Kansas State University Athletics
The Jack of All Trades for K-State’s Defense
Nov 09, 2023 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Nearly one year has passed since Kobe Savage heard the pop in his right knee in a game against the Baylor Bears.
Time doesn't heal all wounds.
"I remember some of the people on their sideline laughing," Kansas State's star safety said earlier this week. "They probably didn't know I was hurt, but it still makes me mad that they were laughing I was on the ground."
"Even though we beat Baylor last year, I want to beat them even worse this year, just remembering that feeling walking off when I tore my ACL."
During a routine running play in the Wildcats' 31-3 win at Baylor last November 12, Savage planted his right leg before a 331-pound offensive lineman landed on him, causing the 5-foot-11, 207-pound Savage to fall into a heap.
The knee injury required a total anterior-cruciate ligament and meniscus reconstruction followed by a rehabilitation process that lasted around seven months.
"The savagery with how Kobe came back from his injury, I haven't seen anybody do that," said K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who also coaches the safety position. "Just the work and determination that he had, it was almost like he refused to acknowledge that he had an injury in the summer time.
"You wouldn't know it right now the way he's moving around. I don't know if I've ever seen somebody attack it the way he attacked it. Any bit of success or any accolade that he gets, boy, he deserves it more than anybody."
Despite the injury, Savage still earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors last season while collecting 45 tackles and three interceptions for the eventual Big 12 Champions.
Savage currently ranks second on the team with 49 tackles – one behind Austin Moore – and has two picks – one behind Jacob Parrish – as the Wildcats, 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12, prepare to meet Baylor, 3-6 and 2-4, in Saturday's 2 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State is 5-0 at home, outscoring opponents 213-47, and hasn't allowed a touchdown at home since the UCF game on September 23.
"We take a lot of pride in that," Savage said. "It's just that Mob mentality."
During the spring, Klanderman introduced Savage, a strong safety, to the "jack" safety position. Although Savage began this season back at strong safety, Klanderman, after a 30-27 loss at Missouri, asked Savage to switch to the jack safety position.
Exactly what is the jack safety position?
"A jack is like if a 4-2-5 defense had a middle linebacker, that's what a 3-3-5 defense is for the jack," Savage said. "It's just an extra middle linebacker that can play anywhere from the boundary to the field, who can come down in the box, who can blitz, and who can play man defense. They call it a 'jack' because it's a 'jack of all trades.' You can do whatever."
During his first three games of the season at strong safety, Savage averaging 5.3 tackles per game. Since then, he has averaged 6.6 tackles per game over the past six contests while playing at the jack position. He also has recorded two interceptions.
"I know he has high, high expectations of himself," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "I finally see him being comfortable, not with the position move, but with his body. We still have a lot of football left. Kobe has played really well the last handful of weeks, and I still see his best football this year in front of him."
Savage, a native of Paris, Texas, arrived at K-State after playing two seasons at Tyler Junior College. Although he was the 38th-rated community-college prospect and fifth-best community-college safety in the Class of 2022 by ESPN, the only colleges in the state of Texas that recruited him were North Texas and UTEP.
K-State is now at the end of playing five-straight Big 12 opponents from the state of Texas: Texas Tech, TCU, Houston, Texas and Baylor. It has served as proving ground of sorts for Savage, who embraces the underdog mentality.
"I reached out to a lot of those teams when I was in junior college to maybe get a look here and there, and none of them responded to me, which is good," he said. "It's just a little bit more of a chip on my shoulder, but it's conference play, so I'm fired up regardless. I'm just ready to be 1-0 every week."
Teammates notice that Savage, a team captain, carries a Texas-sized chip on his shoulder daily.
"You can just tell the way he goes about his business," quarterback Will Howard said. "Every Friday night when he talks in the captains meeting, you can tell the fire that he has and just the underdog mentality that he has coming from juco, and kind of being underrecruited and under the radar.
"He's got that dog in him. He's really got that chip on his shoulder and he plays with it. You can tell."
Klieman appreciates Savage's approach.
"He's guy that's lived that underdog mentality," Klieman said. "He's a guy that never wants anybody to feel sorry for themselves or to feel like they've arrived.
"He plays every day like this is his last day of football."
There was a time, nearly one year ago, that Savage wondered if he had played his last snap.
Now one of the Wildcats' top playmakers is playing some of the best football of his career.
He hopes to get the last laugh against the Bears on Saturday.
Nearly one year has passed since Kobe Savage heard the pop in his right knee in a game against the Baylor Bears.
Time doesn't heal all wounds.
"I remember some of the people on their sideline laughing," Kansas State's star safety said earlier this week. "They probably didn't know I was hurt, but it still makes me mad that they were laughing I was on the ground."
"Even though we beat Baylor last year, I want to beat them even worse this year, just remembering that feeling walking off when I tore my ACL."
During a routine running play in the Wildcats' 31-3 win at Baylor last November 12, Savage planted his right leg before a 331-pound offensive lineman landed on him, causing the 5-foot-11, 207-pound Savage to fall into a heap.
The knee injury required a total anterior-cruciate ligament and meniscus reconstruction followed by a rehabilitation process that lasted around seven months.
"The savagery with how Kobe came back from his injury, I haven't seen anybody do that," said K-State defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who also coaches the safety position. "Just the work and determination that he had, it was almost like he refused to acknowledge that he had an injury in the summer time.
"You wouldn't know it right now the way he's moving around. I don't know if I've ever seen somebody attack it the way he attacked it. Any bit of success or any accolade that he gets, boy, he deserves it more than anybody."
Despite the injury, Savage still earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors last season while collecting 45 tackles and three interceptions for the eventual Big 12 Champions.
Savage currently ranks second on the team with 49 tackles – one behind Austin Moore – and has two picks – one behind Jacob Parrish – as the Wildcats, 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12, prepare to meet Baylor, 3-6 and 2-4, in Saturday's 2 p.m. kickoff at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
K-State is 5-0 at home, outscoring opponents 213-47, and hasn't allowed a touchdown at home since the UCF game on September 23.
"We take a lot of pride in that," Savage said. "It's just that Mob mentality."
During the spring, Klanderman introduced Savage, a strong safety, to the "jack" safety position. Although Savage began this season back at strong safety, Klanderman, after a 30-27 loss at Missouri, asked Savage to switch to the jack safety position.
Exactly what is the jack safety position?
"A jack is like if a 4-2-5 defense had a middle linebacker, that's what a 3-3-5 defense is for the jack," Savage said. "It's just an extra middle linebacker that can play anywhere from the boundary to the field, who can come down in the box, who can blitz, and who can play man defense. They call it a 'jack' because it's a 'jack of all trades.' You can do whatever."
During his first three games of the season at strong safety, Savage averaging 5.3 tackles per game. Since then, he has averaged 6.6 tackles per game over the past six contests while playing at the jack position. He also has recorded two interceptions.
"I know he has high, high expectations of himself," K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. "I finally see him being comfortable, not with the position move, but with his body. We still have a lot of football left. Kobe has played really well the last handful of weeks, and I still see his best football this year in front of him."
Savage, a native of Paris, Texas, arrived at K-State after playing two seasons at Tyler Junior College. Although he was the 38th-rated community-college prospect and fifth-best community-college safety in the Class of 2022 by ESPN, the only colleges in the state of Texas that recruited him were North Texas and UTEP.
K-State is now at the end of playing five-straight Big 12 opponents from the state of Texas: Texas Tech, TCU, Houston, Texas and Baylor. It has served as proving ground of sorts for Savage, who embraces the underdog mentality.
"I reached out to a lot of those teams when I was in junior college to maybe get a look here and there, and none of them responded to me, which is good," he said. "It's just a little bit more of a chip on my shoulder, but it's conference play, so I'm fired up regardless. I'm just ready to be 1-0 every week."
Teammates notice that Savage, a team captain, carries a Texas-sized chip on his shoulder daily.
"You can just tell the way he goes about his business," quarterback Will Howard said. "Every Friday night when he talks in the captains meeting, you can tell the fire that he has and just the underdog mentality that he has coming from juco, and kind of being underrecruited and under the radar.
"He's got that dog in him. He's really got that chip on his shoulder and he plays with it. You can tell."
Klieman appreciates Savage's approach.
"He's guy that's lived that underdog mentality," Klieman said. "He's a guy that never wants anybody to feel sorry for themselves or to feel like they've arrived.
"He plays every day like this is his last day of football."
There was a time, nearly one year ago, that Savage wondered if he had played his last snap.
Now one of the Wildcats' top playmakers is playing some of the best football of his career.
He hopes to get the last laugh against the Bears on Saturday.
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