Stacking Day After Day
Aug 06, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Kansas State has been here before — sort of.
The Wildcats are coming off a bowl win. They are nationally ranked. But what separates this 2024 squad from the rest under head coach Chris Klieman is that the Wildcats are picked near the top of the Big 12 Conference, and they are even in the conversation for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
K-State head coach Chris Klieman, whose team completed practice five of training camp on Monday, preaches one thing: Stack day after day.
"There's excitement and really good momentum from the end of the season and maybe expectations, but forget about the expectations, man, and go about your business daily, and stack day after day after day," he said. "Don't talk about championships or talk about what we can be. Let's talk about what we can be today."
K-State comes off a 9-4 record and is ranked No. 17 in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Wildcats are picked second in the new 16-team conference and are 26 days from the season opener against UT Martin on August 31 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats return sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson and six returning starters on offense and eight returning starters on defense and welcomes 11 Division I transfers.
K-State is scheduled to practice in full pads for the first time Tuesday.
As for the energy level in practice?
"Really good," Klieman said. "We've had great practices, and we've had five is all. There's always a great excitement those first two days when it's helmets and jerseys and then all the sudden we put the pads on and guys get to be a little bit more sore, but they've bounced back each day and have been ready to go out there.
"We have a long ways to go in fall camp. If we can keep that energy and excitement and ability to realize what I did yesterday is nothing and I have to attack today, that's kind of what we're focused on right now. We had a good practice out there today. It was physical. Guys were flying around."
Here are a few more topics that Klieman discussed in his first news conference of training camp:
Team speed has improved on offense
Although Klieman didn't bring a list with him, his excitement over offensive team speed suggests that there are likely more players running close to 22-miles-per-hour than a year ago. And that's huge for what's expected to be an offense with fast playmakers.
"You can see we have a lot of team speed," Klieman said. "Credit Coach Tru (Carroll) and Coach Ray and the strength staff because our kids are fast. We have really good speed. Now we just have to make sure we find ways to give them the ball and design some things to make sure the touches go around. We have pretty good team speed on offense."
Division I Council regarding on-field coaching benefits the Wildcats
The NCAA Division I Council in June voted to expand college football coaching staffs, permitting an unlimited number of assistants to provide technical and tactical instruction to players during practice and competition.
Why is that big news? Because it allows NFL veteran coach Nate Kazcor, the new special teams quality control coach, to help out on the field in training camp. Same goes for former K-State offensive lineman Drew Liddle, who is in his first season back with the Wildcats as an offensive analyst with an emphasis on the offensive line. The list of impactful assistant coaches goes on.
"It's a huge difference," Klieman said. "You can split up a lot of things. Having Coach Katz utilizing his expertise as a special teams guy, he and I and Clint Brown are doing a lot of special teams work. Having Drew Liddle come back, it was a really good time for us to get Drew back because he's one of the top o-line coaches and gives Conor Riley an opportunity to move around and watch some different pass game, seven-on-seven stuff. It's been fun not having to worry about it and just let guys go coach."
Liddle has been a blessing to the offensive line given the duties of Conor Riley, who coaches the offensive line while serving his first season as offensive coordinator.
"He's really important, especially with Riles' new role, Drew is just like having a second full-time o-line coach, and when Riles is going to the passing game, it's like having your first full-time o-line coach, because I have a lot of trust in Drew and have been around Drew for a few years when I first started here. Then we were fortunate to get him back in the offseason. I think it made the transition easier for Drew like for anybody else when they lifted that ban and everybody could coach, and Drew knew what Riles' role is. It's a great opportunity for him to mesh with those guys as the o-line coach. Drew has been a big help for him."
Battle for back-up quarterback has "been good"
Ta'Quan Roberson, who arrived from UConn over the offseason, is a 6-foot, 200-pound senior transfer who has thrown for 2,170 yards and 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 18 games with 11 starts over four seasons.
Jacob Knuth, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound sophomore who didn't see any action last season after transferring from Minnesota prior to 2023, has ample experience with practice repetitions.
Two quality quarterbacks. One vacant backup spot for the Wildcats.
As for the competition?
"It's been good," Klieman said. "Ta'Quan Roberson has been a really good acquisition for us as a mature guy who's an older guy who's learning our offense. The game keeps slowing down for Jacob Knuth. I've been really impressed with Jacob and his continued growth. He did a really good job in the spring when we didn't know a lot about him because he was our scout-team guy. He did a really good job in the spring, and he did a lot of things on his own this summer. His improvement has been really good.
"I feel good. We're not at all close to saying who's going to back up Avery. That's going to take quite a long time for us to figure out, but I've been impressed with both guys. Both guys could help us."
Klieman is high on the potential impact of Dylan Edwards and others at the No. 2 running back spot
Klieman made it clear that the running back position starts with DJ Giddens. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound junior is closing in on 2,000 career rushing yards and is among the most feared ball carriers in the Big 12. But particular intrigue surrounds sophomore transfer Dylan Edwards, who is 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, and he has already turned heads.
"It's just the fact that he has that burst," Klieman said. "It's like he's shot out of a cannon at times. You see him and then he has those quick feet and then he bursts through a hole. He's still learning the offense. There's a lot of offense to learn, and we're trying to spoon feed him a little bit so he can pick up as much as he can learning from DJ."
Klieman remains impressed with the rest of the running backs as well.
"I've been impressed with La'James White, who's been in our program a while. La'James is doing some really good things, and it's really started to slow down for him from a mental standpoint. La'James can provide us a spark.
"Joe Jackson has been healthy, so it's good to give Joe some looks as well as DeVon Rise and Evan Cantu. We have some good guys at running back. It's just a matter of plug and play based on the game plan and skill set of guys."
Asked whether he would like to get four or five running backs involved, Klieman replied, "We'd like to."
"Everybody knows DJ is going to be the guy that's going to have the most carries right now. DJ is a great player. And we've done a nice job giving him the reps that he needs and then shelving him a little bit right now because we need DJ fresh for the long haul this season.
"We need to continue to see where Joe and La'James are at because they've been in the program for a while – along with Evan – but getting those guys the reps to see what they can handle as an every-down back, and then obviously seeing different areas we can put Dylan in and not throw everything at him right away, because he's new to the program, and find ways to utilize Dylan and keep it simple enough for him right now. He's doing a heck of a job right now, then we'll start shrinking some things down once we get to game planning."
Offensive line shows promise
Probably no secret here. K-State must replace its starting center, left tackle and left guard following the graduation of Hayden Gillum, KT Leveston and Consensus All-American Cooper Beebe.
The Wildcats return right guard Hadley Panzer and right tackle Carver Willis.
Asked about the center position, Klieman started with Sam Hecht but then said, "Michael Capria is doing a really good job. Cap has progressed really well, and we feel like we have depth there. Sam Hecht has a little bit more game-playing experience, but right now Sam is doing a good job, but I like what Cap is doing, too."
When it comes to the most versatile of the linemen this season, it appears to be Andrew Leingang.
Leingang can play either guard position or either tackle position. The coaches are keeping him inside right now as he continues to evaluate candidates at guard, but Leingang could play outside if necessary. He would be the offensive lineman who could play the most positions.
Left tackle currently features Easton Kilty and John Pastore. Klieman said it would be 50-50 on who would start tomorrow.
"I'm excited because we have that third tackle right now with one of those guys opposite Carver Willis and Leingang who could play at tackle or spell anybody inside," Klieman said. "We have a lot of different combinations. Coach Riley and I have talked at length about making sure we — and it'll help having Drew Liddle on the sideline, with Drew being able to help us with substitutions so we can get more guys in at offensive line."
Keagan Johnson and Keenan Garber are most intriguing players so far
The question posed to Klieman wasn't about who his favorite player after the first five practices was. Rather it was about who were the most intriguing players so far. Klieman offered a slight pause and delivered a little bit of news that should make K-State fans salivate.
"Keagan Johnson is a guy that, if we keep him healthy, he's one of the best wide receivers in the Big 12," Klieman said. "Our staff knows that as well. He continues to impress."
Johnson is a 6-foot, 206-pounder who had 24 catches for 227 yards in 11 games with five starts last season after transferring from Iowa.
As for another player who most intrigues Klieman?
"Keenan Garber, he's started, but it wasn't that long ago that the kid played at cornerback after playing at wide receiver for 16 weeks, and he's playing in a Big 12 Championship," Klieman said.
Garber is a 6-foot, 187-pound sixth-year senior who switched from wide receiver to cornerback and last season had 22 tackles, one interception and five passes defended in 13 games with four starts.
"You see all the work that he did in 2023, and he's a very confident corner. I'm glad he came back for another year," Klieman said. "He's a really confident guy going into his last year."
Return specialists could be special
Although nobody has secured a position, it sounds like punt return and kickoff return could have another solid season given the wealth of talent contending for positions.
"We're trying to figure out between Dylan Edwards, Sterling Lockett, Jayce Brown, Keagan Johnson, La'James White," Klieman said. "We have a lot of different guys from a punt and kickoff return standpoint. We haven't put all that together. We're just doing drill work for those phases of it.
"But we have to find more than one. We have to find multiple guys on both punt returns and kick returns. We just haven't gotten that far into the phases of it."
Kansas State has been here before — sort of.
The Wildcats are coming off a bowl win. They are nationally ranked. But what separates this 2024 squad from the rest under head coach Chris Klieman is that the Wildcats are picked near the top of the Big 12 Conference, and they are even in the conversation for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
K-State head coach Chris Klieman, whose team completed practice five of training camp on Monday, preaches one thing: Stack day after day.
"There's excitement and really good momentum from the end of the season and maybe expectations, but forget about the expectations, man, and go about your business daily, and stack day after day after day," he said. "Don't talk about championships or talk about what we can be. Let's talk about what we can be today."
K-State comes off a 9-4 record and is ranked No. 17 in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Wildcats are picked second in the new 16-team conference and are 26 days from the season opener against UT Martin on August 31 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
The Wildcats return sophomore quarterback Avery Johnson and six returning starters on offense and eight returning starters on defense and welcomes 11 Division I transfers.
K-State is scheduled to practice in full pads for the first time Tuesday.
As for the energy level in practice?
"Really good," Klieman said. "We've had great practices, and we've had five is all. There's always a great excitement those first two days when it's helmets and jerseys and then all the sudden we put the pads on and guys get to be a little bit more sore, but they've bounced back each day and have been ready to go out there.
"We have a long ways to go in fall camp. If we can keep that energy and excitement and ability to realize what I did yesterday is nothing and I have to attack today, that's kind of what we're focused on right now. We had a good practice out there today. It was physical. Guys were flying around."
Here are a few more topics that Klieman discussed in his first news conference of training camp:
Team speed has improved on offense
Although Klieman didn't bring a list with him, his excitement over offensive team speed suggests that there are likely more players running close to 22-miles-per-hour than a year ago. And that's huge for what's expected to be an offense with fast playmakers.
"You can see we have a lot of team speed," Klieman said. "Credit Coach Tru (Carroll) and Coach Ray and the strength staff because our kids are fast. We have really good speed. Now we just have to make sure we find ways to give them the ball and design some things to make sure the touches go around. We have pretty good team speed on offense."
Division I Council regarding on-field coaching benefits the Wildcats
The NCAA Division I Council in June voted to expand college football coaching staffs, permitting an unlimited number of assistants to provide technical and tactical instruction to players during practice and competition.
Why is that big news? Because it allows NFL veteran coach Nate Kazcor, the new special teams quality control coach, to help out on the field in training camp. Same goes for former K-State offensive lineman Drew Liddle, who is in his first season back with the Wildcats as an offensive analyst with an emphasis on the offensive line. The list of impactful assistant coaches goes on.
"It's a huge difference," Klieman said. "You can split up a lot of things. Having Coach Katz utilizing his expertise as a special teams guy, he and I and Clint Brown are doing a lot of special teams work. Having Drew Liddle come back, it was a really good time for us to get Drew back because he's one of the top o-line coaches and gives Conor Riley an opportunity to move around and watch some different pass game, seven-on-seven stuff. It's been fun not having to worry about it and just let guys go coach."
Liddle has been a blessing to the offensive line given the duties of Conor Riley, who coaches the offensive line while serving his first season as offensive coordinator.
"He's really important, especially with Riles' new role, Drew is just like having a second full-time o-line coach, and when Riles is going to the passing game, it's like having your first full-time o-line coach, because I have a lot of trust in Drew and have been around Drew for a few years when I first started here. Then we were fortunate to get him back in the offseason. I think it made the transition easier for Drew like for anybody else when they lifted that ban and everybody could coach, and Drew knew what Riles' role is. It's a great opportunity for him to mesh with those guys as the o-line coach. Drew has been a big help for him."
Battle for back-up quarterback has "been good"
Ta'Quan Roberson, who arrived from UConn over the offseason, is a 6-foot, 200-pound senior transfer who has thrown for 2,170 yards and 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 18 games with 11 starts over four seasons.
Jacob Knuth, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound sophomore who didn't see any action last season after transferring from Minnesota prior to 2023, has ample experience with practice repetitions.
Two quality quarterbacks. One vacant backup spot for the Wildcats.
As for the competition?
"It's been good," Klieman said. "Ta'Quan Roberson has been a really good acquisition for us as a mature guy who's an older guy who's learning our offense. The game keeps slowing down for Jacob Knuth. I've been really impressed with Jacob and his continued growth. He did a really good job in the spring when we didn't know a lot about him because he was our scout-team guy. He did a really good job in the spring, and he did a lot of things on his own this summer. His improvement has been really good.
"I feel good. We're not at all close to saying who's going to back up Avery. That's going to take quite a long time for us to figure out, but I've been impressed with both guys. Both guys could help us."
Klieman is high on the potential impact of Dylan Edwards and others at the No. 2 running back spot
Klieman made it clear that the running back position starts with DJ Giddens. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound junior is closing in on 2,000 career rushing yards and is among the most feared ball carriers in the Big 12. But particular intrigue surrounds sophomore transfer Dylan Edwards, who is 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, and he has already turned heads.
"It's just the fact that he has that burst," Klieman said. "It's like he's shot out of a cannon at times. You see him and then he has those quick feet and then he bursts through a hole. He's still learning the offense. There's a lot of offense to learn, and we're trying to spoon feed him a little bit so he can pick up as much as he can learning from DJ."
Klieman remains impressed with the rest of the running backs as well.
"I've been impressed with La'James White, who's been in our program a while. La'James is doing some really good things, and it's really started to slow down for him from a mental standpoint. La'James can provide us a spark.
"Joe Jackson has been healthy, so it's good to give Joe some looks as well as DeVon Rise and Evan Cantu. We have some good guys at running back. It's just a matter of plug and play based on the game plan and skill set of guys."
Asked whether he would like to get four or five running backs involved, Klieman replied, "We'd like to."
"Everybody knows DJ is going to be the guy that's going to have the most carries right now. DJ is a great player. And we've done a nice job giving him the reps that he needs and then shelving him a little bit right now because we need DJ fresh for the long haul this season.
"We need to continue to see where Joe and La'James are at because they've been in the program for a while – along with Evan – but getting those guys the reps to see what they can handle as an every-down back, and then obviously seeing different areas we can put Dylan in and not throw everything at him right away, because he's new to the program, and find ways to utilize Dylan and keep it simple enough for him right now. He's doing a heck of a job right now, then we'll start shrinking some things down once we get to game planning."
Offensive line shows promise
Probably no secret here. K-State must replace its starting center, left tackle and left guard following the graduation of Hayden Gillum, KT Leveston and Consensus All-American Cooper Beebe.
The Wildcats return right guard Hadley Panzer and right tackle Carver Willis.
Asked about the center position, Klieman started with Sam Hecht but then said, "Michael Capria is doing a really good job. Cap has progressed really well, and we feel like we have depth there. Sam Hecht has a little bit more game-playing experience, but right now Sam is doing a good job, but I like what Cap is doing, too."
When it comes to the most versatile of the linemen this season, it appears to be Andrew Leingang.
Leingang can play either guard position or either tackle position. The coaches are keeping him inside right now as he continues to evaluate candidates at guard, but Leingang could play outside if necessary. He would be the offensive lineman who could play the most positions.
Left tackle currently features Easton Kilty and John Pastore. Klieman said it would be 50-50 on who would start tomorrow.
"I'm excited because we have that third tackle right now with one of those guys opposite Carver Willis and Leingang who could play at tackle or spell anybody inside," Klieman said. "We have a lot of different combinations. Coach Riley and I have talked at length about making sure we — and it'll help having Drew Liddle on the sideline, with Drew being able to help us with substitutions so we can get more guys in at offensive line."
Keagan Johnson and Keenan Garber are most intriguing players so far
The question posed to Klieman wasn't about who his favorite player after the first five practices was. Rather it was about who were the most intriguing players so far. Klieman offered a slight pause and delivered a little bit of news that should make K-State fans salivate.
"Keagan Johnson is a guy that, if we keep him healthy, he's one of the best wide receivers in the Big 12," Klieman said. "Our staff knows that as well. He continues to impress."
Johnson is a 6-foot, 206-pounder who had 24 catches for 227 yards in 11 games with five starts last season after transferring from Iowa.
As for another player who most intrigues Klieman?
"Keenan Garber, he's started, but it wasn't that long ago that the kid played at cornerback after playing at wide receiver for 16 weeks, and he's playing in a Big 12 Championship," Klieman said.
Garber is a 6-foot, 187-pound sixth-year senior who switched from wide receiver to cornerback and last season had 22 tackles, one interception and five passes defended in 13 games with four starts.
"You see all the work that he did in 2023, and he's a very confident corner. I'm glad he came back for another year," Klieman said. "He's a really confident guy going into his last year."
Return specialists could be special
Although nobody has secured a position, it sounds like punt return and kickoff return could have another solid season given the wealth of talent contending for positions.
"We're trying to figure out between Dylan Edwards, Sterling Lockett, Jayce Brown, Keagan Johnson, La'James White," Klieman said. "We have a lot of different guys from a punt and kickoff return standpoint. We haven't put all that together. We're just doing drill work for those phases of it.
"But we have to find more than one. We have to find multiple guys on both punt returns and kick returns. We just haven't gotten that far into the phases of it."
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