Chris Klieman spoke with the media today as part of Kansas State's Spring Football media availability. Let's take a quick look at the answers provided today by the Wildcats' head coach.
NOTE: There is some level of paraphrasing used on all of these quotes from Klieman. A full, accurate transcript will also be provided later.
Question: On working with certain positions (specifically at safety yesterday) at practice...
Klieman: We're always trying to move guys around. We were looking at a couple of guys at a different position, and we took some guys and looked at them. I enjoy doing that if I can lend a hand to a coach in that way.
Question: On D.J. Render at safety...
Klieman: It's something we're looking at right now. He did some really good things tackling from a special teams point of a view. We wanted to give him an opportunity. We don't know if it will be that way in the fall or not, but he'll stay there until the end of Saturday, and we'll make a decision.
Question: On Skylar Thompson...
Klieman: I'm really pleased with how far he's come. To be able to make a change on his own, to put us in a better play to be successful, is big. Physically he has loads of ability to run it and throw it. The mental side, though, I've been really impressed with. It's starting to slow down.
Question: On John Holcombe...
Klieman: He's made a lot of progress. He's made a lot of growth in seeing pictures and pre-snap. In the last three practices in particular I've been really impressed.
Question: On depth in general...
Klieman: Depth at running back is a concern. We're going to have to count on some young players coming in to compete. We're pleased with the depth at defensive line, depth at the safety position. The corner position is a little thin for us, too. We have to push the guys who are in the mix to understand where they fit. You have to continue to develop all the time.
Question: On the defensive idea sharing on this staff...
Klieman: It's fun. Coach (Hazelton) is not an ego guy. You aren't afraid to say something. A lot of that stuff and conversation happens on third down. There are a lot of conversations going against our offense and how they are protecting things. You want to find out how to beat that protection with a lot of voices in the room, as that's what's going to happen when you are preparing for teams in the fall.
Question: On helping kickers/punters...
Klieman: It's Stanton (Weber) right now. I spend some time, too. Coach (Conor) Riley helps with PATs and field goals. Our kickoff team is no different than our punt team, it's a defensive snap. You can't run down the field aimlessly, you have to know the scheme and play it like a defensive snap. We are probably a little bit behind, since we've spent so much time on offense and defense installs. Stanton has done a great job taking over that, but we have a long ways to go.
Question: On Coach Riley on the offensive line...
Klieman: I think he's the best offensive line coach in the country, and I've been around a lot of them. Schematically, technique-wise, there's a lot of good ones. But I haven't seen one relate to guys like he has. Those guys can take being challenged if they know they are loved and are cared about. Every one of those kids (who has played for him) would run through a wall for him. I sat in on an offensive line meeting on Saturday, and they were locked in.
Question: On Lance Robinson...
Klieman: We have transitioned him to corner. We wanted to give him something to get used to. We were splitting him between multiple positions at practice, and he was kind of being average on both. He's going to be a really, really good football player, but he needs reps at a spot.
Question: On using analytics...
Klieman: It's big. We are going to look at that more in the summer and some operations that can help with that. We have more resources here. There's still gut, but it's become a big part of all sports, really, and we'll talk with some people here this summer about it.
