Kansas State University Athletics
K-State Coordinators Preview Kansas Game
Oct 23, 2025 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State offensive coordinator Matt Wells and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman met with members of the media on Thursday at the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview Saturday's game at Kansas. Links to video and audio of both press conferences are above, and a transcript of select quotes are below.
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MATT WELLS, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how he coaches quarterback Avery Johnson on running plays…
"Well, you start with touchdown, first down, get down. You have to know where the sticks are. The one time he didn't know where the sticks were exactly. He guessed, and, obviously, they're going to put you down right where you slide. You need to make sure you get the first down. I think there's a certain element of protecting yourself when you can, but the competitiveness, you don't ever want to coach the competitiveness. In fact, I encourage it. Be competitive – go get the first down – but when you're out in the clear, be smart and get out."
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On how much better center Sam Hecht is playing…
"I would say better, but to say drastically better or a lot better would be doing a disservice to say that he didn't start the year out well. That's not the case. So, I would say better, and I would say better in terms of his communication. A naturally quiet guy by nature, as you guys know when you talk to him. It's hard to fool Sam. When I say that, he's seen a lot of looks. He's played a lot of ball, and he's picked things up. So, re-IDing things – not IDing, but re-IDing – is the key, and to do it quick and understand that you're also under the pressure of the shot clock and Avery (Johnson) saying, 'Snap it, hurry up.' So, you have to get things communicated, especially when you're on the road. You have the crowd noise, so that makes it a little bit more difficult. I'm proud of Sam. Sam's good player, and he has improved."
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On if this bye week was any different than the first one…
"Good question. It's an easy comparison for me. Offensively, the first bye week came after a really poor performance on offense – as we talked about – against Arizona. So that week, it was grab the good, fix the fixable, throw stuff out that we're not real good at, take auxiliary runs or auxiliary passes and throw them out. Get rid of them. Do what we do well, better. It was more of a scheme focus. Then I would compare it to this second bye week where we have played better on offense the last three weeks – better production, more points, all of the above. It was just do the simple better. Do simple better. Simple we tried to define it on offense and five different personnel groups, this is the one specific technique, or the one specific area you need to get better. Avery (Johnson), for my guy, but the tackles, the interior o-line – we kind of broke them up into two – the tight ends, receiver, running back. We just tried all three days – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at practices – it was an intent focus in the individual period of just that one thing. Do the simple better. Most of them were techniques. So, how do we get better here in the middle of the season? Hopefully we see those techniques improve over these next two weeks, so that the third bye week after the (Texas) Tech game, you look back and go, 'Hey, we did get better at that.' That's a way, I think, Coach (Klieman) challenges us as coaches to improve the unit, but you improve it individually or as a tackle-tight end combo in the middle of the season."
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On how well Joe Jackson has played the last few games…
"I'm proud of Joe. The thing I would say about Joe is just becoming really mature and taking something that maybe you didn't do well and then getting better at. He's very, very even-keeled young man. Smart, puts a lot of time and effort into pass protections and learning, and, again, Sam's (Hecht) re-IDs and those things. So, that affects the running back when you re-ID something. He's gotten more comfortable the more he plays. I would say he was a young player before the season started. He's not now. He's certainly played more, but I'm proud of Joe. He catches the ball well the backfield. He protects well, and I think he's improved."
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On if it was good for the offensive line to have success running the ball against TCU…
"Yeah, it's good for the play caller to have success running the ball like that. I think it makes you more aggressive. For those guys, we need to have success running the ball, whether it's Avery (Johnson) or it's Joe (Jackson) or DeVon (Rice) or whoever's back there. Certainly, I think Avery can help ignite the confidence when he gets out, breaks loose and you're following him down the field. So, I think that was good for their confidence."
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JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how different Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels is this season…
"He seems like he's taking care of the football really well and just making some good decisions. I'm not so sure that he wasn't doing that a year ago. It's just that sometimes it's happenstance that you get a tipped ball, you get some things. When he's playing really well, these guys are as efficient offensively as anybody."
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On who he will rely on without defensive end Tobi Osunsanmi in the lineup…
"It stinks because he'd be perfect for a game like this where you're going to have to chase a guy around a whole bunch. He's probably the one guy that we have that can do it. It's interesting because Ryan Davis, he just wasn't healthy early. He obviously missed a number of games there. Then when he came back, he was still not quite who we saw in the spring and who we saw early in fall camp. I think he's getting better and better and a little bit more comfortable. Health is going to be a thing for him, probably, all year long that he battles through and gets through and gets through all the weeks. He never complains about anything because he's just a tough, hard-nails kid. Ryan is certainly one that I feel can win one-on-ones against anybody he goes against. Jordan Allen has been playing more and more. We did a few things with Dalton Knapp, true freshman, this week who's proven to us through some of the developmental things we're doing that he can rush and be in that role. I don't think he's quite ready to be an every-down guy, but I think he can help us on third down. So, we're trying to move that around, trying to get better rushers out there in situations where they're going to rush."
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On Kansas wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr…
"He can run. He's very explosive. I think they do a great job of designing things to get him a post over the top of some concepts. They try to do some things to isolate him and get him one-on-ones, as everybody should try to do. They do a really good job of scheming that stuff – always have – and he's one guy that can take the top off things. So, we have to know where he's at. They move him around. There are so many trades, shifts and motions to say he's going to be in this spot or that spot. It's just not plausible to say he's going to be anywhere. So, we have to have some awareness of where he might finish in the formation."
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On if the familiarity of playing a team every year gives the defense an advantage…
"It's difficult. It's a blast when you get closer to the game, but it's miserable leading up to it because they have such diversity in their offense. The days of you could look at a hit chart and say, 'This is who this team is,' that doesn't exist very much in college football anymore. Maybe with a few teams. What Kansas has done formationally last week does not apply to what they're going to do this week. So, it's hard for us to say, 'Okay, out of three by one, they're always going to run this run play,' or, 'They always have this pass concept.' That's not who this is. So, that makes the prep more difficult for teams like this because they're going to present what they do in a million different ways. That's what makes them good, makes them effective and hard to stop. So, there's familiarity in terms of we know their personnel. I have a lot of respect for their coaches and their staff, but as far as saying, 'Hey, we can dial down on this or that,' I don't know if that really exists with the team that plans things out as well as Kansas does."
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On how much offenses change what they do over a bye week…
"Considerably. Things move so fast within the course of a given week, just a Saturday to Saturday that of course, everybody spends time on what we call the 'self scout'. You look at the things that you do. Then on the bye weeks – and we're no different – you sit down and you actually go and watch the cut ups. 'Okay, this is what we look like in pro trips. This is where our explosive play issues are.' That's how we spent our Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of last week. So, the bye week just gives you more time to make drastic changes that you wouldn't typically make. I don't know if your process changes a whole lot. I think everybody's aware of, 'Hey, we blitz a lot on this down a distance,' or, 'They don't blitz a lot on this down a distance.' From an offensive perspective, I think they're probably taking a good look at what they do formationally and tells that they might have, and I think they're probably looking at some of their run-pass tendencies the same way that we are, and they're probably adapting and adjusting. So, it's definitely easier to play a team when they have to go through that quick, 'Hey, it's Monday. We got practice. We got to get ready,' as opposed to having all this time that they're going to have."
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MATT WELLS, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how he coaches quarterback Avery Johnson on running plays…
"Well, you start with touchdown, first down, get down. You have to know where the sticks are. The one time he didn't know where the sticks were exactly. He guessed, and, obviously, they're going to put you down right where you slide. You need to make sure you get the first down. I think there's a certain element of protecting yourself when you can, but the competitiveness, you don't ever want to coach the competitiveness. In fact, I encourage it. Be competitive – go get the first down – but when you're out in the clear, be smart and get out."
Â
On how much better center Sam Hecht is playing…
"I would say better, but to say drastically better or a lot better would be doing a disservice to say that he didn't start the year out well. That's not the case. So, I would say better, and I would say better in terms of his communication. A naturally quiet guy by nature, as you guys know when you talk to him. It's hard to fool Sam. When I say that, he's seen a lot of looks. He's played a lot of ball, and he's picked things up. So, re-IDing things – not IDing, but re-IDing – is the key, and to do it quick and understand that you're also under the pressure of the shot clock and Avery (Johnson) saying, 'Snap it, hurry up.' So, you have to get things communicated, especially when you're on the road. You have the crowd noise, so that makes it a little bit more difficult. I'm proud of Sam. Sam's good player, and he has improved."
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On if this bye week was any different than the first one…
"Good question. It's an easy comparison for me. Offensively, the first bye week came after a really poor performance on offense – as we talked about – against Arizona. So that week, it was grab the good, fix the fixable, throw stuff out that we're not real good at, take auxiliary runs or auxiliary passes and throw them out. Get rid of them. Do what we do well, better. It was more of a scheme focus. Then I would compare it to this second bye week where we have played better on offense the last three weeks – better production, more points, all of the above. It was just do the simple better. Do simple better. Simple we tried to define it on offense and five different personnel groups, this is the one specific technique, or the one specific area you need to get better. Avery (Johnson), for my guy, but the tackles, the interior o-line – we kind of broke them up into two – the tight ends, receiver, running back. We just tried all three days – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at practices – it was an intent focus in the individual period of just that one thing. Do the simple better. Most of them were techniques. So, how do we get better here in the middle of the season? Hopefully we see those techniques improve over these next two weeks, so that the third bye week after the (Texas) Tech game, you look back and go, 'Hey, we did get better at that.' That's a way, I think, Coach (Klieman) challenges us as coaches to improve the unit, but you improve it individually or as a tackle-tight end combo in the middle of the season."
Â
On how well Joe Jackson has played the last few games…
"I'm proud of Joe. The thing I would say about Joe is just becoming really mature and taking something that maybe you didn't do well and then getting better at. He's very, very even-keeled young man. Smart, puts a lot of time and effort into pass protections and learning, and, again, Sam's (Hecht) re-IDs and those things. So, that affects the running back when you re-ID something. He's gotten more comfortable the more he plays. I would say he was a young player before the season started. He's not now. He's certainly played more, but I'm proud of Joe. He catches the ball well the backfield. He protects well, and I think he's improved."
Â
On if it was good for the offensive line to have success running the ball against TCU…
"Yeah, it's good for the play caller to have success running the ball like that. I think it makes you more aggressive. For those guys, we need to have success running the ball, whether it's Avery (Johnson) or it's Joe (Jackson) or DeVon (Rice) or whoever's back there. Certainly, I think Avery can help ignite the confidence when he gets out, breaks loose and you're following him down the field. So, I think that was good for their confidence."
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JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how different Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels is this season…
"He seems like he's taking care of the football really well and just making some good decisions. I'm not so sure that he wasn't doing that a year ago. It's just that sometimes it's happenstance that you get a tipped ball, you get some things. When he's playing really well, these guys are as efficient offensively as anybody."
Â
On who he will rely on without defensive end Tobi Osunsanmi in the lineup…
"It stinks because he'd be perfect for a game like this where you're going to have to chase a guy around a whole bunch. He's probably the one guy that we have that can do it. It's interesting because Ryan Davis, he just wasn't healthy early. He obviously missed a number of games there. Then when he came back, he was still not quite who we saw in the spring and who we saw early in fall camp. I think he's getting better and better and a little bit more comfortable. Health is going to be a thing for him, probably, all year long that he battles through and gets through and gets through all the weeks. He never complains about anything because he's just a tough, hard-nails kid. Ryan is certainly one that I feel can win one-on-ones against anybody he goes against. Jordan Allen has been playing more and more. We did a few things with Dalton Knapp, true freshman, this week who's proven to us through some of the developmental things we're doing that he can rush and be in that role. I don't think he's quite ready to be an every-down guy, but I think he can help us on third down. So, we're trying to move that around, trying to get better rushers out there in situations where they're going to rush."
Â
On Kansas wide receiver Emmanuel Henderson Jr…
"He can run. He's very explosive. I think they do a great job of designing things to get him a post over the top of some concepts. They try to do some things to isolate him and get him one-on-ones, as everybody should try to do. They do a really good job of scheming that stuff – always have – and he's one guy that can take the top off things. So, we have to know where he's at. They move him around. There are so many trades, shifts and motions to say he's going to be in this spot or that spot. It's just not plausible to say he's going to be anywhere. So, we have to have some awareness of where he might finish in the formation."
Â
On if the familiarity of playing a team every year gives the defense an advantage…
"It's difficult. It's a blast when you get closer to the game, but it's miserable leading up to it because they have such diversity in their offense. The days of you could look at a hit chart and say, 'This is who this team is,' that doesn't exist very much in college football anymore. Maybe with a few teams. What Kansas has done formationally last week does not apply to what they're going to do this week. So, it's hard for us to say, 'Okay, out of three by one, they're always going to run this run play,' or, 'They always have this pass concept.' That's not who this is. So, that makes the prep more difficult for teams like this because they're going to present what they do in a million different ways. That's what makes them good, makes them effective and hard to stop. So, there's familiarity in terms of we know their personnel. I have a lot of respect for their coaches and their staff, but as far as saying, 'Hey, we can dial down on this or that,' I don't know if that really exists with the team that plans things out as well as Kansas does."
Â
On how much offenses change what they do over a bye week…
"Considerably. Things move so fast within the course of a given week, just a Saturday to Saturday that of course, everybody spends time on what we call the 'self scout'. You look at the things that you do. Then on the bye weeks – and we're no different – you sit down and you actually go and watch the cut ups. 'Okay, this is what we look like in pro trips. This is where our explosive play issues are.' That's how we spent our Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of last week. So, the bye week just gives you more time to make drastic changes that you wouldn't typically make. I don't know if your process changes a whole lot. I think everybody's aware of, 'Hey, we blitz a lot on this down a distance,' or, 'They don't blitz a lot on this down a distance.' From an offensive perspective, I think they're probably taking a good look at what they do formationally and tells that they might have, and I think they're probably looking at some of their run-pass tendencies the same way that we are, and they're probably adapting and adjusting. So, it's definitely easier to play a team when they have to go through that quick, 'Hey, it's Monday. We got practice. We got to get ready,' as opposed to having all this time that they're going to have."
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Football, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Football, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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