Get a quick look at what Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman had to say in today's press conference, followed by our immediate thoughts, in Rapid Reaction.

A complete transcript of Klieman's full comments will be provided later today on K-StateOnline.

Opening Statement: I’m excited about our win on Saturday. We were able to rush the football and stop the run. That was really critical. To be able to hold the football for 38 minutes to their 22, with their offense, helped us. On third downs, for us to be able to win there, that all translates back to time of possession. I’m really happy for the seniors, for the leaders of our team, to go be able and shut them down and chew up the clock and really rush the football. It was a big win for us. We got to work on Monday for Texas. It’s a great opponent, and going down there will be a fun environment. We’re looking forward to it.

Question: On the climb…

Klieman: I just think we’ve gotten better. We are going to continue to improve, and now it’s the next game up. It’s another big game. There are no easy games left.

Reaction: Klieman has been consistent on this message throughout. This question asked him to address where K-State was picked in the Big 12 as opposed to where they are now, something he certainly wasn’t going to get into, but he repeats his consistent stance on constant improvement.

Question: On traditional success in November…

Klieman: It’s focus. Great leadership by your players and coaches doing a great job. I really believe that’s what it is. Especially with the younger players in long seasons. It’s not easy to win games. As you get late in the season you get beat up a lot, and you hope those reps you got with the younger guys pays off.

Reaction: K-State did a lot of work, early, to attempt to manually build depth on the roster. I think the Wildcats had success doing that, at least to an extent, and it’s helping now.

Question: On missing top two RBs at KU…

Klieman: It’s a credit to guys like Harry, Joe, Skylar, etc. We were without two really good running backs, but we have a stable that’s pretty capable. I think it gives confidence to our offense, in general, that the schemes are good, and if you keep getting those reps you’ll have an opportunity to make plays. I thought Harry played really well.

Reaction: To rush for 342 yards without Jordon Brown or James Gilbert absolutely speaks to what Klieman spoke about, the strength of the scheme, as well as the play of the offensive line, of course.

Question: On Nick Kaltmayer’s personal foul penalty against Kansas…

Klieman: He didn’t hear a whistle and he kept playing. We’ll visit with Nick. Maybe he could have done something differently, but I don’t want to take aggressiveness out of a guy either.

Reaction: Love the attitude of not over-reacting to penalties that had to do with playing aggressive and dominating up front. Penalties are never good, but I agree with Klieman’s stance here.

Question: On possible redshirts…

Klieman: There are some we’ve made that determination on. There are some guys who have multiple games left and could help us with injuries. Joe Ervin really helped us, and he’s right at four games now. We don’t know about using him next week just yet. Jordon practiced a little bit yesterday, and we hope we have both of those guys (Brown and Gilbert) against Texas.

Reaction: Ervin is indeed right at four games, something DY has updated in his redshirt tracker. We have notes in there about some “sure things” as far as redshirting or not redshirting, but Klieman will certainly take advantage of anybody he believes can help. And, he won’t do it unless he believes it’s in the best interest big picture of both the program and player.

Question: On the offensive line…

Klieman: Credit to Coach Riley. We’re playing six guys, and they are playing together. You hope they would. We had a couple of weeks where we weren’t all in synch, but as I said before, I know we are progressing and getting better. I see it every week in practice, every day, and I

Reaction: No doubt, this unit has been fantastic. I have been critical of it, at times, certainly, and it’s far surpassed the level of play I projected it could. I was wrong, and they’ve been very good.

Question: On A.J. Parker…

Klieman: A.J. Parker did suffer a high ankle fracture, so he’s going to be out for the foreseeable future. We don’t know if he will have surgery or not, but we’ll be without him for a period of time. Kevion McGee will likely replace him at starter, Darreyl Patterson will slide up a spot to no. 3. Lance Robinson moves up a spot, as well. We’re fortunate we’ve been able to play a lot of guys there.

Reaction: Tough injury loss, no doubt. Parker is K-State’s best corner. McGee and Patterson have been good, borderline very good, but it’s never good to lose one of your best players.

Question: On Jordon Brown and James Gilbert…

Klieman: We have to see how they are progressing this week. Can one play? I don’t know if both will or not; it’s so early in the week. I think Jordan is closer than James, but we’ll figure it out the next couple of days, as these are padded practices for us.

Reaction: Sounds like there’s certainly chances for either or both backs to play, but reading between the lines (or, just the words, I guess) it sure sounds like it’s far more likely Brown is the one available against Texas.

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