Kansas State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham met with the media prior to this weekend's trip to Texas.

The newest update on the status of running backs James Gilbert and Jordon Brown came from offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham on Thursday, and it was slightly more positive in favor of the Wildcats.

Messingham seemed to give a more optimistic outlook on Brown, saying he has felt better about the way he’s looked thus far, though remained on message in saying that both would be game-time decisions in Austin.

No opponent received more praise from Kansas State’s offensive coordinator this week than Caden Sterns. The starting safety for the Longhorns is set to return this week after missing a few games for Tom Herman’s club. The sophomore was widely viewed as the league’s top newcomer a year ago and was perhaps already the best safety in the league.

He’s been one UT's missing pieces. Messingham did note that sometimes players aren’t their usual selves after a long layoff and said that could be the case for guys like Sterns and B.J. Foster, but also concluded that Sterns is so good of a player that it probably doesn’t matter.

Oklahoma State and Baylor gave K-State fits with their odd fronts, though Kansas State responded well to what Kansas showed. They’ll see a similar front against the Longhorns, and the Wildcats have been mindful of that.

It was something mentioned by the players on Tuesday, and their offensive coordinator shared some concern about it since it has given them problems in the past. It could also be more of a challenge when considering Texas’ nose-guard weighs approximately 340 pounds.

These are the two situations Chris Klieman and Messingham want Skylar Thompson to be a weapon on the ground. They want more for the defense to be concerned with, and Thompson's legs can do that damage on third down and inside the red zone. It’s worked lately, as Thompson has run for seven touchdowns the last two weeks.

It is critical for the Wildcats’ chances, according to their coaches, for the quarterback run game to be a part of the game plan on third down and in the red zone.

Because Kansas State still thinks it can count on him - and is dealing with some injuries in the backfield - the plan seems to still move forward with Joe Ervin on the field. The true freshman has already played in four games, and his next one will prohibit him from using a redshirt this year.

He played a large chunk of the game against the Jayhawks a week ago in Lawrence.

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