We recap what Kansas State defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton had to say on Thursday, plus provide full the full video his presser.

The third down defense was the biggest negative takeaway Kansas State defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton had following the loss against West Virginia. All three touchdowns by the Mountaineers came on third down. Neal Brown’s group only converted on four third downs, but three of them found the end zone.

Though, as Hazelton noted, K-State had been executing well in that particular situation throughout most of the year.

Texas Tech’s offense plays at the quickest pace the Wildcats will see all year, and there wasn’t another offense Hazelton could remember that plays quicker. Head coach Chris Klieman compared it to a Chinese fire drill during his press conference on Tuesday.

However, there is a fine line in preparing for it at this stage of the season. Practices are typically scaled back a bit this time of the year, because you’re trying to save the legs of the players and hoping to get them as fresh as possible for Saturday. Preparing for a reckless tempo can make that particularly challenging.

It’s been a delicate balance all week, according to Hazelton.

I missed it and didn’t realize it until today, but Hazelton has seen a lot of Matt Wells’ offense. They were mates in the Mountain West conference for a few years when Hazelton was directing the defense at Wyoming under Craig Bohl and Matt Wells was the head coach at Utah State.

It probably helps both sides to have that familiarity.

Wells and company will know what Hazelton tends to like to throw at them in certain situation, while Hazelton will know what packages and coverages tend to work versus their offense, and which ones tend not to, for the most part.

That head-to-head battle between Kansas State’s defense and Texas Tech’s offense will likely be the most familiarity that anyone has had with a phase of the Wildcats’ team, and vice versa. It could be a bit of a glimpse or a hint of what to see or expect from the rest of the Big 12 in 2020.

If what Hazelton said today is any indication, and Klieman hinted at it as well, then true freshmen Tyrone Lewis and Will Jones are very close to seeing the field right now in meaningful situations. They’ve been practicing a lot with the regular unit the past few weeks.

Both coaches phrased it in a way to where they still wanted both to maintain their redshirt status. That wouldn’t matter when it comes to Jones, because he can play the rest of the year and still redshirt after only appearing in one game.

Lewis, though, can only play in two more games while keeping his redshirt.

***Subscribe to K-StateOnline by clicking here***

Talk K-State football and basketball in the largest, most active K-State message board community anywhere, The Foundation.