Taking Over the Cornerback Room
Aug 13, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Here we are, thick in training camp, and workers are putting purple seat back chairs back inside of Bill Snyder Family Stadium — another in a line of small milestones that let Kansas State fans know time is ticking toward that August 31 kickoff against UT Martin, when the Wildcats jog onto the field, and the marching band plays, and the air across the Flint Hills is feels like college football again.
Today, K-State assistant head coach, defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Van Malone mans the controls in a media session at the Vanier Family Football Complex after practice.
First, he thanks the media. Second, he thanks the support staff. Third, he gives thanks that he will not line up against the K-State offense this fall, and he tosses out an illustration to best convey the seriousness of his point.
"I don't necessarily believe in monsters," he says. "If you saw a man walking down the street with eight arms or a guy with 10 heads, I would classify him as a monster. When I watch our offense, that's what I see. I see a lot of weapons and our staff using them very effectively. I don't like watching our offense versus our defense, but I think I'm going to be really excited about what we see in the season from our offense (in the fall)."
He talks more about the offense. Then he talks about team speed. Then he talks about Avery Johnson ("You don't have to say anything, you just watch the film," Malone says). Then he switches to defense. He talks about Brendan Mott, Jordan Allen, Tobi Osunsanmi and Damion Ilalio ("These are guys who've really been impressive and at times even dominant on the defensive line," he says). He talks about young safeties — Wesley Fair, Jack Fabris and Colby McCalister — ("Those guys have really started to show themselves in fall camp and it's been impressive.") And he talks about young cornerbacks — Justice James, Donovan McIntosh, Jordan Dunbar and Kanijal Thomas — ("I put quite a bit of pressure on those guys in fall camp to step to the plate to find roles with this position group and I've been pleased what they've done," he says).
But there are two players that Malone simply cannot stop talking about: sixth-year senior Keenan Garber and junior Jacob Parrish. They're two cornerbacks. Two very fine cornerbacks. They only have 17 starts between them. But they've played in 40 combined games. And they're playmakers. And they're smart. And they just continue to get better.
"Experience is always the greatest teacher, and the fact is these guys, once they started to emerge and be players on defense, they've been the hardest workers," Malone says. "I've always told Jacob we just need him to be more than a leader and take over the room. Well, he's exhibiting that — and Keenan as well."
Perhaps you've heard a little bit of Parrish's story. The 5-foot-10, 198-pound junior was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, has four siblings, and steadily emerged at Olathe North High School. He earned all-state honors while playing at defensive back (six interceptions), running back (1,951 yards) and wide receiver (1,313 yards) in his career. As a K-State freshman, he played behind Julius Brents and Ekow Boye-Doe. But due to injuries, he played a majority of the 2022 Big 12 Championship and had four tackles and a pass breakup.
Last season, he started all 12 games, and he earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades with 44 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and a team-leading 13 passes defended. He tied for fourth in the Big 12 and 19th nationally in interceptions, and he had a pick in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
"I don't know how old this guy is because he's been playing so long," Malone says. "He's an unassuming guy and you can't pick him out in a room, but when it's time to do things on the field, he always shows up. At his position, he's always doing it the right way. At his position, he's always making plays.
"The thing Jacob and I had conversations about when he was a freshman was always making sure he doesn't tone down and always works hard and to do so because that's who you are. Where he's developed the most on the field is what he does off the field and how he leads the room and takes charge and helps players who are playing behind him. He tries to push them to compete the way he does. That's the biggest growth that I've seen."
Garber, a 6-foot, 188-pounder, is a sixth-year senior whose story is well chronicled — how he was regarded as the 23rd-best athlete in the nation in the Class of 2019 by ESPN, how K-State was the first team to contact him, how he arrived as one of the top wide receivers and defensive backs in northeast Kansas out of Lawrence Free State, and how he played his first two and a half seasons at K-State as a wide receiver.
He moved to cornerback the week of the 2022 Big 12 Championship game and was pressed into action due to injuries and made his first-career tackle in the game.
"Keenan has really good lateral movement ability and really good speed," Malone says. "He's very competitive. I saw that before the Big 12 title game, and that's actually what gave me the confidence to throw a guy who we did even have a jersey number for (out onto the field) and he knew none of the calls and just played man to man. I was confident.
"At that moment, it was just a matter of him understanding the scheme and the techniques and places to use those techniques. He has some skills you can't coach and that's what he's continuing to exhibit."
And now they prepare for this season together slightly heavier than in previous years, as each nears 200 pounds.
"Sometimes in that position we say he's a cover corner and all he does is run around and it's in front of contact," Malone says. "With the schemes that we use, they're going to be involved heavily in the contact portion of the game. They're going to have to tackle and take on bigger blockers. When we are in a position for those guys to gain weight, it puts us in a better position to do our jobs more effectively."
It could add up to a special season for the pair of K-State cornerbacks.
"I couldn't be more excited as a coach about where these guys can go with their ability to lead and with their understanding of the defense and their commitment to executing at a high level," Malone says. "That's what you want when you have veteran players. I've been blessed with those two guys."
Defensive end appears to be stacked with talent
K-State defensive ends coach Buddy Wyatt says the defensive end position is at a "solid" 3-deep as the Wildcats continue along through training camp.
"We feel comfortable with a lot of different combinations of people, whether it's two older guys, two younger guys, a mix of guys at times," Wyatt says. "We're going to experiment with some things and might have three of them out there at once. There are a lot of possibilities. You guys are going to have to tune in to find out."
Senior Brendan Mott is a 6-foot-5, 244-pounder who earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades after posting 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles in 13 starts. Senior Cody Stufflebean is a 6-foot-4, 257-pounder who was a regular part of the playing rotation last season with 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one forced fumble.
"We have some younger guys, and we have some older guys, and those younger guys are really, really coming on," Wyatt says.
Redshirt freshman Chiddi Obiazor, at 6-foot-6 and 282 pounds, is a beast. As a true freshman, he had a half tackle for a loss in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. He retained his redshirt.
"Chiddi is a young man who has a lot of ability and a lot of talent," Wyatt says. "He's steadily improving. Still has a long way to go as far as just being a master of his technique, but I'm pleased with his progress so far. Chiddi wants to be really successful, so he works extremely hard at all the little things, taking care of his body and recovery, and he works hard in the weight room. He's very conscientious of his body and he works hard to take care of it.
"You're going to see Chiddi on the field a lot this year. You're going to see a lot of our guys. A lot of our guys will get an opportunity to get some playing time this season."
Jordan Allen is a 6-foot-4, 258-pound redshirt freshman who redshirted last season after the third-best overall player in the state of Kansas came to K-State following an all-state career at Olathe South High School.
"Jordan Allen is a very talented athlete," Wyatt says. "He's strong. He's explosive. He's weighing around 260 and it doesn't look like it. He has really worked hard to learn our scheme, so he's not making the mistakes he made last spring ball. He's improved his pass rush ability. I'm excited about his future.
"Jordan has the ability to make a lot of plays just because of his physical ability. He's big, he can run, he's very strong and explosive. When he learns how to play this game, he's going to be a force to reckon with."
Sophomore Tobi Osunsanmi is a 6-foot-3, 248-pound former No. 2 player in the state of Kansas. Osunsanmi redshirted the 2022 campaign and last year saw time in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker, converting from linebacker to defensive end toward the end of the season.
"Tobi is doing good," Wyatt says. "Tobi has learned to play with his hand in the ground. He was a linebacker last year. Tobi is showing us that he can rush the quarterback. He's learning to play blocks and double-team blocks and combo blocks. That's new for Tobi. He's getting better at playing them. He gives us that speed pass rush ability off the edge. He's an explosive young man, and he's learning to play in there with a lot of people. Now he has to play those double teams.
"I'm really pleased. He brings some speed for us off that edge. I'm excited about Tobi to see what he'll do this season."
Excitement abounds across the defensive edges.
"I think we have a solid three-deep and probably another young man, who if he continues to come on can be a part of that as well," he says. "We're pretty deep at that position. I'm excited. We're not where we need to be right now but we're moving in that direction.
"We're fortunate that we have a lot of defensive ends that have the ability to play. We're trying to find a role for them in our schemes. As coaches we're going to have to find a way to get them on the field because they can help us win."
Here we are, thick in training camp, and workers are putting purple seat back chairs back inside of Bill Snyder Family Stadium — another in a line of small milestones that let Kansas State fans know time is ticking toward that August 31 kickoff against UT Martin, when the Wildcats jog onto the field, and the marching band plays, and the air across the Flint Hills is feels like college football again.
Today, K-State assistant head coach, defensive passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach Van Malone mans the controls in a media session at the Vanier Family Football Complex after practice.
First, he thanks the media. Second, he thanks the support staff. Third, he gives thanks that he will not line up against the K-State offense this fall, and he tosses out an illustration to best convey the seriousness of his point.
"I don't necessarily believe in monsters," he says. "If you saw a man walking down the street with eight arms or a guy with 10 heads, I would classify him as a monster. When I watch our offense, that's what I see. I see a lot of weapons and our staff using them very effectively. I don't like watching our offense versus our defense, but I think I'm going to be really excited about what we see in the season from our offense (in the fall)."
He talks more about the offense. Then he talks about team speed. Then he talks about Avery Johnson ("You don't have to say anything, you just watch the film," Malone says). Then he switches to defense. He talks about Brendan Mott, Jordan Allen, Tobi Osunsanmi and Damion Ilalio ("These are guys who've really been impressive and at times even dominant on the defensive line," he says). He talks about young safeties — Wesley Fair, Jack Fabris and Colby McCalister — ("Those guys have really started to show themselves in fall camp and it's been impressive.") And he talks about young cornerbacks — Justice James, Donovan McIntosh, Jordan Dunbar and Kanijal Thomas — ("I put quite a bit of pressure on those guys in fall camp to step to the plate to find roles with this position group and I've been pleased what they've done," he says).
But there are two players that Malone simply cannot stop talking about: sixth-year senior Keenan Garber and junior Jacob Parrish. They're two cornerbacks. Two very fine cornerbacks. They only have 17 starts between them. But they've played in 40 combined games. And they're playmakers. And they're smart. And they just continue to get better.
"Experience is always the greatest teacher, and the fact is these guys, once they started to emerge and be players on defense, they've been the hardest workers," Malone says. "I've always told Jacob we just need him to be more than a leader and take over the room. Well, he's exhibiting that — and Keenan as well."
Perhaps you've heard a little bit of Parrish's story. The 5-foot-10, 198-pound junior was born in Jefferson City, Missouri, has four siblings, and steadily emerged at Olathe North High School. He earned all-state honors while playing at defensive back (six interceptions), running back (1,951 yards) and wide receiver (1,313 yards) in his career. As a K-State freshman, he played behind Julius Brents and Ekow Boye-Doe. But due to injuries, he played a majority of the 2022 Big 12 Championship and had four tackles and a pass breakup.
Last season, he started all 12 games, and he earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades with 44 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and a team-leading 13 passes defended. He tied for fourth in the Big 12 and 19th nationally in interceptions, and he had a pick in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
"I don't know how old this guy is because he's been playing so long," Malone says. "He's an unassuming guy and you can't pick him out in a room, but when it's time to do things on the field, he always shows up. At his position, he's always doing it the right way. At his position, he's always making plays.
"The thing Jacob and I had conversations about when he was a freshman was always making sure he doesn't tone down and always works hard and to do so because that's who you are. Where he's developed the most on the field is what he does off the field and how he leads the room and takes charge and helps players who are playing behind him. He tries to push them to compete the way he does. That's the biggest growth that I've seen."
Garber, a 6-foot, 188-pounder, is a sixth-year senior whose story is well chronicled — how he was regarded as the 23rd-best athlete in the nation in the Class of 2019 by ESPN, how K-State was the first team to contact him, how he arrived as one of the top wide receivers and defensive backs in northeast Kansas out of Lawrence Free State, and how he played his first two and a half seasons at K-State as a wide receiver.
He moved to cornerback the week of the 2022 Big 12 Championship game and was pressed into action due to injuries and made his first-career tackle in the game.
"Keenan has really good lateral movement ability and really good speed," Malone says. "He's very competitive. I saw that before the Big 12 title game, and that's actually what gave me the confidence to throw a guy who we did even have a jersey number for (out onto the field) and he knew none of the calls and just played man to man. I was confident.
"At that moment, it was just a matter of him understanding the scheme and the techniques and places to use those techniques. He has some skills you can't coach and that's what he's continuing to exhibit."
And now they prepare for this season together slightly heavier than in previous years, as each nears 200 pounds.
"Sometimes in that position we say he's a cover corner and all he does is run around and it's in front of contact," Malone says. "With the schemes that we use, they're going to be involved heavily in the contact portion of the game. They're going to have to tackle and take on bigger blockers. When we are in a position for those guys to gain weight, it puts us in a better position to do our jobs more effectively."
It could add up to a special season for the pair of K-State cornerbacks.
"I couldn't be more excited as a coach about where these guys can go with their ability to lead and with their understanding of the defense and their commitment to executing at a high level," Malone says. "That's what you want when you have veteran players. I've been blessed with those two guys."
Defensive end appears to be stacked with talent
K-State defensive ends coach Buddy Wyatt says the defensive end position is at a "solid" 3-deep as the Wildcats continue along through training camp.
"We feel comfortable with a lot of different combinations of people, whether it's two older guys, two younger guys, a mix of guys at times," Wyatt says. "We're going to experiment with some things and might have three of them out there at once. There are a lot of possibilities. You guys are going to have to tune in to find out."
Senior Brendan Mott is a 6-foot-5, 244-pounder who earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention accolades after posting 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, one sack, two pass breakups and two forced fumbles in 13 starts. Senior Cody Stufflebean is a 6-foot-4, 257-pounder who was a regular part of the playing rotation last season with 19 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one forced fumble.
"We have some younger guys, and we have some older guys, and those younger guys are really, really coming on," Wyatt says.
Redshirt freshman Chiddi Obiazor, at 6-foot-6 and 282 pounds, is a beast. As a true freshman, he had a half tackle for a loss in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. He retained his redshirt.
"Chiddi is a young man who has a lot of ability and a lot of talent," Wyatt says. "He's steadily improving. Still has a long way to go as far as just being a master of his technique, but I'm pleased with his progress so far. Chiddi wants to be really successful, so he works extremely hard at all the little things, taking care of his body and recovery, and he works hard in the weight room. He's very conscientious of his body and he works hard to take care of it.
"You're going to see Chiddi on the field a lot this year. You're going to see a lot of our guys. A lot of our guys will get an opportunity to get some playing time this season."
Jordan Allen is a 6-foot-4, 258-pound redshirt freshman who redshirted last season after the third-best overall player in the state of Kansas came to K-State following an all-state career at Olathe South High School.
"Jordan Allen is a very talented athlete," Wyatt says. "He's strong. He's explosive. He's weighing around 260 and it doesn't look like it. He has really worked hard to learn our scheme, so he's not making the mistakes he made last spring ball. He's improved his pass rush ability. I'm excited about his future.
"Jordan has the ability to make a lot of plays just because of his physical ability. He's big, he can run, he's very strong and explosive. When he learns how to play this game, he's going to be a force to reckon with."
Sophomore Tobi Osunsanmi is a 6-foot-3, 248-pound former No. 2 player in the state of Kansas. Osunsanmi redshirted the 2022 campaign and last year saw time in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker, converting from linebacker to defensive end toward the end of the season.
"Tobi is doing good," Wyatt says. "Tobi has learned to play with his hand in the ground. He was a linebacker last year. Tobi is showing us that he can rush the quarterback. He's learning to play blocks and double-team blocks and combo blocks. That's new for Tobi. He's getting better at playing them. He gives us that speed pass rush ability off the edge. He's an explosive young man, and he's learning to play in there with a lot of people. Now he has to play those double teams.
"I'm really pleased. He brings some speed for us off that edge. I'm excited about Tobi to see what he'll do this season."
Excitement abounds across the defensive edges.
"I think we have a solid three-deep and probably another young man, who if he continues to come on can be a part of that as well," he says. "We're pretty deep at that position. I'm excited. We're not where we need to be right now but we're moving in that direction.
"We're fortunate that we have a lot of defensive ends that have the ability to play. We're trying to find a role for them in our schemes. As coaches we're going to have to find a way to get them on the field because they can help us win."
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