Published Oct 29, 2019
Rapid Reaction: Klieman turns focus to Jayhawks
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Matt Hall  •  EMAWOnline
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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.

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OPENING STATEMENT: We got the guys together for the first time yesterday, kind of reviewed and talked about the game and then really flipped the page pretty quickly. Kansas is playing really well and with a lot of confidence. I think we had a good practice yesterday. We got through the (OU) game relatively injury free, outside of the loss of Eric Gallon for the season.

Question: On attacking the process...

Klieman: You hope that the process is beginning to be instilled in those guys, but you're always reminding them why we have success. That comes from getting better each day and not worrying about Saturday. That's been the whole message through the season, even when we had a couple losses in a row. I thought we were improving as a football team.

Reaction: Klieman has indeed consistently shared a belief K-State was getting better, and quite obviously those results have been apparent to fans on Saturdays the last two weeks.

Question: On the KU game...

Klieman: I know it's a big game. It's a trophy game, it's neat. It's part of college football, all of that is great. But we can't get caught up in that. We have to make sure we come up with great game plans, the guys understand it, we don't get ahead of oursleves.

Reaction: If you've listened to Chris Klieman this year, you know there was a 100 percent chance he would make this game into another typical week of prep, like every other week, this season.

Question: On recruiting impact...

Klieman: I think all of the games in the Big 12 have an impact, and this is no different. They recruit

Reaction: An important game for recruiting, no doubt, but Klieman is also working in this press conference to not make Kansas feel "different" than the other Big 12 opponents K-State has faced.

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Question: On Jordon Brown...

Klieman: He didn't practice yesterday. We envision him practicing some today and he should be full speed ready to roll on Wednesday.

Reaction: I'd expect Brown to be good to go for K-State on Saturday.

Question: On Thompson's improvement...

Klieman: He's just getting more comfortable in the system. He's telling us more about who he likes in certain situations, and he's just getting more comfortable as he works in this offense.

Reaction: Thompson has consistently gotten better, no doubt. And, it's easy for us to forget how new this system is to him - and all players - as we get kind of deep into this season. It's still just seven games in to this era.

Question: What position groups have made the biggest changes from what was done last year?

Klieman: I don't know about last year, but I can tell you we sit down every week and look at the position groups and try and figure out what more we can get position by position. We're learning this all, too, with them. The big picture thing I've noticed is that we're playing faster, as a whole, on film.

Reaction: Poor wording by me to try and reference it to changes, but I was fascinated to hear him talk about some big picture views on his program development.

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Question: On getting focus shifted from OU to Kansas...

Klieman: What you did in the previous game has no bearing on what happens the next week. It doesn't work that way. Each week is a brand new week in this league.

Reaction: I don't think this is coach speak related to this week. He says this every single week, and I believe he gives the same sincere message to his team. There's no guarantee things will go well on Saturday, but I don't have doubts about the Wildcats being appropriately prepared.

Question: Any prior relationship with Les Miles?

Klieman: None, other than when he was hired at KU and I was hired here. We've had a couple of brief conversations since he was hired there, quick but good. I have tons of respect for Les and the sustained success, and I think all of us can see what he's done in a short period of time at Kansas.

Reaction: I have a perception (this wasn't said by Klieman in any way) he's spoken with Miles as little as any other coach in this conference.

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Question: On Courtney Messingham...

Klieman: I've been around him my whole life. I love the guy, and he's a great play caller. He doesn't ride the roller coaster. He has a plan; he sticks to the plan. He's really good in the staff room, because he honestly wants input from the entire staff and will listen and use it. He doesn't just ask for it.

Reaction: Messingham obviously did a fantastic job last week against Oklahoma, and in general he's done a very good job in his first season. No doubt Klieman believed in him to be successful, and this truly is 'his guy' at offensive coordinator.

Question: On recruiting off the Oklahoma win...

Klieman: You hope it helps, for sure, but I think it's still a body of work thing when it comes to recruiting.

Reaction: Totally agree, and well said. It's valuable, no doubt, but I do think fans and media can overrate the impact a single win or loss can have on recruiting success.