Kansas State University Athletics
‘Time to Get Going’
Jul 09, 2025 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Here we are, standing inside the beautiful 400,000 square-feet state-of-the-art Ford Center, nestled on a 91-acre campus of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters. It's the crown jewel of Frisco, Texas. Thousands of blue stadium seats surround the indoor football field. There are miles of black table cloths and black curtains from end zone to end zone. There are tables upon tables in a print media area bumping up against one end zone, and a separate radio/podcast area lines a sideline.
Network TV and streaming service studios adorn the upper concourse or the middle of the football field — ESPN Video, FOX, Big 12 Video, TNT, Bleacher Report, CBS and ESPN Studios.
For the next nine hours, the Ford Center is home to Kansas State at the 2025 Big 12 Football Media Day. There's senior safety VJ Payne, senior linebacker Des Purnell, senior offensive lineman Taylor Poitier, senior defensive end Cody Stufflebean, and of course, junior quarterback Avery Johnson, who attended Big 12 Media Day a year ago.
Payne stares at the national championship trophy positioned near midfield. He pulls out his phone and snaps a pic.
"I mean, every player on every team wants that trophy at the end of the season," Payne says. "Being here to represent my team is an honor. I'm blessed to be here. I'm loving it right now."
And there's Stufflebean, dressed in his purple No. 47 jersey, emerging from one interview about an hour or so after K-State pulled up to the Ford Center at 7:40 a.m. and all this began. Stufflebean wears a broad smile.
"A reporter asked me, 'How would you be cooked if you were a potato?'" he laughs. "I said, 'Mashed, because I like eating mashed potatoes.' That was kind of weird.'"
The K-State players, dressed in uniform, instantly steal the show with an impromptu Dutch Bros. cornhole competition near the 20-yard line shortly before 9:00 a.m. As their game wears on — it's Johnson and Purnell against Poitier and Stufflebean — it's clear that Johnson and Purnell are in trouble.
"You're down 16-0," Stufflebean shouts 10 yards away.
"Dannnng!" Johnson says.
A crowd of fellow Big 12 players begins to gather.
Johnson and Purnell come back and win.
Ah, yes, Big 12 Football Media Day, and it wouldn't be the same without the trademark FOX Studios on the second floor. Through those doors at 9:40 a.m. is a different world — smoke machines, dim lighting, a large video screen with purple lightning, and loud, energetic music, and a large stage on the middle of the floor.
"What music do you want to play?" a FOX engineer asks.
"Young Boy," Johnson replies.
The music and bass really get pumping.
"You guys ready?" a director asks. "Get on stage!"
"Turn around, do it again!" he says.
"Go, 'Ahhhhhh!"
All the short K-State clips filmed will likely be used during FOX telecasts at some point this 2025 season.
Johnson stands in the middle of the stage, flexes his arm muscles, and yells, "AHHHHHHH!" All the other players join him on stage. Purnell flashes a MOB sign into the camera. Players take turns dancing in a dance circle. Willie Wildcat and two K-State cheerleaders enter the studio and the five K-State players, two cheerleaders and one mascot scrunch in together for a group shot as four narrow spotlights rotate across the studio and colors flash and the bass drops.
"Being able to be together and have fun with the hype-up productions and being able to just have fun with your teammates through all the seriousness," Stufflebean says, "That's what it's all about."
In the adjacent Big 12 Video studio, K-State players take turns pointing to the name on the back of their jersey and then take turns spinning a sparkly silver football across their hands for the video camera. It gives Purnell a big smile.
"I've been loving everything about today," Purnell says. I love the set up. Everybody is really welcoming."
It's 1:15 p.m. — and what is this? K-State players retreat into the locker room, strip off their uniforms, and re-emerge wearing dapper suits. That includes Johnson's custom-made lavender suit with a light-lavender pocket square, instantly grabbing attention on the football field.
Johnson joins ESPN commentator Greg McElroy on the live ESPN set. For the next eight minutes, the former NFL quarterback-turned-commentator and one of the top current quarterbacks in college football talk shop and dissect some of Johnson's favorite plays last season.
Seems for every interview, prompts another one, and another one, and, "Oh, could we have five minutes of your time?" and K-State players politely oblige and answer a few questions.
"You can be a little star struck seeing ESPN, the Bleacher Report and TNT," Payne says. "It's a blessing to get to talk with them."
There's a representative from the Orange Bowl, one from the Rate Bowl, and one from the Pop-Tarts Bowl, each asking K-State players a question or two. Then other media outlets join in. An audio snippet here, a podcast snippet there. K-State players are more than accommodating.
Finally, at 2:00 p.m., after seven hours of smiling, shaking hands, and answering questions, Poitier leans back against a wall and sighs, "I think I'm ready for a nap."
Oh, there's more. There's radio row — where K-State players sit down with radio hosts from across the Midwest. K-State players do between 10-12 radio interviews in all with Johnson, and his lavender suit, in high demand.
Finally, there's the print media scrum, as players sit upon podiums and answer reporters' questions from down below.
What should everybody expect from this K-State football team in 2025?
"You'll see the same formula," Johnson says. "We're a hard-working team, a relentless team that fights until the end. We're never going to give up. We're going to do things the right way. We have great leaders. We're a team ready to prove to the world that we're the best team in the Big 12."
Shortly after, the players thank the reporters, and they walk across the field to the locker room. Departure is drawing near.
It's been 10,500 steps. Five miles. Nine hours. And thousands of words spoken. It's been yelling into cameras in the morning and Johnson in the afternoon taking a moment to hold a puppy. It's mashed potatoes, it's the unofficial cornhole championship, and it's hugging it out with some familiar faces on opposing Big 12 teams. It's a brotherhood, don't you see? And as the FOX video cameras best captured with the players standing together in uniform under the lights, the brotherhood at K-State is strong.
It should make for a heck of a season.
But for now, we're left with this: K-State players wearing T-shirts and shorts, leaving the locker room, toting their suits in bags, heading toward an awaiting black executive van, which will take the Wildcats to the airport for a flight home to Manhattan.
But as Johnson passes by in the hallway at 5:15 p.m., he says about all you need to know about the dedication of the Wildcats' leader and this squad heading toward the fall.
"Time to get going," Johnson says. "We run at 6:00 a.m."
Here we are, standing inside the beautiful 400,000 square-feet state-of-the-art Ford Center, nestled on a 91-acre campus of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters. It's the crown jewel of Frisco, Texas. Thousands of blue stadium seats surround the indoor football field. There are miles of black table cloths and black curtains from end zone to end zone. There are tables upon tables in a print media area bumping up against one end zone, and a separate radio/podcast area lines a sideline.
Network TV and streaming service studios adorn the upper concourse or the middle of the football field — ESPN Video, FOX, Big 12 Video, TNT, Bleacher Report, CBS and ESPN Studios.
For the next nine hours, the Ford Center is home to Kansas State at the 2025 Big 12 Football Media Day. There's senior safety VJ Payne, senior linebacker Des Purnell, senior offensive lineman Taylor Poitier, senior defensive end Cody Stufflebean, and of course, junior quarterback Avery Johnson, who attended Big 12 Media Day a year ago.
Payne stares at the national championship trophy positioned near midfield. He pulls out his phone and snaps a pic.
"I mean, every player on every team wants that trophy at the end of the season," Payne says. "Being here to represent my team is an honor. I'm blessed to be here. I'm loving it right now."
And there's Stufflebean, dressed in his purple No. 47 jersey, emerging from one interview about an hour or so after K-State pulled up to the Ford Center at 7:40 a.m. and all this began. Stufflebean wears a broad smile.
"A reporter asked me, 'How would you be cooked if you were a potato?'" he laughs. "I said, 'Mashed, because I like eating mashed potatoes.' That was kind of weird.'"
The K-State players, dressed in uniform, instantly steal the show with an impromptu Dutch Bros. cornhole competition near the 20-yard line shortly before 9:00 a.m. As their game wears on — it's Johnson and Purnell against Poitier and Stufflebean — it's clear that Johnson and Purnell are in trouble.
"You're down 16-0," Stufflebean shouts 10 yards away.
"Dannnng!" Johnson says.
A crowd of fellow Big 12 players begins to gather.
Johnson and Purnell come back and win.
Ah, yes, Big 12 Football Media Day, and it wouldn't be the same without the trademark FOX Studios on the second floor. Through those doors at 9:40 a.m. is a different world — smoke machines, dim lighting, a large video screen with purple lightning, and loud, energetic music, and a large stage on the middle of the floor.
"What music do you want to play?" a FOX engineer asks.
"Young Boy," Johnson replies.
The music and bass really get pumping.
"You guys ready?" a director asks. "Get on stage!"
"Turn around, do it again!" he says.
"Go, 'Ahhhhhh!"
All the short K-State clips filmed will likely be used during FOX telecasts at some point this 2025 season.
Johnson stands in the middle of the stage, flexes his arm muscles, and yells, "AHHHHHHH!" All the other players join him on stage. Purnell flashes a MOB sign into the camera. Players take turns dancing in a dance circle. Willie Wildcat and two K-State cheerleaders enter the studio and the five K-State players, two cheerleaders and one mascot scrunch in together for a group shot as four narrow spotlights rotate across the studio and colors flash and the bass drops.
"Being able to be together and have fun with the hype-up productions and being able to just have fun with your teammates through all the seriousness," Stufflebean says, "That's what it's all about."
In the adjacent Big 12 Video studio, K-State players take turns pointing to the name on the back of their jersey and then take turns spinning a sparkly silver football across their hands for the video camera. It gives Purnell a big smile.
"I've been loving everything about today," Purnell says. I love the set up. Everybody is really welcoming."
It's 1:15 p.m. — and what is this? K-State players retreat into the locker room, strip off their uniforms, and re-emerge wearing dapper suits. That includes Johnson's custom-made lavender suit with a light-lavender pocket square, instantly grabbing attention on the football field.
Johnson joins ESPN commentator Greg McElroy on the live ESPN set. For the next eight minutes, the former NFL quarterback-turned-commentator and one of the top current quarterbacks in college football talk shop and dissect some of Johnson's favorite plays last season.
Seems for every interview, prompts another one, and another one, and, "Oh, could we have five minutes of your time?" and K-State players politely oblige and answer a few questions.
"You can be a little star struck seeing ESPN, the Bleacher Report and TNT," Payne says. "It's a blessing to get to talk with them."
There's a representative from the Orange Bowl, one from the Rate Bowl, and one from the Pop-Tarts Bowl, each asking K-State players a question or two. Then other media outlets join in. An audio snippet here, a podcast snippet there. K-State players are more than accommodating.
Finally, at 2:00 p.m., after seven hours of smiling, shaking hands, and answering questions, Poitier leans back against a wall and sighs, "I think I'm ready for a nap."
Oh, there's more. There's radio row — where K-State players sit down with radio hosts from across the Midwest. K-State players do between 10-12 radio interviews in all with Johnson, and his lavender suit, in high demand.
Finally, there's the print media scrum, as players sit upon podiums and answer reporters' questions from down below.
What should everybody expect from this K-State football team in 2025?
"You'll see the same formula," Johnson says. "We're a hard-working team, a relentless team that fights until the end. We're never going to give up. We're going to do things the right way. We have great leaders. We're a team ready to prove to the world that we're the best team in the Big 12."
Shortly after, the players thank the reporters, and they walk across the field to the locker room. Departure is drawing near.
It's been 10,500 steps. Five miles. Nine hours. And thousands of words spoken. It's been yelling into cameras in the morning and Johnson in the afternoon taking a moment to hold a puppy. It's mashed potatoes, it's the unofficial cornhole championship, and it's hugging it out with some familiar faces on opposing Big 12 teams. It's a brotherhood, don't you see? And as the FOX video cameras best captured with the players standing together in uniform under the lights, the brotherhood at K-State is strong.
It should make for a heck of a season.
But for now, we're left with this: K-State players wearing T-shirts and shorts, leaving the locker room, toting their suits in bags, heading toward an awaiting black executive van, which will take the Wildcats to the airport for a flight home to Manhattan.
But as Johnson passes by in the hallway at 5:15 p.m., he says about all you need to know about the dedication of the Wildcats' leader and this squad heading toward the fall.
"Time to get going," Johnson says. "We run at 6:00 a.m."
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