an outside backer in our four-down stuff just because there's not as many wide receivers in the game. If you put a plethora of wide receivers in, then we'd probably go with the speed kids playing nickel. So, it's going to be a little bit based on what the personnel is that we see. But, I'm pleased with Henny and Wayne playing. Our nickel is still our Sam backer on our four down, so they're both going to play as well as those two nickels."
On the defense improving from last season...
"Well, we need to, and we're practicing better as far as running through our leverage tackling. That's what it all comes down to is explosive plays and if you can eliminate explosive plays by making open-field tackles and not getting beat over the top. Ours was more of an issue of missing tackles. We've really emphasized it a bunch in spring and fall. I know we have better personnel than we did last year across the board. We had some elite players last year, but overall depth wise across the board, we're deeper. I think that'll help us, but still proof is in the pudding. We have to show it out on the field, and we have to tackle better. Even though we've emphasized the heck out of it, you still only can tackle so much in a practice before in a game situation. It's got to come to fruition, and so I'm excited to see how much better we are as a tackling team."
BUDDY WYATT, DEFENSIVE ENDS
On who will make splash plays this season after Wyatt Hubert was drafted...
"Getting right to the point, huh? Okay, well obviously Wyatt had a very successful career here. It's going to be hard to hard to replace him, but I think we have some guys that can step up. It's going to be more by committee, probably, than just one person. I'm excited. The guys have been working really hard. They've really improved. Guys like Felix Anudike, Nate Matlack, 'Boom' Bronson Massie. We know him as 'Boom,' and also Spencer Trussell. Those guys have really stepped up and had a really good camp."
On what Felix Anudike needs to do to improve...
"First of all, I forgot Khalid Duke (in the previous answer). But Felix, physically, he's really improved. He's gotten a lot stronger. The biggest thing with him is experience. He played a little bit last year (in a) very, very limited role. Now we were asking him to do a lot more things. So, just experience. He if he continues to progress and he gets that experience, I think he's a be something special."
On what he will ask Nate Matlack to do as opposed to Felix Anudike...
"They have a different makeup, physically. Nate is a really long, wiry, fast guy that can really cover ground. I liked the way he's progressing in the pass rush department. Whereas Felix, in the run game and in the passing game, he's made progress. So, we're going to continue to develop both of them, obviously, overall. But, right now, I'd have to say Nate is probably better pass rusher or has progressed faster as a pass rusher, and Felix has kind of progressed in both areas."
On the next step for Khalid Duke...
"I think now is consistency with Khalid. He's always been a role guy. You've had Wyatt (Hubert) and then Khalid started to make some gains for us. Now, people are going to be looking at him more and preparing for him more just because that's who they see on film more. I think he has to continue to just to be more consistent in that area. He's still going to make the dynamic plays, the splash plays because he's a dynamic guy. My goal for him is to be more consistent in the run game and in the pass game."
On the comparison the ceiling for Khalid Duke...
"Yeah, I think they are different. Wyatt was strong and big and explosive. Felix is fast and quick. But, I think they can both make big plays and in their own in their own right. I think Khalid can do more things, probably, than Wyatt in space, just because he's a little better athlete than Wyatt was. Wyatt was so dominating in the run game for us and, of course, he was great in the pass rush as well."
On Timmy Horne opening things up on the outside...
"I'm so excited about Eli (Huggins), Tim (Timmy Horne), (Jaylen) Pickle and D Hentz (Robert Hentz II), some of those guys inside. That had really become a strong point in our defense. Obviously, they're helping some of those young ends come along. Now, you have to pay attention to not just one guy but several guys along that front."
On Kirmari Gainous...
"He's coming. Kirmari had some setbacks with injuries in the spring. He's still working his way back up. Those other guys have just been playing a little bit better than Kirmari. I'm not disappointed in Kirmari. He was a little bit behind coming out of spring, and he's still trying to catch up"
On Nate Matlack's coachability...
"Nate is just an easy guy to coach. You tell Nate to do something, and he's going to try his best to get it done. He isn't going to make any excuses. He's not going to try to get around anything. He's just a Kansas State football player. He's a hard-nosed, tough kid, very smart, very bright football player. He can do a lot of different things for us. To me, his attitude is just what has stood out among anything else."
STEVE STANARD, LINEBACKERS
On who the new voices of the group will be...
"Both Daniel Green and Cody Fletcher played so much for us (last year). They probably played a third of the snaps, if not more. So, I think those two are really starting to come into their own, which has been really encouraging. It was great to get Cody back for his 'Super Senior' year. Both of them have really started to kind of come out of their shell a little bit, because with Justin (Hughes) and Eli (Elijah Sullivan) in the room, they got a little overshadowed personality wise. It's been fun to watch the whole room come together and the culture change."
On Austin Moore...
"Austin is a very focused young man. He doesn't say a lot. One time in practice I said, 'You know, Austin, you can enjoy this a little bit.' He said, 'I just want to get it right, coach.' So, that's just kind of his demeanor. They call him 'The Machine,' because that's how he approaches everything in the weight room and on the field. Both Austin and Nick Allen have really done a nice job. I'm encouraged that they're going to be able to spell Deuce (Daniel Green) and Cody (Fletcher) at times in certain situations. So, we're going to both have some rotation there and the ability to get some reps off of Deuce and Cody."
On if the amount of reps for the starters will remain the same as last year...
"Maybe not at the start. We'll see how things progress and how they do when they get their opportunity. Last year, we rotated right out of the gate with Deuce (Daniel Green), and Cody (Fletcher) a lot. I have confidence in both Nick (Allen) and Austin (Moore), they just have not played in as many games as Cody and Daniel had coming into last year."
On the ceiling for Daniel Green...
"I'm really excited. Daniel has had an outstanding fall camp. He's playing extremely fast right now, and he's playing more physical. Daniel has really applied himself in the offseason, in the weight room and on the field. Just in his stance alone and his knee bend, because Daniel is a taller guy. He can bend at the waist sometimes, which gets him in tough situations, whether it be in coverage, whether it be in the run game. He has really worked hard at that. He's really sprinting through his leverage right now, and he's developed into a really good blitzer right now. So, I'm really pleased with where Daniel is."
On Kienen Gaskin...
"He has a tremendous motor, Kienen does. He has great acceleration, really good speed. He's still learning the game. He's like a lot of high school linebackers. He wants to get to the ball every snap. He wants to make every play. You want that attitude, but he's he's still learning responsibilities, making those plays through his responsibilities and not voiding those responsibilities. I think Kienen is going to be able to help us in certain situation, especially special teams. He might help us on some third down situations right now. But, we're excited about Kienen's future."
On improving the tackling...
"They're getting better sprinting through their leverage, meaning they're not slowing down as they approach contact. Now, you can't tackle every practice, obviously, but first part of is understanding your leverage. We call it the cup, but sprinting through that cup, sprinting through that leverage, I think as a whole defensive group, they're all understanding the cup probably better than they have the last couple of years. So, hopefully our guys are going to put themselves in better positions so we can minimize those explosive plays and those missed tackles."
On the defense improving on last season...
"The difference between last year and two years ago was we got ourselves off the field on third down. We were a better third-down defense. Improvement needs to come on normal down and distances so we can put ourselves in a position where it's 3rd and 8, 9, 10, not 3rd and 5, 3rd and 4. (That's a) big difference. That's getting them off schedule on first down, and second down. I think we're putting ourselves in a position where we're not relying on just one guy to make the tackle. I think guys are doing a better job of understanding their gaps of responsibility, but also understanding they have to get better block destruction and get off blocks. I think that's one area where we've made good strides. From winter conditioning all the way through spring football it's been a major focus of our ability to get off blocks. Last year we got tied up with people too long."
On Nick Allen...
"A couple things - I think Nick has done a good job of transforming his body. His body fat percentage has gone down. Nick has always been a strong guy, but his movement skills, his changed direction, his lateral movement is improved. Nick has made tremendous strides, mentally, understanding the game and understanding what we're doing schematically. If you had to say one guy had the best spring, it would probably be Nick. He has continued that through fall camp. Nick is going to be a valuable player for us this year. He's a tremendous special team player - he's on all four special teams - but he's worked himself into a situation where he's going to deserve an opportunity to garnish some linebacker reps.
On the freshmen linebackers...
"It was just Friday that we had a little bit of scrimmage with some of the younger guys. With Krew (Jackson), he's long, he's tall. I'm anxious to see how he grows into his body. Right now, he looks like a baby giraffe out there. But, once we started scrimmaging, he was really running to the ball. He had some really nice sprint-through tackles, which was one of the things you worry about when a guy is that long, He's 6-foot-5 or 6-foot-5 and a half, and I don't think he's 200 pounds yet. But, he showed his willingness to strike people, which is really encouraging with what we're going to build to do with him down the road. Gaven (Haselhorst), he's just learning to play linebacker. He was the defensive end at Hays and came off the edge. So, we took him because of his motor, and he showed desire to play the game at a high speed. He's still learning linebacker, so he's not playing at the speed he probably did in high school, but that will come with time. Then same thing with DaVonte (Pritchard). DaVonte is just learned eye discipline and reading keys and those things. I think all three of them have a chance to have bright futures here. Linebacker is kind of like o-line - it's hard to just step in and play linebacker right out of the gate. Sometimes they can help you on special teams as freshmen. I don't know if those three are in that position right now, but you just never know."
MIKE TUIASOSOPO, DEFENSIVE TACKLES
On how enjoyable it is to coach Timmy Horne...
"Very enjoyable. It's very enjoyable to coach the guys in the room too. Tim has brought a lot of flavor to the room, if you will. But, he is tremendous young man."
On the depth at the d-tackle position...
"I tell you what - and I know he got nicked up a little bit - but Robert Hentz II was coming. He had a tremendous as offseason of some work as anybody in d-tackle room. I'm looking for great things from him. Not only just maturity wise, but really honing in on some details that we talked about at the end of last season on things that he needed to get fixed. But, he's obviously in better shape, (he's) stronger, plays much better technique. We're really looking forward to his work. Then, Tyrone Taleni is another young man that can help us in a variety of spots. He's gotten himself improved both on and off the field, in the weight room. We're counting on him to be part of the rotation."
On what stands out about Timmy Horne...
"Girth, strong, hard to move him. Just the way he plays. He plays hard, he plays strong, he plays and tough. The other thing I like about Tim is he's quite a technician. He's really into the details of his work. Those are the things I appreciate about him. He asks very pertinent and relevant questions. It feels like I have a pro in my room, to be honest with you, with just the things that he asks. It's not just to Tim. We have some good guys in that room in Eli Huggins, Jaylen Pickle. But, as far as Tim is concerned, he brings incredible size, incredible strength and we'll count on him for big things."
On where Eli Huggins has improved the most...
"He's a very crafty player, a really smart player. He gets it, he understands it. Sometimes he'll see things before they happen. It's just his ability to understand the game at a high level and knowing his spots and where he needs to be in the run game are the reasons why he makes a lot of plays. Then in the pass game, he gets it. He's a great compliment to everyone around him. Speaking of Eli, those older guys have been tremendous for our young players, developing them, nurturing them, putting their arms around them, loving them. They've been unbelievable in that way."
On the challenges the defense faced last season...
"It just felt like there were times where we weren't completed loaded. We weren't playing with a full hand, if you will. There was a lot of shifting and moving things around, but it just felt like we weren't complete. Whereas this year, I told the guys this in our room, this is the best shape I've ever seen our d-lineman in since I've been here. The guys have worked very hard offseason. But, to answer your question about last year, we may be strong in the d-tackle position, for instance, but it just felt like we were never complete. Never at full strength."
On the confidence in the defense this season...
"Right now I feel good. We still have a lot of things to iron out here before September 4. But, in terms of where we are from a mental standpoint and a physical standpoint, I feel good. Truthfully, the credit goes to the players because they're the ones that were challenged, and they're the ones that rose up to the challenge to get themselves mentally and physically ready for our season."
On what he expects from Jaylen Pickle...
"He's another young man that I felt like had a tremendous camp, and I'm excited to see Jaylen take the next step in his development and his growth. Maybe more than anybody in our room, I'm excited to see Jaylen taking the next steps to being the player that he is certainly capable of."
On Damian Ilalio…
"I have great hope for Damian. Damian just came in and worked. He hardly says a word, a typical freshman just trying to figure out his way, but I have great hope for Damian. He's going to help us down the road. Now I can't say that about this year, for sure. Who knows, but Damian is a great addition to our program. He's everything we thought he was going to be - tough kid, sharp kid on the field. He gets the game. But, maybe more than anything, he's just explosive and he's tough. And, you have to have that in there."
On coaching his son...
"This is new for me. I'd never coached my son, not even a Pop Warner because of the same season. So, this is new for me, it's new for him, but I can't think of a better place for him to be than to be with me. I'm really excited about it."
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/ FootballK-State Football | Chris Klieman Press Conference - Sept. 8, 2025
Monday, September 08
GAME REPLAY | FB vs Army
Monday, September 08
K-State FB | Chris Klieman Press Conference - Sept. 8
Monday, September 08
K-State FB | Game Highlights vs Army
Saturday, September 06