K-State Defense Striving for Greatness
Sep 15, 2022 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State's Preseason All-Big 12 Conference senior linebacker Daniel "Deuce" Green cannot remember having this much fun on defense.
"Every Saturday, the mindset is to compete with a chip on the shoulder that every week we have something to prove," Green said. "It's really fun playing on this defense. We have a lot of guys who just love the game and love the process. When you have guys like that around you, you love being out there. It's really fun.
"I feel like with these guys, we can be as great as we want to."
The Wildcats' defense is off to an ideal start to the 2022 season. Victories over South Dakota (34-0) and Missouri (40-12) have featured outstanding defensive efforts.
K-State gets Tulane at home in a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The contest is nearing a third-straight sellout.
"Our guys are flying to the football and that's the kind of tenacity and physicality and excitement and energy we want to have," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "That's so critical to our success."
K-State rank fifth in scoring defense (6.0), 15th in total defense (246.0), 13th in passing defense (133.5), and it's tied for fifth in interceptions (five) and tied for sixth in tackles for a loss (20).
The Wildcats are also tied for fifth in allowing just three scrimmage plays of 20-plus yards and are tied for sixth in giving up just two passes of 20-plus yards.
"We're playing faster than a lot of teams," said safety Kobe Savage, who collected his first-career interception against Missouri. "We're over communicating and keeping everybody on the same page from the defensive line to the secondary and we're alert. The overcommunication and just the heart and passion we have is making us better than a lot of teams."
The Wildcats victimized the Tigers by recording an interception on four consecutive possessions, the first time a K-State defense had achieved such a feat since 2010. K-State's five interceptions are its most two games into a season since 2000.
"This defense is scary," said safety Josh Hayes, a sixth-year transfer who made his first start against the Tigers. "A lot of guys are just flying around and know exactly what they're doing. We're a really good defense."
K-State has allowed just 19.0 points per game since last season and after the switch to a 3-3-5 defensive alignment under defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who came with Klieman from North Dakota State in 2019. Although the defense was learning the 3-3-5 philosophy on the fly a year ago after switching defensive looks, this defense with seven returning starters, including defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the Preseason All-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, appears more comfortable.
And the defense continues to evolve, although Klieman asserts that some changes aren't necessarily visible to the naked eye.
"We're doing some different things," he said. "Maybe somebody who doesn't see us all the time thinks it's a lot of the same as what we did last year, but we're doing a lot of different things than what we've done, and I'm excited to see us continue to grow and evolve."
K-State has held opponents to negative yardage or one yard on 25 plays while allowing 15 plays of 10-plus yards, and just three plays of 20-plus yards.
Missouri completed a 39-yard pass, which is the longest play the Wildcats have allowed from scrimmage this season.
"There's still some plays we're leaving out there that can be made," nose guard Eli Huggins said. "We didn't eliminate all the explosive plays. There were a few plays that got out on us. If you can eliminate those explosive plays, you're going to have success."
K-State gave up 270 yards to South Dakota and 222 yards to Missouri. The Wildcats rank seventh nationally in allowing just 3.66 yards per play.
"Man, it's a big-time luxury," Preseason All-American running back Deuce Vaughn said. "Every time we sat down Saturday, you looked up and they were creating a turnover. That's just a testament to the work they put in. We see them gel together and they're still gelling. They're flying around and playing fast and confident. For them to play like that for two Saturdays in a row is exciting."
Tulane is 2-0 for the first time since 2002 after home wins against UMass (42-10) and Alcorn State (52-0). Quarterback Michael Pratt tossed three touchdowns last Saturday, giving him 46 touchdown passes in his career. He has thrown a touchdown in 22 of his 23 career games with the Green Wave.
Although the Green Wave hasn't defeated a Power 5 school since a 17-14 win at Rutgers in 2010, they put a scare into No. 2 Oklahoma last season before suffering a 40-35 loss in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Wildcats figure to be tested on Saturday.
"There's a lot of run-pass-option stuff and they have a quarterback who really can sling it around and he's a good athlete who can run," Klieman said. "They have a number of receivers and tight ends that can beat you with their speed and athleticism. The RPO game is something we have to be really alert to.
"The one thing that's challenging is we have two games to go off this year that aren't competitive games, so we have to dig a little bit deeper to find some other games. I don't think they probably showed a whole lot those first two games."
Meanwhile, the K-State defense continues to seethe with momentum.
"We have a great challenge ahead of us," Green said. "I'm really excited for another challenge."
Kansas State's Preseason All-Big 12 Conference senior linebacker Daniel "Deuce" Green cannot remember having this much fun on defense.
"Every Saturday, the mindset is to compete with a chip on the shoulder that every week we have something to prove," Green said. "It's really fun playing on this defense. We have a lot of guys who just love the game and love the process. When you have guys like that around you, you love being out there. It's really fun.
"I feel like with these guys, we can be as great as we want to."
The Wildcats' defense is off to an ideal start to the 2022 season. Victories over South Dakota (34-0) and Missouri (40-12) have featured outstanding defensive efforts.
K-State gets Tulane at home in a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The contest is nearing a third-straight sellout.
"Our guys are flying to the football and that's the kind of tenacity and physicality and excitement and energy we want to have," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "That's so critical to our success."
K-State rank fifth in scoring defense (6.0), 15th in total defense (246.0), 13th in passing defense (133.5), and it's tied for fifth in interceptions (five) and tied for sixth in tackles for a loss (20).
The Wildcats are also tied for fifth in allowing just three scrimmage plays of 20-plus yards and are tied for sixth in giving up just two passes of 20-plus yards.
"We're playing faster than a lot of teams," said safety Kobe Savage, who collected his first-career interception against Missouri. "We're over communicating and keeping everybody on the same page from the defensive line to the secondary and we're alert. The overcommunication and just the heart and passion we have is making us better than a lot of teams."
The Wildcats victimized the Tigers by recording an interception on four consecutive possessions, the first time a K-State defense had achieved such a feat since 2010. K-State's five interceptions are its most two games into a season since 2000.
"This defense is scary," said safety Josh Hayes, a sixth-year transfer who made his first start against the Tigers. "A lot of guys are just flying around and know exactly what they're doing. We're a really good defense."
K-State has allowed just 19.0 points per game since last season and after the switch to a 3-3-5 defensive alignment under defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who came with Klieman from North Dakota State in 2019. Although the defense was learning the 3-3-5 philosophy on the fly a year ago after switching defensive looks, this defense with seven returning starters, including defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah, the Preseason All-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, appears more comfortable.
And the defense continues to evolve, although Klieman asserts that some changes aren't necessarily visible to the naked eye.
"We're doing some different things," he said. "Maybe somebody who doesn't see us all the time thinks it's a lot of the same as what we did last year, but we're doing a lot of different things than what we've done, and I'm excited to see us continue to grow and evolve."
K-State has held opponents to negative yardage or one yard on 25 plays while allowing 15 plays of 10-plus yards, and just three plays of 20-plus yards.
Missouri completed a 39-yard pass, which is the longest play the Wildcats have allowed from scrimmage this season.
"There's still some plays we're leaving out there that can be made," nose guard Eli Huggins said. "We didn't eliminate all the explosive plays. There were a few plays that got out on us. If you can eliminate those explosive plays, you're going to have success."
K-State gave up 270 yards to South Dakota and 222 yards to Missouri. The Wildcats rank seventh nationally in allowing just 3.66 yards per play.
"Man, it's a big-time luxury," Preseason All-American running back Deuce Vaughn said. "Every time we sat down Saturday, you looked up and they were creating a turnover. That's just a testament to the work they put in. We see them gel together and they're still gelling. They're flying around and playing fast and confident. For them to play like that for two Saturdays in a row is exciting."
Tulane is 2-0 for the first time since 2002 after home wins against UMass (42-10) and Alcorn State (52-0). Quarterback Michael Pratt tossed three touchdowns last Saturday, giving him 46 touchdown passes in his career. He has thrown a touchdown in 22 of his 23 career games with the Green Wave.
Although the Green Wave hasn't defeated a Power 5 school since a 17-14 win at Rutgers in 2010, they put a scare into No. 2 Oklahoma last season before suffering a 40-35 loss in Norman, Oklahoma.
The Wildcats figure to be tested on Saturday.
"There's a lot of run-pass-option stuff and they have a quarterback who really can sling it around and he's a good athlete who can run," Klieman said. "They have a number of receivers and tight ends that can beat you with their speed and athleticism. The RPO game is something we have to be really alert to.
"The one thing that's challenging is we have two games to go off this year that aren't competitive games, so we have to dig a little bit deeper to find some other games. I don't think they probably showed a whole lot those first two games."
Meanwhile, the K-State defense continues to seethe with momentum.
"We have a great challenge ahead of us," Green said. "I'm really excited for another challenge."
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