Kansas State University Athletics
‘He Wants to Be Great’
Nov 25, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
The first thing we hear out of the mouth of Tre Spivey is "This is cool." Spivey is led into the postgame news conference room at the Vanier Family Football Complex. He is grinning wide. He is guided to the center podium, where Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman spent a few moments singing Spivey's praises to reporters after the 6-foot-4, 217-pound redshirt freshman wide receiver put forth the greatest performance of his young career: Five catches for 63 yards and one touchdown.
And now Spivey is here, in the middle, surrounded by reporters, and he has so much to say, because he loves K-State, he loves the outgoing senior class, he knows there's still plenty to play for in 2024, and he's already pumped for next fall.
He makes an admission.
"Honestly, I didn't play my best game," he says. "I played well, but there's so much more to grow from and so much I need to keep doing. I'm just thankful (the coaches) trust me to go out there and help the team."
But the one thing that he says, the one thing that lifts the ears, is Spivey's strong relationship with sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson, whom Spivey met at an Elite 11 camp and played with in the 2022 U.S. Army Bowl. Johnson was stoked about joining the Wildcats and in a way his contagious passion for the Wildcats rubbed off on Spivey, a native of Chandler, Arizona, who was rated as the third-best wide receiver in the state of Arizona by 247Sports, and who had scholarship offers from Arizona State, BYU, Kansas, Washington, Washington State and Wisconsin.
Now, they're here, together in this postgame news conference setting — Johnson a regular, Spivey a newbie — and Spivey couldn't imagine his college football life being any other way following a 41-15 win over Cincinnati in front of a 20th-consecutive sellout crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"Avery is my dog, that's my guy, for real," Spivey says. "He was definitely an influence on me when I decided to come here. That's my guy. I always have love for him, and he always has love for me.
"I know he trusts me that if he throws the ball my way, I'm going to come down with it. Having that level of trust is huge and over the years we're going to continue to grow that."
Spivey has 14 catches for 160 yards and one touchdown while playing in all 11 games this season. A year ago, he played against SEMO and Baylor as he retained his redshirt. He hauled in a 24-yard reception in the season opener against SEMO. You had a feeling he would be good. He bided his time. This year, he has catches against UT Martin, at Tulane, against Arizona and Arizona State, where he had four catches for 56 yards last Saturday.
We can't be sure, but it's possible that K-State hasn't had a 6-foot-4 wide receiver that possesses Spivey's brand of playmaking and brut physicality. The great James Terry was 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds and speedy but wasn't the most physical pass catcher out there. The great Darnell McDonald was 6-foot-3 and did amazing things on the field. Quincy Morgan was 6-foot-1 and played bigger than his listed height. But Spivey, a 19-year-old, could quickly ascend into a class of his own. He's a 6-foot-4 man child. He has no earthly idea how good he can be. And he is downright scary.
"He's so physical and he attacks the football, and he runs through arm tackles and he's a violent kid when he catches it," Klieman says. "He has an attitude to him that's a lot of fun to watch. What you guys see out there is the same way that kid practices, and that's what special about that kid is he practices so hard because he wants to be great."
Johnson sees greatness inside of Spivey as well.
"It's a credit to him and his work," Johnson says. "He's always had the talent since he's been here. He's always done a good job of getting into the playbook and earning his opportunity to get onto the field. He's made the most of it, and he's made some big plays for us these past two weeks.
"He'll be one to continue to watch as we continue to grow."
An example of the Johnson-Spivey chemistry unfolded before our eyes late in the second quarter against the Bearcats. Facing second-and-goal at the 6, Johnson flushed out of the pocked rolled to his right, paused, then fired a pass that stuck to Spivey as he spun and shed cornerback Ormanie Arnold and skated left-to-right on a scramble drill in the back of the end zone.
"I threw a dude off me, ran past the back of the end zone, just a scramble drill, and broke him off," Spivey says. "The rest is history. It was easy."
He's close to becoming a home run hitter. He can still put on a little bit of weight. He looks to have the talent to become a full-field threat. He's an unpolished gem. And he's already good. Once everything clicks, defenses could struggle to find solutions for him.
"Where can I grow the most? Just continuing to know assignments and being physical," Spivey says. "That's one thing I've been really adamant about coming to college. I'm a big-framed dude, and in high school, I worked to get open and didn't release my physicality. I've been trying to show that in my blocking, contested catches, stuff like that. I want to show off my physicality and skills."
He did exactly that in the final home game of the 2024 season. Now he joins the Wildcats on a mission as they prepare to travel to face Iowa State on Saturday in cold Ames, Iowa. Spivey remembers the unfortunate outcome of the "Snow Bowl" when the teams met in the final game of the regular season last year.
"We attack every game the same way we attack everything else, but in the back of everybody's minds, it's, 'Let's get to work,'" Spivey says. "We want to finish the season on a high note, get ready for a bowl game, and then get into next season."
"I'm competitive," he adds. "I like to win. I'm always trying to make it to the top."
For now, he is in the middle, standing at the center podium, surrounded by reporters, recounting his impressive efforts in a game against Cincinnati, and his relationship with Johnson. Spivey says, "This is cool," and he grins, and it is because it is all new. And there will be more firsts for Spivey along his promising path in college football, and he might return to the same podium next year with a new perspective while carrying the same joy that he feels at this moment, recounting a big performance, and looking toward another win and another one.
"I'm thankful," Spivey says, finally. "I'm thankful for this opportunity to come out and play."
He's playing so well right now.
And he's just getting started.
The first thing we hear out of the mouth of Tre Spivey is "This is cool." Spivey is led into the postgame news conference room at the Vanier Family Football Complex. He is grinning wide. He is guided to the center podium, where Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman spent a few moments singing Spivey's praises to reporters after the 6-foot-4, 217-pound redshirt freshman wide receiver put forth the greatest performance of his young career: Five catches for 63 yards and one touchdown.
And now Spivey is here, in the middle, surrounded by reporters, and he has so much to say, because he loves K-State, he loves the outgoing senior class, he knows there's still plenty to play for in 2024, and he's already pumped for next fall.
He makes an admission.
"Honestly, I didn't play my best game," he says. "I played well, but there's so much more to grow from and so much I need to keep doing. I'm just thankful (the coaches) trust me to go out there and help the team."
But the one thing that he says, the one thing that lifts the ears, is Spivey's strong relationship with sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson, whom Spivey met at an Elite 11 camp and played with in the 2022 U.S. Army Bowl. Johnson was stoked about joining the Wildcats and in a way his contagious passion for the Wildcats rubbed off on Spivey, a native of Chandler, Arizona, who was rated as the third-best wide receiver in the state of Arizona by 247Sports, and who had scholarship offers from Arizona State, BYU, Kansas, Washington, Washington State and Wisconsin.
Now, they're here, together in this postgame news conference setting — Johnson a regular, Spivey a newbie — and Spivey couldn't imagine his college football life being any other way following a 41-15 win over Cincinnati in front of a 20th-consecutive sellout crowd at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
"Avery is my dog, that's my guy, for real," Spivey says. "He was definitely an influence on me when I decided to come here. That's my guy. I always have love for him, and he always has love for me.
"I know he trusts me that if he throws the ball my way, I'm going to come down with it. Having that level of trust is huge and over the years we're going to continue to grow that."
Spivey has 14 catches for 160 yards and one touchdown while playing in all 11 games this season. A year ago, he played against SEMO and Baylor as he retained his redshirt. He hauled in a 24-yard reception in the season opener against SEMO. You had a feeling he would be good. He bided his time. This year, he has catches against UT Martin, at Tulane, against Arizona and Arizona State, where he had four catches for 56 yards last Saturday.
We can't be sure, but it's possible that K-State hasn't had a 6-foot-4 wide receiver that possesses Spivey's brand of playmaking and brut physicality. The great James Terry was 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds and speedy but wasn't the most physical pass catcher out there. The great Darnell McDonald was 6-foot-3 and did amazing things on the field. Quincy Morgan was 6-foot-1 and played bigger than his listed height. But Spivey, a 19-year-old, could quickly ascend into a class of his own. He's a 6-foot-4 man child. He has no earthly idea how good he can be. And he is downright scary.
"He's so physical and he attacks the football, and he runs through arm tackles and he's a violent kid when he catches it," Klieman says. "He has an attitude to him that's a lot of fun to watch. What you guys see out there is the same way that kid practices, and that's what special about that kid is he practices so hard because he wants to be great."
Johnson sees greatness inside of Spivey as well.
"It's a credit to him and his work," Johnson says. "He's always had the talent since he's been here. He's always done a good job of getting into the playbook and earning his opportunity to get onto the field. He's made the most of it, and he's made some big plays for us these past two weeks.
"He'll be one to continue to watch as we continue to grow."
An example of the Johnson-Spivey chemistry unfolded before our eyes late in the second quarter against the Bearcats. Facing second-and-goal at the 6, Johnson flushed out of the pocked rolled to his right, paused, then fired a pass that stuck to Spivey as he spun and shed cornerback Ormanie Arnold and skated left-to-right on a scramble drill in the back of the end zone.
"I threw a dude off me, ran past the back of the end zone, just a scramble drill, and broke him off," Spivey says. "The rest is history. It was easy."
He's close to becoming a home run hitter. He can still put on a little bit of weight. He looks to have the talent to become a full-field threat. He's an unpolished gem. And he's already good. Once everything clicks, defenses could struggle to find solutions for him.
"Where can I grow the most? Just continuing to know assignments and being physical," Spivey says. "That's one thing I've been really adamant about coming to college. I'm a big-framed dude, and in high school, I worked to get open and didn't release my physicality. I've been trying to show that in my blocking, contested catches, stuff like that. I want to show off my physicality and skills."
He did exactly that in the final home game of the 2024 season. Now he joins the Wildcats on a mission as they prepare to travel to face Iowa State on Saturday in cold Ames, Iowa. Spivey remembers the unfortunate outcome of the "Snow Bowl" when the teams met in the final game of the regular season last year.
"We attack every game the same way we attack everything else, but in the back of everybody's minds, it's, 'Let's get to work,'" Spivey says. "We want to finish the season on a high note, get ready for a bowl game, and then get into next season."
"I'm competitive," he adds. "I like to win. I'm always trying to make it to the top."
For now, he is in the middle, standing at the center podium, surrounded by reporters, recounting his impressive efforts in a game against Cincinnati, and his relationship with Johnson. Spivey says, "This is cool," and he grins, and it is because it is all new. And there will be more firsts for Spivey along his promising path in college football, and he might return to the same podium next year with a new perspective while carrying the same joy that he feels at this moment, recounting a big performance, and looking toward another win and another one.
"I'm thankful," Spivey says, finally. "I'm thankful for this opportunity to come out and play."
He's playing so well right now.
And he's just getting started.
Players Mentioned
QB
/ Football
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