They Said It: Quotes from K-State's Media Day
Thank you to the KSU Sports Information Department for providing these quotes from a selection of K-State players and coaches from Monday's Media Day.
K-State Football Media Day Quotes Head Coach Bill Snyder
On what he has learned about the team so far…
“Most of what I know about them I have known from past experiences, spring practices, summer workouts, et cetera. I think they have kind of become a more spirited group of guys. We have had three practices and I have seen that spirit grow during that period of time, more so than in the spring. It seems to be a group that has a good level of commitment to the process. All of these are positive things that I am pleased about. I do not think this is dramatically different than how I saw them in the spring. They are a group of guys not afraid to work at it. They do not seem to want to back away from anything like that.”
On the having younger coordinators this year…
“That is part of positive approach. That may have something to do with the spirit of our team. It is not just the coordinators but also some of the younger coaches who really get into it quite well and have a great deal of spirit about themselves. In most cases, that is motivational for a number of our players, probably to a little higher of a degree than previous years.”
On finding a successor at offensive coordinator…
“I was not worried about the timeline because I was confident that I would stay within the staff that we had. When you boil the water out of it, there are really three guys that are doing this job – Andre (Coleman) and Collin (Klein), but Charlie Dickey is involved with that as well. Charlie has more experience with our offense. He has been in the coaching position longer than the other guys have. His experience here goes back a number of years, but they (Andre and Collin) have experienced it because they were here as players, as well. That is a positive thing in my eyes. All three of them have a role in it. It is not going to be just one guy. All of the coaches contribute, but the guys that contribute to getting schemes on the field on gameday will come from all three of those (guys). It will all go through Andre because you have to have one that will make the final call.”
On AJ Parker and Walter Neil Jr. at the nickel spots…
“It is the same as it was. Right now, I do not want to take away anybody else’s opportunities, but nobody has made it a three-way race yet. I would like for it to always be as competitive as it possibly can be, and the more the merrier, but right now those two have stepped ahead of the rest.”
On the kicker and punter spots…
“I can only say this – after day one I was pretty convinced that we were going to run it or throw it on fourth down. After the second day I thought maybe we could slip a punt in there, and after the third day I thought we had a chance. The key element is they are getting better collectively. There is nobody that has separated themselves from anybody else, but they have made that step forward collectively. It still remains to be seen. That will take longer than any other position that we have right now.”
On how important the kicker and punter spots are to maintain field position…
“Vital, if that is the right word. It has always been a field position ballgame for us, and our special teams has been so prominent in that. We still have to be that prominent again. You have heard me say this tons of times but special teams is not about one guy. It is not about just that punter or just that kicker. It is going to be about the 10 other guys as well. It is still a team thing. Obviously, I am not naïve to the fact that punters and field goal kickers make a difference. They will have to carry their weight, there is no doubt about that. If they do not, then it truly has an impact on our team collectively.”
On rebuilding the return unit…
“I do not feel badly about that. We are still trying to sort out the depth. Isaiah Zuber and Duke Shelley probably would be the two most prominent guys right now, and I think they are well on their way to earning the top spots. That would be the guess on my part, that they will probably end up that way. I would like to see it a little bit more competitive with a third and a fourth young guy.”
On Kendall Adams returning to physical activities…
“He still is in a position where he is taking weight off, but he is doing it in an appropriate way. He is making it happen. When we get around to game time, weight is not going to be the issue. Not just because of that but because he is back on the field and he is in the process again. He is gaining his quickness back. If I had to make a bet on it – I would not tell you that he is back to where he was – but he is close enough to make me honestly believe that he will be there very shortly.”
On Denzel Goolsby stepping up as a leader on the secondary…
“He is a reserved, quiet young man and for all the right reasons. He feels better about himself because of the experience that he has had. Things come to him quicker, he is able to process information quicker and consequently react quicker, which makes him a better player. As far as the leadership role is concerned, he realizes that he could be a part of the team leadership and is willing to make the effort in trying to step up and do that. He still has a way to go in regards to letting himself be out there, so to speak. As far as the ‘setting the example’ part of leadership, he is super. He always seems to be doing the right things and doing things the way they should be done, whether it is out here or any place else. He is a good person, takes care of himself and has quality character. He is just in the process of learning how to be a little more vocal and demanding in a leadership role. He is gaining on it, but he is not there yet.”
On the improvement of Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson since the spring game…
“The ability to process information more rapidly comes with experience. For someone who is committed to their performance level, repetition allows you to be able to process information more and more. You become quicker with your thought process and become quicker-a-foot, for that matter. Being able to get ourselves in and out, up to the line of scrimmage, make calls, snap the ball, go do your thing, all of that comes a lot quicker because they can process the information a lot faster. I would say both of them, because of their experience, are continually improving in that area. As far as the management of the game itself, that improves a little bit again with time and experience. I see that taking place. I could not tell you that they are throwing it any better or running it any better right now. That seems about the same to me, but I think that will show up here. Re-familiarizing yourself with the schemes and the players that are going to play the positions they are going to throw to.”
On the interior of the defensive line…
“Joe Davies, Drew Wiley and Jordan Mittie, along with Trey (Dishon), are going to be tossed around in the mix in those two inside positions. Trey has not done anything to make me change my feelings about how well he is doing. I was extremely impressed during the course of the spring and his 15 days of spring practice. I thought he was very competitive and played hard every single snap. He not only played hard but became fundamentally better. He has better understanding of what we are doing, and nothing has slowed down. Only three practices but that has not changed a bit.”
Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach Andre Coleman
On his style of play…
“Demanding. Attention to details. I think it’s the little things that count. If the route is supposed to be run at 16 yards, then I want it 16 yards not 14. If you’re supposed to be at the bottom of the numbers then I want you at the bottom of the numbers, not a yard inside the numbers. All those little things when you watch film makes the difference. There’s time when there are things that people in the stands maybe don’t see, but when we get in and watch film, it’s the little things that make a difference.
On the wide receivers…
“We have room for improvement at every position, and our goal is to improve at every position. It is an ongoing process, we are still trying to improve a little bit every day. We’ve had three practices and I think we have gotten a little better every day.”
On recruiting certain types of players…
“I think you recruit players that are going to fit your system. So we’re specifically looking for certain types of players that we feel like could play this position, or we feel like could play this position because he is versatile. We will focus more on guys that fit into our system instead of making a square peg fit into a round hole.”
On coach staff changes…
“It’s great, they don’t have any egos, I don’t have an ego. Our mission is to win the game. It doesn’t matter where the idea comes from, as long as it is the best idea that puts our team in the best position to win, that’s all I care about.”
Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Blake Seiler
On signing period changes…
“You have to get out, you have to get the recruits here during the summer. With bowl games and bowl prep going on with that early signing period, it’s tough. So, there’s a big push to get some of the recruits here during the summer.”
On becoming defensive coordinator…
“I wouldn’t say that it was on a checklist or anything that I had in mind. I have always kind of taken the approach that if you show up and do whatever your job is and you’re the best at whatever you were hired to do, whether it’s a GA working on film or coaching the defensive ends, if you do your best, it will work itself out.”
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach Brian Norwood
On what influence he will have on defense…
“Coach (Blake) Seiler is a tremendous defensive coordinator and there are tremendous coaches on the staff here. Everybody here does a great job. I am just coming in trying to add whatever I can with the knowledge that I have but also gaining knowledge at the same time.”
On who is sticking out in the secondary…
“I think there’s competition in all groups, even the guys coming back like Duke Shelley. He’s doing a great job on the field and competing. There’s a number of names at the corner spot who are competing at that position, including Duke. Then at the safety spot, I think they all are doing a really good job.”
On challenges of arriving during recruiting…
“The coaches have really done a great job. Coach (Tom) Hayes was here, who really helped make the transition very smooth for me. We were able to visit and talk through some of the things that I would be stepping into from a schematics standpoint. In the same light, Coach (Blake) Seiler did a good job. Those guys made it very simple for me.”
Senior Offensive Lineman Dalton Risner
On any level of comfort for the returners on the offensive line...
“Let me tell you one thing, no one is comfortable on this whole team. I’ve been here for five years, going on four years as a starter and I’m not comfortable. There’s no one comfortable in a starting spot right now because we’ve got a lot of young guys that aren’t settling for being behind (on the depth chart) – they want to come in and play. Not just the young guys, but guys that have been here for two or three years that are kind of sick of being 2s, they want to get up there and play. We all compete, every single day. I can tell you right now in all honesty, there’s not one position that’s comfortable. We’ve got a lot of new coaches in here, new offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator. We’ve got a lot of changes and all these coaches are saying, ‘Hey, we’re playing the best people on the field – we don’t care what you’ve done, who you are, who you think you are and what you think you’ve earned, but we’re playing the best people.’ No one is comfortable and that’s making us tremendously better.”
On the daily match-up with the defensive line...
“It’s such a mutual conflict throughout camp and I love it. We’re going hard and getting them better. We’re ticking them off, and they’re ticking us off when they beat us and they’re going hard and getting us better. We grind and hate each other all camp and we forget that we’re making each other so much better. Every year, we get to the first game and we go play a different defender, and we say it was so much different not going against you, thank God. You get used to going against your same guys. They just make us so much better and work extremely hard under Coach Mo (Latimore) and under Coach (Travis) Britz. They’ve got them doing a lot of new things this year, and a lot of good things. They get us so much better. There are a lot of good guys in there that are doing great and getting us all better.
On the play of redshirt freshman Josh Rivas...
“A big deal for these young guys that they don’t understand and what a lot of media people might underestimate is playing this game at offensive line on the Division I level is 50 percent mental. Fifty percent of it is knowing the plays, knowing what to do in the right technique. That’s where (Josh Rivas) has turned the corner. He’s a very big, strong, physical player – that’s not going to be something that’s an issue for him – but he’s made the corner because he knows his plays and he knows what he’s doing. I block next to him and I don’t really have to tell him what he’s doing and that makes me feel encouraged. If he’s made a turn in one area, it’s that area for sure.”
Senior Defensive Back Duke Shelley
On his general feelings with the start of camp...
“Everything’s been going good; we got off to a fast start this camp. There’s a lot of competing going on, a lot of going back and forth between the offense and defense. We’ve definitely been doing good, probably one of the best camps I’ve been a part of since I’ve been here, so we’ve started on a positive note.”
On his general feelings with the start of camp...
“We’ve got a lot of depth in the secondary this year. We’ve got some guys that came in from junior colleges like Kevion McGee and Darreyl Patterson – they came in from juco and fit right into the program. AJ Parker has stepped up, he’s doing nice things for us, and Walter Neil. The biggest thing I see in the secondary is the depth that we have. In previous years, we haven’t had that depth in the secondary. It shows on the field with the first and the second group, you don’t really see a drop off. That’s probably one of the biggest things I’ve seen.”
Junior Defensive End Kyle Ball
On his feelings surrounding the start of camp...
“There’s a lot of energy at practice, I feel like guys are feeding off of one another a lot more. Someone will make a big play and everyone will get hyped. I feel like there’s a lot more energy going on at practice the first few days. The energy has been really good.”
On the feelings surrounding the start of camp...
“With the defensive ends, we’ve got a lot of guys with playing time, a lot of experience. We’ve got like four or five guys that are ready to go, so it’s pretty exciting to see how well we’re doing, pushing each other. Stuff that you’ll usually have to go over, we already know, so we’re trying to improve our game that much more and go over finer details. I feel like we’re getting a lot better, we’ve got a strong group.”
On the importance of getting a good pass rush...
“Our coach has these goals for the us each game, for the defense. One of them this year is one out of every five pass attempts to disrupt the quarterback. Last year in the Big 12, we didn’t do very well on third and long, and that’s a lot of when the defensive ends are in and rushing the quarterback. That’s been a big emphasis in the off-season and over the summer – we’ve been doing a lot of pass rush moves and working on our hand moves and everything. We want to prove to ourselves this year that we can do good on third and long, do well in pass rush.”
Senior Defensive Back Kendall Adams
On recovering from last season’s injury…
“I’ve been full-go all summer. I was really excited to start camp and be practicing again. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually been able to play football. Hopefully I can get back to being the player that I was before I got hurt and be a good leader for the defense. Having a player like D.J. Reed going to the NFL, I feel like I have to step up my leadership.”
On the improvement of Denzel Goolsby…
“He’s really a student of the game. I remember him switching to safety a couple years ago, he would constantly be asking me questions and now sometimes I find myself asking him questions. It’s cool to have somebody else that can help teach the young guys. It takes a lot of burden off of me to have a guy that is experienced and a guy that I can trust next to me.”
Junior Defensive Back Denzel Goolsby
On the resilience of the team…
“I think that’s just K-State as a whole, just the mindset of this program, how it’s built on toughness and having that never quit attitude. Going into this season, we’re just trying to start fast and not have to be having so much pressure on ourselves toward the end of the season to have to pull something out.”
On having Kendall Adams back at full strength…
“It’s awesome. I love Kendall, I can’t say enough good things about him. Off the field he’s a great guy, he always does the right things. Also, on the field, he’s a great leader for us, seeing how hard he attacked everything this offseason is awesome. He deserves every bit of it because he attacked his rehab and just to be where he’s at right now is so impressive. He’s flying around, so I’m excited for him.”
Junior Wide Receiver Isaiah Zuber
On becoming the No. 1 receiver…
“I watched every game from last year and every practice. I’ve been meeting with Coach (Andre) Coleman. I have to keep my head focused, I have to quiet out all the noise and let nothing get to me. I just have to focus on myself and myself only.”
On how the offensive will change under new coaching staff…
“We are still running the same offense, we are just running different types of formations. There is more energy, even at practice – players getting into it with the coaches, coaches getting into it with the players. Everybody is competing.”