Kansas State University Athletics
K-State Coordinators Discuss Utah Game
Nov 20, 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 No. 12 Utah. Links to video and audio of both press conferences are above, and a transcript of select quotes are below.
MATT WELLS, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On a team traveling to play in altitude…
"I don't think it's near as big a factor. It's a marketing ploy out there. You have to hydrate and all of that. I think it may be a little psychological at times because there's certainly teams that are from the west coast or east coast that have come into Utah – Utah State, Utah, BYU – and won on the road. It's not like you can't do that. So, I don't ever see it as a as a big factor, to be honest with you. I was at OU when we went and played BYU, (you take) Vitamin D and Vitamin C pills and all that stuff. At Utah State, we had that sign right outside the visitor's locker room, and I'm sure there's one at the stadium in Salt Lake, too."
On the biggest offensive issues at Oklahoma State…
"I think the first thing is, man, we took turns messing up. Avery (Johnson) had a couple. We had a drop ball, and he had a missed throw. Then we'd allow penetration in the second puller in a gap scheme and can't get around a penetration, and it's a TFL. You have a breakdown in protection. We struggled offensively. You have to play in unison. We didn't do that. You couldn't put your finger on one thing. It wasn't just, 'Oh, the wide outs couldn't get open or they dropped the ball.' It wasn't that. We had a couple drops, but they made some really good catches. It wasn't just Avery. He made some great throws in the second and third quarter. I was just proud of our resolve as the game went on. How we played on fourth down, that was a positive. How we continue to fight and find different ways to run the ball, especially in between the tackles, late in the game. So, I was really proud of the guys for that, although it wasn't a pretty effort overall. It wasn't."
On how good the Utah pass rush is…
"They're good. They're really good. (No.) 90 (John Henry Daley) and No. 0 (Logan Fano) are the two edge guys. They have push up the middle. They're always big in the interior at Utah. But, (Nos.) 0 and 90 can come off the edge. I see (No.) 15 (Lance Holtzclaw) coming off the edge. They're big, they're long, so they present some issues there. They're good players."
On what else he sees from the Utah defense…
"They're very, very well coached schematically. You don't see them out of position very much. They play a ton of man, a lot of pressure, zone pressures, man pressures. You have a head coach and a coordinator that played for him and then has grown and cut his teeth under him. Those two guys, they've seen about everything. You just turn on the tape and you're like, 'They're very, very well coached.'"
On keeping the offense going without wide receiver Jayce Brown…
"I think the biggest thing for us is finding ways to convert on third down. I think the third down is a big part of the game in getting a new set of downs. You're not going to replace Jayce Brown. He was our most explosive wide out with the most speed. You don't replace him. So, I think you have to find different ways to move the ball, and that'll be a major challenge against these guys. I think the key for the whole offense is, man, we got to find a new set of downs. We got to get to third down and be able to convert."
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how good the Utah running game is…
"The running game is good. I think this is probably one of the best offenses, certainly in the conference, if not the best in the conference. I have a hard time believing there is much better in the country than these guys just for a number of reasons. Number one is the multiplicity of what they do and the different schemes that they have. How good they are up front. Sometimes people do a lot of, I don't want to say, junkie, but crazy things, because they're not very good up front. These guys are good up front. So, if they just wanted to line up and get after you, they could do that too. Then, the skill of the ball carriers across the positions – the receivers, the backs, the quarterbacks – all capable. So, it's a challenge."
On the Utah quarterbacks…
"The emergence of (Byrd) Ficklin has kind of been another layer to the thing. (Devon) Dampier was a good runner from the outset, and then, he's taking a lot of hits. He's still a very capable runner, but they've kind of shifted some of those duties on to Ficklin and some of the backs. I don't know if I've seen Ficklin get tackled yet this year. I don't know if that exists on tape anywhere, and Dampier too. Just a big, bigger, stronger runner, kind of like a Jalen Daniels-type body that's just hard to bring down."
On if there are any changes in the Utah offense depending on which quarterback is playing…
"I think they do what they do. I don't think that there's a lot that changes. They're both capable throwers. That's one of the things that impresses me about their offense. Formationally, they could have three or four different personnel groups and be in the same formation. It's about players, not plays, and I suppose at the end of the day, that's the way it should be."
On what went into the multiple turnovers at Oklahoma State…
"Well, it starts with how tenacious the D-line was. They were a big part of those. Obviously, the-sack fumbles are a big part of that, but I know we had a tip ball, we had a pressure throw. So, I just think our pass rush and getting that going a little bit has been a big part of that. I'd love to say it's coaching, but it's not. It's those guys. We're promoting more get off. We're promoting more disrupt. A number of those were blitzes, too. So, it wasn't just the D-line. It was also the backers and whoever else was in on those. So, they timed it right and they hit it. Just the panic of the quarterbacks, I think, is sometimes a bigger factor in that stuff than what people give it credit for."
On making multiple substitutions on the defensive line at Oklahoma State…
"Well, we have a lot of guys who can play. I think from our end, if you're good enough to play, we're going to play you. If you're below others, then we're not playing guys out of charity. That's not what it is. On the D-line, we've got a lot of guys that are very comparable. They all have different abilities, different skills, but they're all good players, and they all deserve to play. So, that, coupled with the fact that it was a hotter day. It was a rare November weather day down there. It was hot, and on our sideline, it was beating on us. We were playing a decent amount of snaps. So, just our ability to rotate, to keep those guys fresh, was a huge factor in the game. I'd like to say we do that at all positions. Some positions we're a little thinner right now than what we've been. We've had to make some lineup changes and some shifts, and there's some guys that are playing too many snaps, but at this stage of the year, that's what it is."
MATT WELLS, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On a team traveling to play in altitude…
"I don't think it's near as big a factor. It's a marketing ploy out there. You have to hydrate and all of that. I think it may be a little psychological at times because there's certainly teams that are from the west coast or east coast that have come into Utah – Utah State, Utah, BYU – and won on the road. It's not like you can't do that. So, I don't ever see it as a as a big factor, to be honest with you. I was at OU when we went and played BYU, (you take) Vitamin D and Vitamin C pills and all that stuff. At Utah State, we had that sign right outside the visitor's locker room, and I'm sure there's one at the stadium in Salt Lake, too."
On the biggest offensive issues at Oklahoma State…
"I think the first thing is, man, we took turns messing up. Avery (Johnson) had a couple. We had a drop ball, and he had a missed throw. Then we'd allow penetration in the second puller in a gap scheme and can't get around a penetration, and it's a TFL. You have a breakdown in protection. We struggled offensively. You have to play in unison. We didn't do that. You couldn't put your finger on one thing. It wasn't just, 'Oh, the wide outs couldn't get open or they dropped the ball.' It wasn't that. We had a couple drops, but they made some really good catches. It wasn't just Avery. He made some great throws in the second and third quarter. I was just proud of our resolve as the game went on. How we played on fourth down, that was a positive. How we continue to fight and find different ways to run the ball, especially in between the tackles, late in the game. So, I was really proud of the guys for that, although it wasn't a pretty effort overall. It wasn't."
On how good the Utah pass rush is…
"They're good. They're really good. (No.) 90 (John Henry Daley) and No. 0 (Logan Fano) are the two edge guys. They have push up the middle. They're always big in the interior at Utah. But, (Nos.) 0 and 90 can come off the edge. I see (No.) 15 (Lance Holtzclaw) coming off the edge. They're big, they're long, so they present some issues there. They're good players."
On what else he sees from the Utah defense…
"They're very, very well coached schematically. You don't see them out of position very much. They play a ton of man, a lot of pressure, zone pressures, man pressures. You have a head coach and a coordinator that played for him and then has grown and cut his teeth under him. Those two guys, they've seen about everything. You just turn on the tape and you're like, 'They're very, very well coached.'"
On keeping the offense going without wide receiver Jayce Brown…
"I think the biggest thing for us is finding ways to convert on third down. I think the third down is a big part of the game in getting a new set of downs. You're not going to replace Jayce Brown. He was our most explosive wide out with the most speed. You don't replace him. So, I think you have to find different ways to move the ball, and that'll be a major challenge against these guys. I think the key for the whole offense is, man, we got to find a new set of downs. We got to get to third down and be able to convert."
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On how good the Utah running game is…
"The running game is good. I think this is probably one of the best offenses, certainly in the conference, if not the best in the conference. I have a hard time believing there is much better in the country than these guys just for a number of reasons. Number one is the multiplicity of what they do and the different schemes that they have. How good they are up front. Sometimes people do a lot of, I don't want to say, junkie, but crazy things, because they're not very good up front. These guys are good up front. So, if they just wanted to line up and get after you, they could do that too. Then, the skill of the ball carriers across the positions – the receivers, the backs, the quarterbacks – all capable. So, it's a challenge."
On the Utah quarterbacks…
"The emergence of (Byrd) Ficklin has kind of been another layer to the thing. (Devon) Dampier was a good runner from the outset, and then, he's taking a lot of hits. He's still a very capable runner, but they've kind of shifted some of those duties on to Ficklin and some of the backs. I don't know if I've seen Ficklin get tackled yet this year. I don't know if that exists on tape anywhere, and Dampier too. Just a big, bigger, stronger runner, kind of like a Jalen Daniels-type body that's just hard to bring down."
On if there are any changes in the Utah offense depending on which quarterback is playing…
"I think they do what they do. I don't think that there's a lot that changes. They're both capable throwers. That's one of the things that impresses me about their offense. Formationally, they could have three or four different personnel groups and be in the same formation. It's about players, not plays, and I suppose at the end of the day, that's the way it should be."
On what went into the multiple turnovers at Oklahoma State…
"Well, it starts with how tenacious the D-line was. They were a big part of those. Obviously, the-sack fumbles are a big part of that, but I know we had a tip ball, we had a pressure throw. So, I just think our pass rush and getting that going a little bit has been a big part of that. I'd love to say it's coaching, but it's not. It's those guys. We're promoting more get off. We're promoting more disrupt. A number of those were blitzes, too. So, it wasn't just the D-line. It was also the backers and whoever else was in on those. So, they timed it right and they hit it. Just the panic of the quarterbacks, I think, is sometimes a bigger factor in that stuff than what people give it credit for."
On making multiple substitutions on the defensive line at Oklahoma State…
"Well, we have a lot of guys who can play. I think from our end, if you're good enough to play, we're going to play you. If you're below others, then we're not playing guys out of charity. That's not what it is. On the D-line, we've got a lot of guys that are very comparable. They all have different abilities, different skills, but they're all good players, and they all deserve to play. So, that, coupled with the fact that it was a hotter day. It was a rare November weather day down there. It was hot, and on our sideline, it was beating on us. We were playing a decent amount of snaps. So, just our ability to rotate, to keep those guys fresh, was a huge factor in the game. I'd like to say we do that at all positions. Some positions we're a little thinner right now than what we've been. We've had to make some lineup changes and some shifts, and there's some guys that are playing too many snaps, but at this stage of the year, that's what it is."
– k-statesports.com –
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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.
Players Mentioned
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