Watch full videos of Kansas State coordinators Courtney Messingham and Scottie Hazelton, plus transcripts provided by K-State Athletics Communications.

On what he liked best about defensive performance at Kansas…

“I think the guys, once again it goes back to play really hard. I think the guys locked into the game plan, and they did a great job communicating on the field to get us in the right thing because we put some checks on them. I think they did a good job with that. They really wanted to play, and it was one of those deals where, ‘Hey man, they played hard and it was fun to see.’ It was fun to see the guys play hard. We tackled better, which showed up in some of the stopping the run stuff, and I thought that was fun for them.”

On the week of preparation without cornerback AJ Parker…

“Even like last week, and through the year, Kee-vee (Kevion McGee) has done a good job jumping in and getting meaningful reps when Walt (Walter Neil Jr.) was down before. I think that’s the deal - whoever's in at the time, they’re the starter. Hopefully the next-man-up attitude is good with the guys. I think it’s always hard to lose a good player for a little while, but we’ve got to keep going. It’s one of those deals. It’s football.”

On the giving up the fewest red-zone touchdowns in the nation…

“I think it’s a combination of things. When we first looked at it in two-a days, our offense was scoring at will and we didn’t really understand our red-zone coverages very well. So, it was an emphasis that Coach Klieman put on them earlier because we needed that extra work. We spent a lot of time in fall camp trying to get the guys to understand that. So much, in fact, that it affected our other coverages in the field when you want them to drop and get some depth, but we came back from that. I think that’s kind of hanging on. We spent a lot of time during fall camp, especially late in fall camp, working on that.”

On the physicality of the Texas offense...

“They are. I think that their O-Line is different than we’ve played. They’re more physical than a lot of guys. Their toughness, through and through, is something that shows up on tape, and it’s a little different party. They’re not afraid to turn around and give the ball and say, ‘Hey, we’re going to get three yards, and two yards, and five yards, and at some point that’s going to wear you down, and that’s where our big plays are going to come.’ From those things, just wearing a team down. So, it’s a little bit different mentality than we’ve been seeing lately. Everybody wants to spread the ball out and do those things, where these guys - sure they’re going to take their shots, they’re going to do that too because they have good players out there too - but they’re not afraid just to say, ‘Hey, listen, we’re going run inside zone and hit you with it, and then we’re going to do it again, then we’re going to do it again, and one of those is going to pop at some point.’”

On Da’Quan Patton’s interception at Kansas…

“Yeah, I was actually a little bit panicked about that play. We were trying to buzz him to get out there. (On) 3-by-1, they had a tendency to go to the X. We were trying to show it like that, and I think that they figured it out. We wanted him to line a little wider, but he was like, ‘Just calm down. I’ll get there,’ and he did. So, it was a good deal. It was a different rotation that we had shown before, and it was really the first time that it showed up for the quarterback that he noticed it was 3-deep that we were playing. So, when he took it, it was a good deal for Da’Quan. He was in the right place at the right time, and it was a really good play for him. I think that where he lined up, you wouldn’t say he was going to end up there. So, it kind of helped him on that case.”

On if he can do more schematically at this point in the season…

“We’re getting better. At first, it was more like, ‘Hey, we’re going to make this call and we’re going to ride this call, and this is what we’re going to be in, and there’s nothing you can change.’ We were kind of trying to baby step it into them, but, really, we’ve done a good job the last few weeks getting in where we can start to put a little bit more in on them. They’re still learning the defense. There’s still that happening, but we’re at the point where you can say, ‘Hey, now versus this look, we want to play this, and versus this look, we want to play this.’ So we’re starting to get the pieces in. Are we there yet? I don’t think so, but we’re getting much closer where you can start to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to call one defense then we might check into something else,’ or, ‘If we get this, we can get into something else.’ They’re starting to get there, which is helpful because you can start to be more multiple that way and try to show some different things and do some different things, which is cool that we’re close to that point. As we keep moving forward, hopefully we can keep doing little things that they don’t think’s a big deal but as you add up all that stuff, it starts to be better.”

On the climb do success throughout the season...

“It’s good to see the guys fight through a little bit of adversity that we had in that month where we had two bye weeks and two losses. It was really good for them to see that hearing all the noise outside, they could kind of do their thing and really focus on the family. ‘Hey, what’s important for the family?’ Like when we beat Mississippi State, it’s the same thing. They were told, ‘Hey, you’re good, you’re ranked again, blah, blah, blah all that.’ You get all that noise and try to say ‘Hey, that doesn’t matter. Every week’s a new week, and it doesn’t matter if you beat X and they beat because that happens all over this place.’ So, it was fun to see them climb out of that and comeback. Really, like I’ve mentioned before, one of the best weeks at that time was the pre-Baylor week of practice, and to see them let them say, ‘Ok, we’re going to keep building on that prep week of practice instead of the result of that game,’ that’s the neat thing that they’re starting to believe in the preparation for it. The results happen all by themselves and God’s got a plan for us, however it works out, but those weeks of preparation prepare you for whatever the result’s going to be, and it’s going to make you better in the end. That’s fun to see them go through that transition.”

On Jahron McPherson’s ball spin at Kansas that resulted in an unsportsmanlike penalty…

“Well, I won’t tell you that that was a very cool spin and it spun for a long time. I won’t tell you that, but I will tell you that it was very upsetting. When he got to the sideline, he was excited and I was not. It was kind of the opposite reaction when he got to the sideline, but that was a good play by him. Let’s just say that.”

On if he was aware that a ball spin would warrant a penalty…

“Yeah, especially in games like that. If you get a rivalry game, they’re (officials) going to call everything close. They understand what’s on the line for the guys. You have to prepare for that, and we obviously didn’t have them prepared for that. It’s as much on us as it is on him.”

On if Jahron McPherson ever spins the ball during practice…

“Yeah, they can celebrate in practice all they want. That’s where they have the chance to do it. Really, it cost us points because we were in scoring position right there. That takes us back 15 yards, (and) we don’t move the ball. We don’t get any points. That cost us points. That’s a bad decision on our part. We should’ve done a better job getting them prepared for what was going to happen on the field with the officials, and how close they were going to call it. Sometimes you assume that we’re more experienced than that too, and they understand that. So, we have to do a better job of that.”

On if Trey Dishon is still allowed to do his belly rub celebration…

“Sure, I don’t think anybody minds seeing a big guy rub his belly. I think that’s more fun than saying something to the opposing team on their bench. That’s a little bit different.”

On Trey Dishon’s play at Kansas…

“Trey played well. Trey’s been playing well for a little while too. Him and (Jordan) Mittie have been doing a good job, even rushing a little bit more. They’ve been doing a good job being disruptive on first and second down in the rush group when they stay in. So, it’s fun. He’s been doing a good job.”

On if the running success was surprising last week considering two running backs were out…

“Yes and no. Yes, obviously, when you’re missing those two guys (James Gilbert and Jordon Brown), you get a little bit concerned, but our offensive line and the tight ends and fullbacks did a nice job. Out on the edge, some of the wideouts helped spring some longer runs as well. So, we keep trying to hammer them on it’s not one individual, it’s all 11 of us trying to be on the same page.”

On the challenges Texas’ defense presents…

“They’re another odd-front team. They’re probably a little thicker, a little bigger both at the linebacker level and on the D-line. So, the ability to get movement is going to be a big key. Obviously, last week, they had some long guys, but this week they’re probably 340 (pounds) at their nose guard, and when you look at the size of their linebackers, they’re 240-plus. So, the ability to get movement up front will be a big key.”

On red-zone success…

“The crazy part there is each week you talk all the time about taking full advantage of those opportunities. The last couple of weeks, especially, we’ve done a nice job of scoring touchdowns. Getting points is huge, but touchdowns makes it that much easier to continue to stay ahead on the scoreboard.”

On introducing the option the past two games…

“It’s always been there, it just kind of comes back to the comfort level of you feel Skylar (Thompson) is at, where the quarterback’s at. We felt like, especially the last couple of weeks, in the red zone it gives us another dynamic, and it forces them to have to defend 11 guys rather than 10 when we’re handing it off.”

On game planning for Texas defensive back Caden Sterns…

“He is a really, really good player. Part of it comes back to how much they are expecting him to be back and how much they want him back, but the bottom line ends up being you just have to be smart as an offense. When you have chances to take, take advantage of something. Don’t turn it over. Be smart with the football because he’s a very good football player.”

On how Skylar Thompson’s running fits into the offense…

“He’s obviously not a tailback, but he does do a nice job with his feet. He does a nice job understanding, ‘When to I go try to move the chains, and when do I go ahead and run out of bounds and be smart.’ That’s the biggest thing that I’ve told him since day one is, ‘Third downs and in the red zone, your feet and your ability to run the football needs to be in our game plan. If it’s 1st and 10 or we’re out at the 35-yard line coming out, then be smart. If you get a 10-yard gain and you get out of bounds, we’ll all live with that.’ That’s what we have to keep him understanding, ‘When do I plan more like a running back, and when do I remember I’m our quarterback.’”

On tempting to use more designed runs for Skylar Thompson given his recent success…

“It’s something where you have to make sure you’re guarded a little bit and don’t fall in love with calling run plays where you’re pretty sure he’s going to keep the ball, because we do have a number of reads, if it’s a zone read or a power read where he can keep it, but you have to be smart. You don’t want him carrying it 20 times a game.”

On the status of running backs James Gilbert and Jordon Brown…

“I’ve felt really good with Jordon. James at times has looked good, and at other times it’ll be more of a game day decision I believe. Even with Jordon, I think it’ll still be that because whenever you have lower-body injuries as a running back, you could step just wrong or, in a scout team setting, you could get nicked up a little bit. Then you back up. Obviously, we need both those guys healthy.”

On Joe Ervin’s status regarding redshirting…

“No, I wouldn’t anticipate Joe continuing to play. Now, again, we are in a position where we’d have to make a decision. wouldn’t want to play him just one play in a specific game. He needs to be a guy that we can rely on, and I think right now he is.”

On red-zone touchdowns being an ingredient of toughness…

“You always want to say that because when you get down inside the three- or four- or five-yard line and say, ‘We’re just going to pound it and knock it in.’ I think it still comes much more back to just executing whatever it may be. We’ve had options down there. We’ve handed to the tailback and scored down there. We’ve actually thrown it down there and did a nice job a couple weeks ago throwing the football down there on third down in the red zone. The biggest thing is to just executing and not having a mindset of, ‘We have to do it this way or we have to do it another way, but whatever is called, we execute it.’”

On utilizing the option or outside run with Skylar Thompson as opposed to QB power…

“It goes back to a little bit of what the defense is playing. The last few weeks, he’s gotten into a situation where it was man coverage, whether it was a draw or him just scrambling and taking off and running. When it’s man coverage, there’s generally not a guy that has the quarterback. Other teams play with what they call a spy, and they have somebody that specifically has him, but the last couple of weeks, there hasn’t been that situation.”

On if Skylar Thompson is more elusive than what people give him credit for…

“I think very much so. I think that all of us would say that he’s a thrower first, but I think he’s a good enough athlete that people seeing you have to defend him from a run-game standpoint.”

On what impresses him most about running back Harry Trotter…

“Just that he comes to work every single day. It doesn’t matter what you ask him to do. If we’re throwing the ball to him or if we’re handing it to him, he just goes and does his job. He’s never a guy that’s worried about how many reps he gets. He’s just ready when he does get his opportunity.”

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