Transcript: Riley talks competition, work up front
The following is a full transcript of Conor Riley's interaction with the media after Kansas State's Tuesday practice.
On the offensive line right now...
"Inconsistent would be the first term. There is a lot of good and then there are a lot of bad things right now. You look at today's practice, and we had some tough situations. A lot of third down and long, a lot of pressure situations. What we need to do, and what I just talked to the guys about, is it's one play. How do we respond? How are we going to move forward and say, so what, now what? That happened, let's move forward, next play. Let's learn from it, but next play."
How do you balance preparing your group against keeping them fresh for the season?
"I think our plan, and the plan we use as a program has kind of been proven. You have to continue to push these guys every single day. But, the way we protect ourselves out there on defense, the way we stay up and make sure we're off the ground, those are the things that are going to make sure we get to that first game healthy. Is that going to be a guarantee? No, it's still the game of football. But we're asking our guys to push themselves, play fast and finish but still protect their teammates. One of the first things Coach Klieman said was, 'The Wildcats are not on the schedule this year.' So, what we have to do is continue to challenge each other and compete, but continue to protect one another."
Do you have five starters set on the offensive line?
"We're still identifying a position or two. We have a couple guys competing for that position, and actually more than one. If you look back at how I prepare the offensive line, there are going to have to be a few guys who can play a couple of positions. We talk about putting guys in challenging situations. We talk often about putting them in uncomfortable situations. You want to create an uncomfortable situation out there today, so you can handle it Saturday afternoon. Guys are bouncing around a little bit, and I'd say there are two or three guys competing for that one position."
How do you feel about offensive tackle depth?
"Some days good, some days not so good. I'll wait to evaluate the film today. I know we have a couple of young kids who we are going to continue to tell it's a race to maturity. You’ve got to continue to grow. Time is not in your favor. You may not have had the game reps. We can’t control that. What we need to do is control our focus, control our effort every single day out there."
How’s your health in general for this time of year?
“I feel pretty good about the health, knock on wood. I hate you asking that question, to be honest (laughing). However, relatively speaking I think, with our double rep situation, guys are protecting each other and being smart. There are those guys getting heavy legs, those guys who this week is going to be a grind for. This week is going to be challenging on them. That’s what we’re what to ultimately do, and they have to continue to fight through it.
Does it take pressure off the line by having experienced running backs?
“I just look at that tailback room right now, and some of the freshmen we have with some additions to the program, about where we are at. Even some of the guys who are returning and coming from the spring are playing a lot faster. They’re seeing protections better. They are seeing the holes and pressing their aiming points a little bit faster. Coach Anderson is doing a phenomenal job. There are a couple of guys who I think are pretty electric in that group, and I’m excited. I just have said to give them a little crease, give them a bigger phone booth to play in. There’s going to be that safety in that fit. There’s going to be that extra hat down there. Hey, give them as much space as possible to do their job. I feel pretty good about that group right now.”
On leadership after Dalton Risner…
“I think it’s a great lesson. It’s a philosophy of ours. One of the things we often said, at the last place I was at, is we’re not going to balk at graduation. Somebody goes down? Hey, next man up. Man down, man up. We have a senior group, a lot of guys who have played Big 12 football in this group, and I challenged them and said, ‘Hey, you need to step up.’ They do need to step up. They need to rise to the occasion. Leadership is not being a captain. It’s not an award. It’s not a post-season accolade. It’s a responsibility. That carries a lot of weight, and that’s what we’re trying to impress on these guys.”
Where are you seeing the greatest improvement?
“Finish. Yeah, we’re finishing plays a lot better. It’s what I’ve seen. When I look back at the spring… we’re going to try and run more efficient practices. There are a ton of reps; there are a ton of guys getting out there, but what we need to do is not be out here forever, not do a ton of conditioning at the end of the day. What we explained to them was our conditioning is the way that we prepare. And the way that we prepare - that’s something I talked to the entire team about - has got to be different. If we want to have different results, we’ve got to prepare different.”
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