K-State Coordinators Meet the Media Prior Nevada Contest
Sep 16, 2021 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman met with members of the media on Thursday at the Vanier Family Football Complex prior to the Wildcats hosting Nevada in K-State's 2021 regular-season non-conference finale. Links to video of both press conferences are above, and a complete transcript is below.
COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On quarterback Will Howard's performance against Southern Illinois...
"All things considered, I thought he did a good job. Obviously, there was some adversity, there were some things that were going the wrong way, but I felt like it was big that we went down and scored at the end the last drive. We took it down and scored a touchdown and had a huge conversion on a throw from him to Phillip Brooks. That, to me, put ourselves back in a situation where we were controlling our own destiny, rather than the other way around."
On what Will Howard needs to improve on...
"I just want to see him play with confidence and believe that the guys around him will make the plays. He doesn't need to force the plays, let the plays come to him and believe in the guys around him."
On if the team took a second to regroup after the Skylar Thompson injury…
"Actually, I felt like it was, not beating up on him (Deuce Vaughn), he's as good a player as we have, but I felt the fumble was really what created the bigger issue for us, because Skylar went down, we still scored a touchdown. The next drive we went out and scored a touchdown, and then they hammered down a little bit and scored. And, instead of us matching, it we fumble on the next play. To me that's where all of a sudden there was a 'Uh oh, what's going on? Where are we at?' If we would have kept the mindset of, 'No, no, no, since the injury, we actually have scored two touchdowns,' I think we'd have been in a lot better position than we were."
On the gap between Will Howard and Jaren Lewis…
"Jaren did a nice job this week and has continually been getting better. I don't think there is a huge gap, but I think Will is definitely the guy that is our starter. I don't think we have a quarterback controversy at this point by any means."
On getting more out of the offensive line…
"Well, I want more, I want more. I feel like we've done a nice job from the run-game standpoint. I feel we've got to gel a little bit better from a protection standpoint. We've had too much pressure, too many things from a passing-game standpoint that we've got to be a little bit better at. That's not only the o-line's fault, the tight ends are involved, the fullbacks are involved with that, too, when it comes to play action protection."
On making more rotations on the offensive line…
"Yeah, not there yet. Not there yet. We're going to keep working hard to get that done. Unfortunately, the first game didn't have the number of reps that you would have anticipated, so people didn't really need a blow. The second game probably was tighter longer than we had hoped it would be. So, we haven't gotten as many guys in as we need to, and the season is going to be long. We've got to keep getting more offensive linemen in than just the starting five."
On more touches for Jacardia Wright and Joe Ervin…
"I think it's a little bit the flow of the game, but I'm telling you that the running back position I feel like is very strong. That any of them can carry it. I thought Joe ran tremendously hard between the tackles. He had a couple runs, and then the last in the fourth quarter where you said, 'Wow, he's trying to be violent, he's moving the chains.' That's really, really good to see because he needs to be a guy that can do that for us."
On the importance of the running game this week…
"I think every week we kind of go into it thinking that, for us to set up some stuff we want, the run game has got to be good. This week it's going to be no different, but I think from the quarterback situation, the run game has to be something we can lean on."
On Daniel Imatorbhebhe not getting any targets against SIU…
"Just part of the way the flow of the game unfolded. Definitely had plays in specifically for him, but for one reason or another, or how the thing played out, he didn't get the opportunities. But, he'll always have a set of plays where his down the field. His ability to stretch the field will be used."
On if Will Howard's interceptions since last year were due to him forcing it…
"Unfortunately, I haven't really looked specifically at that. I know last year – I'll just use an example of the West Virginia game – two of the three in that I would have said weren't on him even though he still gets credit for it. I think this past week, he just overthrew the receiver that he threw, and the crazy part is it was the exact same route combination just on the other hash of the ball that he threw to Landry Weber. It was the same play. He drove that ball in there really, really well, and Landry made a nice catch. Same thing coming in the other direction, and it just sailed on him. I think timing wise, he was good. He's just got to throw a better ball."
On the performance of wide receiver Malik Knowles...
"I think, when he's healthy, he's definitely a threat and not only catching the ball, I think he's a threat carrying the ball as well. We'll keep trying to devise ways to get him to football, even if we're not throwing it down the field as much."
On fullbacks Ben Sinnott and Christian Moore getting more snaps…
"Yeah, I would hope Christian will keep getting some and Ben Sinnott will keep getting some. I think both those guys are younger guys, but Christian is more of a traditional fullback, where Ben is a little bit more of a hybrid and can do both. You'll see him running down the field a little bit more than Christian, but I think both will need to play and. We'll keep getting them the opportunity."
On running the ball frequently in the third quarter against SIU…
"I think it was more just to settle down a little bit. To some of your thought process of can we rely a little bit on the run game. I think we kept it for over seven minutes. How do we keep their offense off the field, but also put it in our mindset of we can run the ball against these guys."
On what Jaren Lewis brings to the table…
"Well, he's always had two things. Very confident when he's in the huddle, does a good job of handling that. Then he's got a live arm. He's someone that, when it comes out of his hand, I think most of the time guys say, 'Wow, that's impressive.' Now he's got to get into where the live bullets are going, and he truly reads the defense and sees the rotation, see's some of those things happen. Obviously, when you see the same defense over and over again, at some point you get a little bit accustomed to knowing, 'Hey, this is how they are going to react,' and it's not that way on Saturday obviously."
On Deuce Vaughn physically shouldering the load he did last Saturday…
"Oh yeah. We've got to be smart. He can't have a million carries. I've told some people, I've been fortunate to have some really good backs over the years and not all of them have been 210 pound tailbacks that still have been able to carry the load. You've just got to be smart. He can't go out there for 12-play drive and carry it eight times. It's just not reality for who he is, but if you spread it out over a four quarter game, he should be able to handle the load."
On how close Chabastin Taylor is to 100 percent…
"I don't know if I can put a real number on back to 100%, but I know when you watch him practice, when you see him out there on the game field, he's becoming much more comfortable. He looks more fluid and running with better speed, especially the last week and a half with practice. He's really ran with better speed, and that's great for us."
On who is third quarterback vs Nevada…
"Hopefully we don't get to that. I don't know that we've got that answer. If push came to shove, we would have to look at the last two there on our roster say, 'Okay, how do we manufacturer this thing and don't turn the ball over?'"
On Will Howard's reactions after last Saturday's game…
"I've been proud of Will. Will has been through a lot already. Obviously, he started a bunch of games last year. I think he went to work when it came on Monday, but I think really he saw everything and watched everything on Sunday. But, he came to work on Monday. He's got the same demeanor that he's had the whole time he's been here. He is 100% trying to learn and take everything in and put his best product out there when Saturday comes. I think he'll do that."
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how impressed he was with the defense in the second half against SIU...
"It was good. It was fun to watch. It was exciting to see those guys gain confidence. A little bit of adversity kind of piled up quickly in the second quarter there. We made a couple of mistakes. We had some situations that weren't ideal. To be able to calm that group back down at halftime, and then have them go out and perform the way we that they did was awesome."
On getting linebacker Daniel Green back in the second half against SIU…
"It helped. It helped a lot. He's certainly a calming presence. He's a guy that's just come into his own so much as a leader and as a guy that people look to him and say, 'You know, that guy's going to get after it.' I know that, and I think him stepping into that role of being the guy where he wasn't that a year ago, that's what accounts for most of his progress."
On the breakout of defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah…
"Not a surprise. Yeah, he's a special talent, and he's just getting started. He's just a pup. I think one of the things that we did better in the second half was we put the d-line in better positions to win. I think that showed in the amount of disruption those guys had in the final 30 minutes."
On what he saw from Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the preseason…
"He's just done some things with his body. We knew he was going to be good a year ago, just watching him move around. He's got such twitch, strength, heavy hands. He's an unassuming guy, but he has length and just has kind of a presence about him. A year ago, when he was 230 (pounds), 235 (pounds), he was still kind of a kind of a baby. Now he's 255 (pounds), and he's exploiting a little bit."
On Russ Yeast…
"He is spectacular. He's just a really quiet guy, but he's a guy that comes and works every day. He's a grinder. He's a very smart football player, really sharp, really cares about the program, really cares about his details. His maturity level has helped rub off on a lot of the younger players. He's not going to stand up in front of the room and give a speech, but he's going to go about his business quietly, and that's going to rub off on the other 110 guys on the team."
On linebacker Nick Allen and his start against SIU…
"He was good. He was good. He was solid. We played him a lot. He had a series there where I think he went about 13 snaps in a row, which was a lot of people's fault, not his. But, he was really solid in his relief duties."
On the strengths of Nevada quarterback Carson Strong…
"His arm talent is a strength. The fact that he takes care of the ball is a strength. He doesn't throw interceptions, doesn't force dumb throws, doesn't put his team in bad situations. I think they put a lot on him at the line of scrimmage to get them in the right plays. I think he does a good job of that, sees looks very well, sees coverage well. (There's) not a lot to say negative about the guy to be honest with you."
On the 3-3-5 defense against a skilled passing quarterback…
"To prep for teams to go in, with our old structure, I think he sees that stuff really well. Not that it can't be done against him - there's some teams in that league that have a very similar structure to what we do and have had some success with him - but I think the variety of rotations that we can give them now could potentially present problems."
On the Nevada offense as a whole…
"They're extremely talented across the board when you look at a group that has as many seniors as they do. When you have a tight end that might be one of the best receiving tight ends in the country. When you've got a group of receivers that's probably three or four of those guys anybody in the country would love to have. When you got a quarterback that's going to be a top-five pick, you got linemen that have been three-year starters, All-Mountain West performers. You're looking at a talented group. It's a scary outfit."
On defending against tall receivers…
"Every matchup is different, and everybody has to play to their strengths to a degree. We have a decently physical group of DBs. So, philosophically, I think we like try to get our hands on guys as much as we can and create as much disruption on the line of scrimmage as we can. Then we have some different methodologies that I won't go into too much that I think pertain to a matchup-by-matchup basis."
On if going against Nevada's big receivers make him think about recruiting bigger cornerbacks…
"Yeah, and not just them, but I think the flavor across college football has been that. There's some teams that do it schematically and try to get guys the ball in space. Their route patterns are what makes the receivers and the quarterback go. Then there's other teams that recruit wide receivers that can win one-on-ones. Nevada is a challenge because, conceptually, they're very sound in what they do, and they've got guys that can win one-on-ones. That's what makes the group really special."
On if Nevada's offense reminds him of a Big 12 offense he has gone against…
"Yeah. I hate to compare them to anybody, but there's some Texas Tech in there that you see from years past. There's some Oklahoma State in there that you see from years past. It's a very Big 12ish type outfit."
On if it prepares the defense after seeing those types of offenses in conference play…
"You do see some routes that maybe you've seen and have some ideas of how to defend those. I would say that it doesn't hurt."
On if Carson Strong is similar to any other quarterback he's gone against…
"Well, I did practice against Carson Wentz for about three years there. The Big 12 has a lot of talented quarterbacks. It's just how they use them is maybe a little bit unique to how other teams have."
COURTNEY MESSINGHAM, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On quarterback Will Howard's performance against Southern Illinois...
"All things considered, I thought he did a good job. Obviously, there was some adversity, there were some things that were going the wrong way, but I felt like it was big that we went down and scored at the end the last drive. We took it down and scored a touchdown and had a huge conversion on a throw from him to Phillip Brooks. That, to me, put ourselves back in a situation where we were controlling our own destiny, rather than the other way around."
On what Will Howard needs to improve on...
"I just want to see him play with confidence and believe that the guys around him will make the plays. He doesn't need to force the plays, let the plays come to him and believe in the guys around him."
On if the team took a second to regroup after the Skylar Thompson injury…
"Actually, I felt like it was, not beating up on him (Deuce Vaughn), he's as good a player as we have, but I felt the fumble was really what created the bigger issue for us, because Skylar went down, we still scored a touchdown. The next drive we went out and scored a touchdown, and then they hammered down a little bit and scored. And, instead of us matching, it we fumble on the next play. To me that's where all of a sudden there was a 'Uh oh, what's going on? Where are we at?' If we would have kept the mindset of, 'No, no, no, since the injury, we actually have scored two touchdowns,' I think we'd have been in a lot better position than we were."
On the gap between Will Howard and Jaren Lewis…
"Jaren did a nice job this week and has continually been getting better. I don't think there is a huge gap, but I think Will is definitely the guy that is our starter. I don't think we have a quarterback controversy at this point by any means."
On getting more out of the offensive line…
"Well, I want more, I want more. I feel like we've done a nice job from the run-game standpoint. I feel we've got to gel a little bit better from a protection standpoint. We've had too much pressure, too many things from a passing-game standpoint that we've got to be a little bit better at. That's not only the o-line's fault, the tight ends are involved, the fullbacks are involved with that, too, when it comes to play action protection."
On making more rotations on the offensive line…
"Yeah, not there yet. Not there yet. We're going to keep working hard to get that done. Unfortunately, the first game didn't have the number of reps that you would have anticipated, so people didn't really need a blow. The second game probably was tighter longer than we had hoped it would be. So, we haven't gotten as many guys in as we need to, and the season is going to be long. We've got to keep getting more offensive linemen in than just the starting five."
On more touches for Jacardia Wright and Joe Ervin…
"I think it's a little bit the flow of the game, but I'm telling you that the running back position I feel like is very strong. That any of them can carry it. I thought Joe ran tremendously hard between the tackles. He had a couple runs, and then the last in the fourth quarter where you said, 'Wow, he's trying to be violent, he's moving the chains.' That's really, really good to see because he needs to be a guy that can do that for us."
On the importance of the running game this week…
"I think every week we kind of go into it thinking that, for us to set up some stuff we want, the run game has got to be good. This week it's going to be no different, but I think from the quarterback situation, the run game has to be something we can lean on."
On Daniel Imatorbhebhe not getting any targets against SIU…
"Just part of the way the flow of the game unfolded. Definitely had plays in specifically for him, but for one reason or another, or how the thing played out, he didn't get the opportunities. But, he'll always have a set of plays where his down the field. His ability to stretch the field will be used."
On if Will Howard's interceptions since last year were due to him forcing it…
"Unfortunately, I haven't really looked specifically at that. I know last year – I'll just use an example of the West Virginia game – two of the three in that I would have said weren't on him even though he still gets credit for it. I think this past week, he just overthrew the receiver that he threw, and the crazy part is it was the exact same route combination just on the other hash of the ball that he threw to Landry Weber. It was the same play. He drove that ball in there really, really well, and Landry made a nice catch. Same thing coming in the other direction, and it just sailed on him. I think timing wise, he was good. He's just got to throw a better ball."
On the performance of wide receiver Malik Knowles...
"I think, when he's healthy, he's definitely a threat and not only catching the ball, I think he's a threat carrying the ball as well. We'll keep trying to devise ways to get him to football, even if we're not throwing it down the field as much."
On fullbacks Ben Sinnott and Christian Moore getting more snaps…
"Yeah, I would hope Christian will keep getting some and Ben Sinnott will keep getting some. I think both those guys are younger guys, but Christian is more of a traditional fullback, where Ben is a little bit more of a hybrid and can do both. You'll see him running down the field a little bit more than Christian, but I think both will need to play and. We'll keep getting them the opportunity."
On running the ball frequently in the third quarter against SIU…
"I think it was more just to settle down a little bit. To some of your thought process of can we rely a little bit on the run game. I think we kept it for over seven minutes. How do we keep their offense off the field, but also put it in our mindset of we can run the ball against these guys."
On what Jaren Lewis brings to the table…
"Well, he's always had two things. Very confident when he's in the huddle, does a good job of handling that. Then he's got a live arm. He's someone that, when it comes out of his hand, I think most of the time guys say, 'Wow, that's impressive.' Now he's got to get into where the live bullets are going, and he truly reads the defense and sees the rotation, see's some of those things happen. Obviously, when you see the same defense over and over again, at some point you get a little bit accustomed to knowing, 'Hey, this is how they are going to react,' and it's not that way on Saturday obviously."
On Deuce Vaughn physically shouldering the load he did last Saturday…
"Oh yeah. We've got to be smart. He can't have a million carries. I've told some people, I've been fortunate to have some really good backs over the years and not all of them have been 210 pound tailbacks that still have been able to carry the load. You've just got to be smart. He can't go out there for 12-play drive and carry it eight times. It's just not reality for who he is, but if you spread it out over a four quarter game, he should be able to handle the load."
On how close Chabastin Taylor is to 100 percent…
"I don't know if I can put a real number on back to 100%, but I know when you watch him practice, when you see him out there on the game field, he's becoming much more comfortable. He looks more fluid and running with better speed, especially the last week and a half with practice. He's really ran with better speed, and that's great for us."
On who is third quarterback vs Nevada…
"Hopefully we don't get to that. I don't know that we've got that answer. If push came to shove, we would have to look at the last two there on our roster say, 'Okay, how do we manufacturer this thing and don't turn the ball over?'"
On Will Howard's reactions after last Saturday's game…
"I've been proud of Will. Will has been through a lot already. Obviously, he started a bunch of games last year. I think he went to work when it came on Monday, but I think really he saw everything and watched everything on Sunday. But, he came to work on Monday. He's got the same demeanor that he's had the whole time he's been here. He is 100% trying to learn and take everything in and put his best product out there when Saturday comes. I think he'll do that."
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how impressed he was with the defense in the second half against SIU...
"It was good. It was fun to watch. It was exciting to see those guys gain confidence. A little bit of adversity kind of piled up quickly in the second quarter there. We made a couple of mistakes. We had some situations that weren't ideal. To be able to calm that group back down at halftime, and then have them go out and perform the way we that they did was awesome."
On getting linebacker Daniel Green back in the second half against SIU…
"It helped. It helped a lot. He's certainly a calming presence. He's a guy that's just come into his own so much as a leader and as a guy that people look to him and say, 'You know, that guy's going to get after it.' I know that, and I think him stepping into that role of being the guy where he wasn't that a year ago, that's what accounts for most of his progress."
On the breakout of defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah…
"Not a surprise. Yeah, he's a special talent, and he's just getting started. He's just a pup. I think one of the things that we did better in the second half was we put the d-line in better positions to win. I think that showed in the amount of disruption those guys had in the final 30 minutes."
On what he saw from Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the preseason…
"He's just done some things with his body. We knew he was going to be good a year ago, just watching him move around. He's got such twitch, strength, heavy hands. He's an unassuming guy, but he has length and just has kind of a presence about him. A year ago, when he was 230 (pounds), 235 (pounds), he was still kind of a kind of a baby. Now he's 255 (pounds), and he's exploiting a little bit."
On Russ Yeast…
"He is spectacular. He's just a really quiet guy, but he's a guy that comes and works every day. He's a grinder. He's a very smart football player, really sharp, really cares about the program, really cares about his details. His maturity level has helped rub off on a lot of the younger players. He's not going to stand up in front of the room and give a speech, but he's going to go about his business quietly, and that's going to rub off on the other 110 guys on the team."
On linebacker Nick Allen and his start against SIU…
"He was good. He was good. He was solid. We played him a lot. He had a series there where I think he went about 13 snaps in a row, which was a lot of people's fault, not his. But, he was really solid in his relief duties."
On the strengths of Nevada quarterback Carson Strong…
"His arm talent is a strength. The fact that he takes care of the ball is a strength. He doesn't throw interceptions, doesn't force dumb throws, doesn't put his team in bad situations. I think they put a lot on him at the line of scrimmage to get them in the right plays. I think he does a good job of that, sees looks very well, sees coverage well. (There's) not a lot to say negative about the guy to be honest with you."
On the 3-3-5 defense against a skilled passing quarterback…
"To prep for teams to go in, with our old structure, I think he sees that stuff really well. Not that it can't be done against him - there's some teams in that league that have a very similar structure to what we do and have had some success with him - but I think the variety of rotations that we can give them now could potentially present problems."
On the Nevada offense as a whole…
"They're extremely talented across the board when you look at a group that has as many seniors as they do. When you have a tight end that might be one of the best receiving tight ends in the country. When you've got a group of receivers that's probably three or four of those guys anybody in the country would love to have. When you got a quarterback that's going to be a top-five pick, you got linemen that have been three-year starters, All-Mountain West performers. You're looking at a talented group. It's a scary outfit."
On defending against tall receivers…
"Every matchup is different, and everybody has to play to their strengths to a degree. We have a decently physical group of DBs. So, philosophically, I think we like try to get our hands on guys as much as we can and create as much disruption on the line of scrimmage as we can. Then we have some different methodologies that I won't go into too much that I think pertain to a matchup-by-matchup basis."
On if going against Nevada's big receivers make him think about recruiting bigger cornerbacks…
"Yeah, and not just them, but I think the flavor across college football has been that. There's some teams that do it schematically and try to get guys the ball in space. Their route patterns are what makes the receivers and the quarterback go. Then there's other teams that recruit wide receivers that can win one-on-ones. Nevada is a challenge because, conceptually, they're very sound in what they do, and they've got guys that can win one-on-ones. That's what makes the group really special."
On if Nevada's offense reminds him of a Big 12 offense he has gone against…
"Yeah. I hate to compare them to anybody, but there's some Texas Tech in there that you see from years past. There's some Oklahoma State in there that you see from years past. It's a very Big 12ish type outfit."
On if it prepares the defense after seeing those types of offenses in conference play…
"You do see some routes that maybe you've seen and have some ideas of how to defend those. I would say that it doesn't hurt."
On if Carson Strong is similar to any other quarterback he's gone against…
"Well, I did practice against Carson Wentz for about three years there. The Big 12 has a lot of talented quarterbacks. It's just how they use them is maybe a little bit unique to how other teams have."
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