K-State Holds Weekly Football Press Conference Prior to Season Opener

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman and select players met with members of the media on Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex as Wildcats prepare for their 2021 season opener against Stanford in the Allstate Kickoff Classic. A complete transcript of Klieman's press conference (also streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and archived here) are posted below, in addition to comments from select players.

The Wildcats and Cardinal kick off at 11 a.m., on Saturday inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the game will be shown nationally on FS1.

CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
"Good afternoon, everyone. Excited to be back in game week, and I know the players are excited to be facing somebody other than each other in practice. Continuing on with our preparation. We had pretty good prep week last week working on Stanford and had a little bit of a mock game on Saturday to just try to get some of the bugs ironed out with some of the new players, as well as staffing, and now we're kind of just full speed ahead with our normal practice week. A really good football team we're playing, a seasoned, veteran group, a lot of older players that have played an awful lot of football games, and I think we're going to see that across the landscape of college football. We have a lot of older kids as well. But that's just with the extra year and more and more transfers and grad transfers, I think you're going to just see that throughout the year. But I'm really impressed with those guys on film, and we have come up with some great plans offensively, defensively that we have to be able to execute against a really good football team."

On Stanford's style of offense...
"You watch the film, they're going to do what they do, whether it's multiple tight ends to a tight end with a fullback to extra linemen, whatever it may be. I think that's still an identity that they have. So, we have to a great job of trying to find some different looks and different things to try to slow those guys down because they're going to try to rush the football. I know that they have really good skill kids, and their quarterbacks can spin it around as well, but if you can't stop the run , it's going to be a long day for you."

On defensive end Felix Anudike earning a starting role...
"There's going to be a ton of guys that are going to play a lot for us on the defensive line. It's a body of work from the spring and summer with Felix, and I'm excited about what he has done and what he has accomplished in such a short period of time. That being said, we'll play eight, nine, 10 guys on the defensive line. We're hoping to split a lot of those snaps so nobody is playing 75, 80% and we keep them fresh."

On the improvement of the defense...
"Hopefully quite a bit with new faces. Kind of a renewed focus. A really good offseason. I know we're bigger, we're stronger, we're more athletic. Being deeper, doesn't mean that we're automatically going to play better. It still has to come down to executing. We talk all the time about limiting explosive plays, and you do that by playing with great technique and do that by tackling really well. That's still an emphasis for us, and we have to tackle really well. There's going to be a lot of new faces out there. We like what we see right now in fall camp with the improvements we've made on defense, but we'll find out the first three weeks of the season in the non-conference. We move guys around because some guys are playing multiple positions, so we need to continue to move guys around and find the best fit for everybody before we get into conference play. These next three weeks are really critical for us."

On the personality and mindset of the defense...
"Whether we kept the different personality on that side of the ball, I couldn't tell you that. We just need to be better. It's a different personality, different mindset, whatever we just need to be better on defense."

On playing this weekend in Arlington...
"What a great experience for our players to be able to go out and play at AT&T (Stadium) where the Cowboys play. I thought that was going to be a great experience for our players for our fan base, and the fact that this is a year where we get the five home games conference rather than the four. So, with the schedule we had we were able to work this out so that we can still have the seven home games for our great fans."

On the potential to play neutral site games moving forward…
"I think opportunities for kids to play in different environments is pretty special. It's pretty unique. Whether that's in areas where we have big recruiting bases or areas where we have a big alumni base seems to make more sense."

On how the team is handling COVID...
"Knock on wood, I think we have another test. I think it's either today or tomorrow. We have just a couple of kids that are coming off of a close contact or quarantine. But, every week there's going to be one test in the Big 12, and I can't remember if it's Tuesday or Wednesday, but, knock on wood, we're doing a good job of keeping our social distance and not running into situations that could potentially be positive."

On potential rust for quarterback Skylar Thompson following his injury...
"The way he's practiced, not at all. I know there's excitement for him. I know that there's a comfort level, there's a confidence in watching in practice and watching him run the show on offense. It's more than exciting for me and for him and the guys to get back to watching play."

On the flexibility the tight ends give the offense...
"Well, we're deep at tight end. Daniel (Imatorbhebhe), Nick (Lenners) and Sammy (Wheeler), we're going to play an awful lot. We have both the fullback position with Jax (Dineen), (Mason) Barta and Christian (Moore), so we're going to utilize all those guys. It is probably similar to the defensive line position. Maybe there's a skill set better here and there. But blocking and receiving, you have to be able to do both, and Nick came off of a surgery that he had the offseason. So, he missed some spring ball, but I like what he's done. He's a guy that's played an awful lot of football for us."

On how the depth has impacted game planning...
"We do. That being said, we're still learning so much about some of the new guys that, although we're deeper at certain spots, until they get the game experience we may say, 'They may be better as a free safety than a strong safety,' and those are things that we're still learning about with a lot of the new guys we have in the program. That's why we still, on a weekly basis, do some good on good so that we can continue to evaluate, because it's a long season and if somebody is not maybe helping us this week, or playing in a limited basis, doesn't mean that it's the end of the line for them. We're going to end up playing an awful lot of bodies this year."

On running back Deuce Vaughn entering his second season...
"Much more confident. He was a real confident freshman as it was, but just the amount of reps, the amount of pictures that he's seen, the amount of carries he's had, as well as his reception stuff. You can tell he feels so comfortable within the offense and has learned a lot of the nuances of our offense as well as the pictures that a defense is showing him. So, we're thrilled that this is an integral part of our offense, and obviously we need to find ways of getting football."

On Stanford's defensive line...
"A couple things. One, they don't stay blocked. They do a great job of utilizing hands and shedding blocks and making plays. think they rush the passer extremely well. They've been able to rush four and get home, they bring a fifth guy, play in man coverage, but they do such a good job of collapsing the pocket out and just don't give you time back there to throw a football. So, we have to be on point with getting the ball out on time, as well as some timing things to try to neutralize it. What I think is a really good pass rush."

On the status of the offensive line...
"We're still going to do as we talked about it. On Monday, the offensive staff said we have been able to play at least seven, probably eight guys and know there's a good chance we could get a ninth with Kaitori (KT Leveston). This last week he's back, so that really helps us because Kaitori is going to play an awful lot of football for us. Hadley Panzer, Dawson Delforge have to be able to play in there and help us out. Carver Willis has to be able to play some and help us out. Logan Long has made really good strides as a tackle moving him from tight end last year. So, whether or not those guys were playing 15 plays, playing 25 plays in a game or maybe only playing a handful, based on the amount of snaps we get on offense, I think it's going to be really important to keep everybody fresh, not only throughout the game, but throughout the 12-game season."

On wide receiver Malik Knowles staying healthy...
"He made a conscious effort to take care of his body in the offseason, was able to get a little bit heavier and a little bit stronger, and he's playing with a lot of confidence. I appreciate Malik because he's finally taken that ownership of a leadership role on our team. We have an older group of wide receivers, but I just liked the way that Malik has brought in some of the young guys and help those guys along. His leadership has really been on notice for me, as a guy that people look up to, and when he's healthy, he's played at a really high level for us. Right now, he's playing really well, and I'm excited for it. He's working with Skylar (Thompson) before practice after practice just working on that timing. So, we're all excited about watching Malik."

On if Stanford reminds him of anyone in the Big 12...
"They're just a really good football team that's extremely well coached. They know the system. They're mature guys. They're experienced. You're going to have to go out and beat them. They're not going to beat themselves, and that's the sign of a really well-coached team that I know Coach (David) Shaw does a phenomenal job. They're going to make you beat them, they're not going to beat themselves. So, that's why I think it's going to be a four-quarter game. I'm looking forward to watching to see how we respond when we do have adversity and how we respond as the game goes on."

On the plans at kicker...
"Probably Taiten Winkel right now. Taiten had a really good fall camp kicking with a lot of confidence, coming off his foot really well. I'm excited for Taiten. We have an ongoing competition at kicker, an ongoing competition at the punter, an ongoing competition for kickoff. I think that's healthy. Also, those guys all get along really well and are rooting for each other. I love that group because they're really close. I think the competition is helping those guys."

On Wayne Jones and Ryan Henington and the amount of snaps they will play...
"That's to be determined based on what we see. They're both going to be a big factor in the game plan."

On the unknowns of the first game...
"There's always unknowns. The guys that have played a lot of football, you're going to have to respond. We have a number of those guys, but so does Stanford. I think it's the unknown about the guys that have been in your program or have just recently joined your program. There is a great communication and great camaraderie, those types of things. That's the unknown, as well as the fact that you guys know better than I do, but this is the first time in a while we are playing a Power 5 program. And I think there's some added excitement for me on that. As far as, whether it's Nicholls State, Arkansas State, two teams that we know from my first two years here. There's no feeling out the process with this one. It's going to be a good battle right away, and we can't sleepwalk through a first quarter or struggle coming out of the gates in the second half because it's a very, very good opponent. That's something that we're excited to see as coaches. How are these new guys going to react for us, and how well will they play when the chips are down and it's in it's a critical 3rd and 6 and some point of the game, offensively or defensively?"

On the areas K-State needs to improve upon this season...
"Two things, one is explosive plays. We have to prevent them. We have to have some of our own, so whether or not those happen on first down or on third down. We have to be able to limit explosive plays, whether it's a long pass, or whether it's a short pass or it's a run. We have to eliminate the explosive plays on defense. I thought we shot ourselves in the foot too much offensively in the red zone last year, and we have to be able to get touchdowns. When you maybe do struggle on defense, maybe you get off the field on third down or an explosive play happens that we have to bull up in the red zone. We have to make people kick field goals. So, everybody talks about whether it's third down success to first down success to the turnover margin to all those things and penalties. It's still about preventing and eliminating explosive plays, creating explosive plays for us, and then having that success in the red zone."

On the difficulties of practicing creating turnovers in fall camp...
"We have to adapt to the fall camps in the practice plans moving forward. I think we've done a nice job of that. We kind of changed some of the things we did on offense, defense where we were flooding in the hole and running through some of our leverage things on defense relevant stop at our feet and those are things that. Early in the season, you're always worried about it, simply because you're practicing."

On the Stanford quarterbacks...
"I think they're probably more similar, and I think they're going to do what they do. They have big physical targets. They win a lot of 50-50 situations, and they're just guys who go attack a football, and those guys put it in the right area. Those kids are going to come down with it. So, that's something that obviously concerns us. Then, they have a little bit of another quarterback system where they're going to come in and run the quarterback a little bit. So, those are the things that you expect the unexpected in an opener, and how well a team handles the unexpected. You know that adversity that you're facing, whether it's somebody takes it 70 yards and six plays and scores on you, or you go three and out for three series. How do you handle that adversity? How do you handle it when there's a new formation or blitz or something you hadn't seen before. That's where it'll be interesting, all season long. The experienced teams that can overcome that adversity are going to be the ones that are probably the most successful effective throughout the day."

On wide receiver Chabastin Taylor...
"We envision him playing, but we have some depth at wide receiver, so I'm not worried about him having to play 45 snaps a game right now. I don't think he's at that phase, but he is improving."

On Landry Weber's performance in fall camp...
"Oh wow, what a great camp. He's caught everything and got open and has a great rapport with Skylar (Thompson), knows the offense and can play so many different spots. He's back to what I remember about Landry in 2019, and I'm excited for him because he would even tell you he was a shell of himself in 2020."

On depth at the defensive tackle position...
"We have more depth inside in that the d-tackle position. We can rotate all four of those guys from one to three technique. So, I like that. They're all good."

On what Robert Hentz II did well in the offseason...
"Changed his body really well and became more explosive, became quicker. He's a stronger kid. He understands what we're doing defensively. He probably was one of the most impressive guys we had through fall camp. Timmy Horne was another one. (Jaylen) Pickle is getting so much better. Eli (Huggins) is a really good football player. We feel really good about the d-tackle spot to be able to rotate those four with Pickle and Hentz and Horne and Eli. So, I think we're going to be fresh there, and we have a number of big bodies.

On the defense limiting big plays...
"We'll find out. It still comes down to can you tackle in space. Can we tackle in space? Can we run through the perimeter, run through our leverage on the perimeter? Can we keep guys in front of us? The proof is going to be in the pudding come these next three Saturdays. We're going to make some mistakes this Saturday, just like a lot of teams are in their first game. For us, it's got to be that body of work. Are we better for the first three games of the non-conference season before we get the conference play, collectively on defense? Because we're going to be still moving some guys around in these first three games. So, that's what we're looking for."

On the challenges Stanford presents...
"Big and physical, across the board. It doesn't matter if it's the offensive line and tight ends, fullback, woo wide receivers for that matter to defensively. Really athletic physical guys that don't stay blocked and so from a personnel standpoint. It'll be a big challenge for us."

On how to prepare for Stanford's physicality...
"Well, you've prepped for the entire spring and the entire fall, going at it against each other. When Eli Huggins is going against Noah Johnson and (Jaylen) Pickle is going against Josh Rivas, that's how the iron sharpens iron. You have to be able to go good-on-good, which we've done extensively through the spring and extensively through fall camp. Now just in the last week is the first week in backed off of that, but even today, we're going to go ones versus ones for a portion of the practice because we need to continue to sharpen each other for that physicality of the game we'll face on Saturday."

On the importance of the defensive transfers...
"It was something that when we looked at that in January, we really looked at two things and first and foremost was: Do they fit our locker room? Are they going to make our locker room better? And every one of our transfers has made our locker room better. It's pretty obvious and evident when you have Timmy Horne that is elected as a captain and he's a transfer how he has made an impact on that locker room. Then the second thing is: Could they upgrade us and help us in specific areas of where we were at on defense? One was defensive line. We lost a couple of really good older defensive linemen, and in the secondary, which we knew we needed to upgrade and get more bodies in there with people that we lost. So, excited about all those guys, and there's going to be some other ones that probably aren't listed as starters are going to play."

On Russ Yeast at the safety position...
"He's a great communicator. He's a physical free safety. He runs really well, and he's got a ton of game experience. That's one that we were talking about before. He's got a bunch of game experience at a previous institution. Now, he's got to fit in with the guys that we have. You know how well does he mesh with our linebackers, with the other safety, with the other corners? But, I'm excited about Russ because he's just a football player. He's kind of a throwback. I really enjoy Russ."

On who has stepped up since Taylor Poitier's injury...
"Probably Hadley Panzer would be the first one. Then Kaitori (KT Leveson) has swung back and forth to play both guards. Same thing we talked about last week. Carver Willis has to step up because we need Cooper (Beebe), who will play guard as well. Dawson Delforge, who this spring ball is starting to come back, and he's playing more and much better. So, it's going to be a variety of those guys for the next three weeks as we can continue to work that rotation."

On coming off a tough end to last season...
"It's humbling, without question, and Coach (Conor) Riley is an ornery guy to be around. But, guys, I was blessed to win as many games, as many championships (at North Dakota State), and I know that that's not always going to happen. It's only happened a couple places in the country. There's a great challenge here. You better come prepared every week to play. Anybody can beat anybody, as everybody knows, on any given Saturday. I think we are having the capabilities of beating anybody, and I promise you anybody can beat us, because I've seen some practices where I think we can't beat anybody, and there are some practices where I think we can compete with anybody in the country. That's the parody of college football, and I think you look at that last year with North Dakota State. They lost three games. It happens. There's a lot more parity across the landscape of college football."

SENIOR QUARTERBACK SKYLAR THOMPSON
On being ready for game one...
"It's been a long time coming. In a game date on the calendar, it's been circled online for a long time. I'm just eager to go out and go play and be out there with my teammates and be in the fire again. I think I've stated that a couple of times, that's what I missed the most was competing with my guys and having fun doing it. Being able to come back in a big-time game like this versus a power five team in Dallas at AT&T (Stadium) is a special opportunity, and I'm very excited to get back out there again."

On having any rust coming off the injury...
"I'm confident that I put in the work to prevent that. There might be a little bit. I don't know. That'll be something that we'll have to wait and see. But, I believe in my preparation and the time that I put into my game this summer and preparing for this game the past couple of weeks to best limit that from happening."

On how much the K-State defense has improved...
"Yeah, I think that we've added some really good pieces to the puzzle back there and on the defensive line with Timmy Horne and Julius Brents, Russ Yeast, Reggie (Stubblefield). All the guys that we brought in, transfer wise, I think are really good additions to our football team. They're great players, great leaders, great teammates. They're everything that you want in a player on the team. I think, ultimately, having guys like Eli Huggins and Cody Fletcher and J-Mac (Jahron McPherson) coming back, I think that we have a lot of good leadership on that side of the ball, and guys that have played a lot of football. I think Deuce (Daniel) Green has done a tremendous job this offseason. I think he's one of the best players on our defense. He flies around. He makes plays. He plays physical. He's really long and makes it hard in the pass game. He picked me off this last week on a play that I thought was a really good play on his part. I'm excited to see those guys play. I think they fly around. They've been playing well together. I think that's the most important part on both sides of the ball – all 11 guys have to be on the same page in order to be successful. I think they've grown a lot in that aspect."

On if he still has something to prove...
"Early on in my career I would say yes that I've got something to prove and to prove people wrong, prove the doubters, all that stuff. But as I've gotten older, I've just realized that that stuff can lead you down a dark road if you get caught up in trying to prove people wrong and prove this, prove that. I feel like as I've gotten older, I've understood that no matter what, no matter how I perform or whatever the case may be, there's always going to be something that is going to be critiqued or not good, not good enough. For me, I'm very grounded in who I am as a person and as a football player, and I know that me going out there and giving them my very best every single day is always enough no matter the end results. Win or lose, if I do everything I can to put myself and this team in a situation to be successful and to win, then that's all I can do. I feel like if I don't take any shortcuts in my preparation and leading up into the games, I can sleep at night no matter what takes place. Like I said, earlier on in my career if you would ask me that, I feel like I would have given you a very different answer. But, like I said, I'm very, very grounded and humbled in the situation. I am very grateful to be here and have this opportunity to play again. I'm thanking COVID. I never thought I would say that, but truly it did save me a year that I can come back and play the game I love the most. I'm excited to get out there again and have fun."

On if there was a point where his mindset changed...
"Yeah, I would say a really big turning point for me was in 2019 when Coach Klieman got here. Really after that season and even going into last year after the Arkansas State loss, there was just a lot of stuff in the air about me and people spoke their mind, and that's their opinion. I'm my biggest critic, and I'll be the first to say it. No matter what anybody thinks, I'm harder on myself than anybody else. I understand that I'm not going to be perfect, and as much as I strive to be, we all do on this team, and we want to be. We strive for perfection every single day. But, in reality, there's going to be times where you're going to come up short, and things may not shake out the way that you want them to. The biggest thing is how do you respond to that? How do you funnel that energy into positive energy to propel you forward? That's the biggest thing is life goes on. The world keeps turning, and you just have to take those experiences and lessons and learn from them and follow them in a direction to benefit you moving forward. That's what I've tried to do."

On his excitement to play with Deuce Vaughn again...
"Yeah, I'm excited. I think we all know Deuce is a really, really special player. I think that he's just gotten better this offseason and has really perfected his craft and little aspects that just having a year under his belt and some experience has benefited him. In that aspect, we've got to find ways to give him the ball, whatever that may look like. We have to get him touches and get into space and let him be Deuce. The biggest thing for him – and what I'm going to encourage him and I have – is he doesn't have to be a superstar. He just needs to be himself and let the game come to him and make plays when they're presented."

On the transfers fitting into the team...
"I think that the culture here is the most important part. I feel like we've made huge growth in that aspect over the past eight months. Coach Klieman is not going to bring anyone in here that's going to take away from that, and, like I said on multiple occasions, every guy that he's brought in here and all 130 guys in the locker room would say the same thing. Every transfer that we've had come in here has been a great addition to our locker room and to our culture and are great people, first and foremost, above being good players. That's what you want, and I think our coaches do a really great job of doing the research and making phone calls and making sure that all the boxes are checked off before they bring a guy in here."

On this year's team compared to his past seasons...
"Well, I think we have the ability to be a very good football team. What that means or what that looks like I have no idea. But I'll tell you where we're at right now, I feel very confident in who we are as a team. I feel like this is the most – like I said earlier on in fall camp – the most unselfish team that I've been a part of. I feel like we have a lot of playmakers, a lot of good players, but everybody wants to see the guy next to him succeed just as they want to personally. So, I feel like when you have a team that has that mindset, good things are going to happen. What that looks like, I have no idea, but all we can do is just focus on one day at a time and not skipping any steps of the process. That's the biggest part I feel where we've struggled in years past is we look ahead and get caught up in who we're playing in week three, four or five, whatever the case may be. But, I feel like truly our mindset right now is focusing on one day at a time, one game at a time and letting the results take care of themselves. I think Coach Klieman has really put emphasis on having that mindset of, we got to focus on today. My focus is at our 2:40 position meeting and then all my focus is in that walkthrough before practice. It's one step at a time and not getting ahead of ourselves to where we're not taking any shortcuts to the process to where whenever that game time comes, we're just pressing play and having fun. When you have that mindset and you have that approach, no matter the results, no matter the outcome, you can sleep at night knowing that you gave it all you got."

On the importance of this week's game...
"I think it's huge. Anytime you get a chance to kick off the season versus a Power 5 opponent that's a proven program that has had a lot of success and is still a really good program, and I know they do things right. They're really well coached, and they play hard. You see it on film. They're a very, very sound team that plays hard together and plays with a lot of passion. For us to be able to play on a stage like this, to kick the season off in the way that last year went, I think it's a big game for us. It's something us leaders and captains and whatnot are going to have to drive to this team that it's not too big of a moment for us, and it is something that we prepared for for eight months. We worked really hard for this moment and prepared for it. So, you just have to trust in that and believe in our work and let everything else take care of itself."

On Stanford's linebackers and secondary...
"I think they're really good in all aspects. They're long and rangy guys that play hard and play fast. They play physical, especially in their front seven or eight. In the back end in their secondary, they got some guys that played a lot of football, and it's very evident on the film that they play physical and want to get their hands on you and make plays. I think after watching the film from last year, it's hard to assess everything just from how weird a year it was. I feel like they had some personnel changes here and there because of COVID, so they had some guys playing in different spots. So, it'll be interesting to see where they're all at and seeing what that looks like, but I think they are a tremendous football team. It's going to be a great challenge for us and definitely a team that we can't overlook or take lightly. We know that we're going to get their best, and they're going to be prepared, and they're going to play hard. So we have to be prepared for that."

SOPHOMORE OFFENSIVE LINEMAN COOPER BEEBE
On the offensive line during camp...
"I think we've done a real good job of bonding this year. There's definitely been drastic improvement that I've seen, not just even in our starting five, but even in Coach talking about the do's and don'ts in the second string. I think I've seen dramatic, dramatic improvement, and I'm really excited to see what we got this year."

On moving parts and playing different positions...
"I think it gives us a great idea if, say we do have an injury, I can move. Say we have an injured guard and then you need to move guard, we have the depth so that a new tackle can come up and I could play that guard. So, I think it just gives us many different options when it comes to that. In practice, it kind of just depends on how many people we have. So, obviously right now, I've been starting out a tackle, but say we're move somebody to a different position, that Coach can be like, 'Hey, will you go get some reps at right guard,' or something. So, it kind of just depends on the day or who we have our that certain times."

On the best defensive lineman he has gone against in fall camp...
"I would probably say Felix (Anudike). He and I battle. He's the one that I've really battled against this fall. I think he's definitely one of those better defensive ends that I've gone against this fall, and I'm really excited to see how he does this year."

On defensive end Nate Matlack...
"Yeah, obviously, like you said, the length is one of the problems, but I think he's a real smart player. I think he definitely uses that to his advantage. You know he's not just going to run me over, so he uses that ability, his technique and different things, that kind of gives me issues."

On playing alongside Josh Rivas…
"Yeah, just the repetition after repetition. Me and Josh are just starting to build that team chemistry. It gets to the point where I don't even really have to tell Josh or vice versa, he's telling me what to do because we're just on the same page, and just blocking each other doing like different like combo blocks and stuff like that. We have a feel for each other, so it's not even a thing that we really had to worry about now."

On Noah Johnson…
"Noah is definitely a great leader. He's the dude on our offense line that holds us together now if somebody is having a bad day. He's a guy that pulls us along. Say we had a bad team period, he's the dude that's getting after guys that's pulling us along. I think he's the one that keeps the stable."

SOPHOMORE RUNNING BACK DEUCE VAUGHN
On the difference between last season and this one...
"It's a big difference. This year gave us a full offseason with Coach Tru (Trumain Carroll), coming off a COVID year and it was hard to be around coaches. I've gotten faster and stronger. I've gotten bigger and just that confidence that comes with being with Coach (Courtney) Messingham and Coach (Brian) Anderson."

On going against the defense in spring ball...
"Spring ball is very beneficial. Just seeing those live looks and seeing good on good. Almost every single day you're going against guys like Deuce (Daniel) Green, J-Mac (Jahron McPherson), now we have Timmy Horne and Julius Brents and guys like that. So, every single day you're seeing these guys that are really good football players and get to compete against them. It's really good for your mental side of the game. You get to see all these pictures. You learn to play fast football, and that really helps."

On the possibility of handling 25 touches a game...
"I'm ready to go. As many touches as they'll give me. Every single time I touch the ball, I'm ready to go whether it's 25 or 10. I'm ready to go play. As I've played football and have gotten older, I know I'm not a big guy. I've been able to shy off some big hits and be able to contort my body to where I'm not taking huge hits. It's really helped me in my career."

On his workload in high school...
"There were games where I would have 40 touches, maybe 32 carries and six to eight catches. It was above 25, and I think that's helped me to be able to take a big hit. Monday through Friday, you have to go to the cold tub and compress and do whatever you can to make sure your body is feeling great for Saturday."

On opening the season in Texas...
"It's going to be amazing. This is a stadium I've been to a couple of times just for NFL games. When my dad coached for Ole Miss, there was a Cotton Bowl one year, so I got to go to that when I was super young. When I was younger, I thought that this is the stadium I want to play in when I grow up. For that to come to fruition is pretty cool, and I'm super excited to get down there with my teammates."

JUNIOR DEFENSIVE BACK EKOW BOYE-DOE
On most impressive offensive players...
"I think there's a lot of guys. The wide receiver spot, Keenan Garber for sure. Of course Skylar Thompson. He's done great things throughout practices."

On toughest to cover...
"I would say, off the line, Malik Knowles is really good with his hands and not hands getting in DBs hands off often. I will say Keenan (Garber) as well, just because of his speed. That's really what challenges me with receivers."

On Stanford...
"They, of course, have size, big guys. So, it'll be a great challenge for us, but I think that at the corner position, just when we're in those situations, I think we've worked really hard on that. We'll definitely go through those situations. Looking forward to Cowboys Stadium. It'll be a lot of fun, a great, great experience. I'm excited."

SENIOR DEFENSIVE BACK, RUSS YEAST
On thoughts about this season....
"I'm just ready to get out there and have fun, come and fly around at Kansas State. I'm going to be excited to see a new fan base, play with this new team, and I'm really excited for the huge opportunity to take a lead, change my scenery, and go play in a new conference. It's still a very prestigious conference, but I decided to challenge myself in the Big 12 and see what it's all about. It has really been super fun. It's exceeded my expectations, everything about it I've loved. I've loved K-State since the day I stepped on campus. I think defense is going to be really good. Just from the spring to now, we've made huge leaps and bounds. I've seen a lot of changes within the time that I've got here and decided to play for Coach (Joe) Klanderman. I think he's one of the smartest coaches. I'm really excited about this defense. I think we got pieces everywhere that can go make plays."

K-State Holds Weekly Football Press Conference Prior to Season Opener

Players Mentioned

Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Julius Brents

Dawson Delforge

Cody Fletcher

Keenan Garber

Ryan Henington

Robert Hentz II

Timmy Horne

Eli Huggins

Noah Johnson

Malik Knowles

KT Leveston

Logan Long

Nate Matlack

Jahron McPherson

Hadley Panzer

Taylor Poitier

Josh Rivas

Chabastin Taylor

Skylar Thompson

Deuce Vaughn

Landry Weber

Carver Willis

Russ Yeast

Kansas State University Athletics