Curry Sexton Breaks Down K-State Football Ahead of the 2024 Season

are you buying into the hype and and how do you assess this team heading into the 2024 season that I I am buying into the hype um I'm trying to cautiously optimistically buy into the hype um you know I think I I've been telling people I haven't been this excited about a football season since my last year um and and that is because of the team that we have on paper thanks for listening to KC Sports Network proudly presented by m prise bank if you're thinking about starting a business or know someone who is check out emise bank's SBA Loans it's always good to know your options and they can be your partner impossible hello and welcome to another threea pod I'm Cole mck and man am I excited for this show because it's game week which means we welcome back one of our favorite guests on three M starting today Curry ston former kstate wide receiver and partner at Wildcat nil is with me and will be with us on three M weekly throughout college football season just like last year and we're going to talk a lot of K State football on today's show and all season while also touching on some updates with Wildcat nil because a lot has happened in that space since Curry was last on the show and the return of Curry to threea and it being game week calls for a double por of holiday distilleries Ben holiday bottled and Von bourbon so go grab a bottle from your local liquor store and stock up so you have it at your tailgate this Saturday in Manhattan or pick up a bottle to have on stock at home for when you're watching the cats on TV Great kstate Folks at holiday Distillery who support us on freea and have done some collaborating with Wildcat nil as well so go support them for double the reason and pick up some Ben holiday bottled in Von bourbon or 360 bcat if that's your drink of choice Curry man how you been how's the summer been things have been good man I I'm I'm happy to be back I'm happy like like you are the football season is upon us and uh Summer's been good is a Crazy Summer I travel more and I typically travel and moved into a new house and um you know still still got a full-time job and work in the nil stuff on top of that so uh no no no rest uh for me this summer so excited for football season excited for the fall to uh officially Beary yeah you've been plenty busy for sure that's for sure I don't know you do it and and you uh have scoured the uh the lands of Ireland for us to get us all prepared which is 365 days away from today right Curry how was Ireland Ireland was amazing man I my my family is very Irish and we were supposed to take a trip there in 2020 U my folks have been there a few times and they they wanted to take the all of us kids there so uh we ran it back this year and and and shortly after we booked all the flights and every in all the all the hotels and airbnbs we uh that the Ireland the Iowa State game was announced and so um just decided to to run with it and and some of us may be going back again next year but it's an incredible incredible country uh can't wait to go back I we were there for 10 days and I feel like I didn't see you know a quarter of what I would like to see um so really really looking forward to it it's a great place beautiful country great people um good food great great beverages it's a great spot well about a year from today many of us will be in Ireland for the cats to open their season hopefully coming off a big 12 Championship in college football playoff appearance and you know a lot of Heisman hype around a couple guys maybe on the team going into that game in Ireland next year if all comes to fruition this season and we're going to talk plenty about this season a lot of time on this show previewing the 2024 football team as we head into Saturday's opener against UT Martin in Manhattan but before we dive in there Curry why don't you tell us about everything you guys have got going on at Wildcat nil right now yeah for sure uh I'll try to capture as much as I possibly can it's been a busy it's been it's been a busy nine 10 months since you and I last talked um obviously in January of this year we became January February we became the official nil partner of kstate Athletics and and then um embarked on on really fun uh Journey with with them where we went out and raised a bunch of money to to sort change um the competitive landscape of Ni at C at K State and so um been busy been fun you know we're trying to trying to stay on the Forefront of this thing and trying to make sure K State stays competitive with nil as we move from this this initial phase of nil into Revenue sharing most likely within the next 12 12 13 months and so doing everything that we can to keep us in the space there and um you know a lot going on right now uh we we've still got our membership active and rolling trying to increase the membership numbers there obviously in the spring we did the big campaign where we got over a thousand unlocked a bunch of gifts along the way uh We've recently rolled out the uh the drive for 1600 campaign um as the cats football team uh strives to to win 16 football games this year we're trying to get to 1600 members um there's some different there's some different perks and benefits associated with that right now if you sign up at our $25 a month level um you get this hat which is usually only available at 50 and up um other perks as well we're having this year we're having U member tailgates at every single home football game which should be a blast we're gonna have you know we'll be we'll be in the north we'll be in the lawn right north um of the of the veneer family football complex right to the Northeast there we'll have food and Beverages and we'll have TVs and we'll have you know people can play college football the put the video game there'll be a lot of fun things there uh so if you're not a member get signed up see can come to our tailgates um there a lot of fun partnership right now um we've got the the daras gas station give back campaign going on again this this month so if you if you're in around manhatt at any point before the end the Vols make sure you fuel up at daras they they donate three cents back to Wild Ken and I for every gallon pumped at their gas stations um if you live in Manhattan make sure you go to WTC canes.com and sign up for WTC internet um if so 10% of your first bill will come to uh will be donated to Wild nil that runs through August as well um we've still got the beer partner parip with Manhattan Brewing Company so go support Manhattan Brewing Company either in their store or in your local liquor store um we've also got a fun partnership right now with hbe where hbe is is going to donate $1 to Wild K and iil for every four pack of w bash of the W bash beer that is sold at the manhatt hbe store um so if you want to support us in multiple ways go by W bash easy drinking ale at hbe in Manhattan um beyond that you know we we there's a lot of exciting stuff going on we've got the GOL we've got the golf tournament coming up for this second time for the second year in a row uh September 12th the Thursday before the Arizona football game we're going to be hosting that in support of the men's basketball team again at Cobert Hills should be a really really fun event um energy should be high being in September and the day before a big game against a new conference fo um lot of fun if you have any interest in getting involved in any in any way wild T nil go to cats nil.com um explore our website and see what might work for you yeah and uh look I'll be candid with you guys you said I'm rocking the same hat that Curry and we didn't planned this I got the uh the Wildcat nil hat on as well and also got a wildcat nil shirt on as well that came with my membership package I'm in the 1863 Club folks it's a $25 up month if you get in there before the drive to 16 other members you're going to get this hat one of that part of that group for $25 a month you're GNA get this shirt came with a really cool Koozie some great email updates and obviously the tremendous work that you guys are doing content wise on you know YouTube as well some tremendous interviews and we we'll hit on that later in the show Korea you've had Dylan Edwards Jerome Tang Avery Johnson just now Coleman Hawkins released in the last couple of days as well some tremendous content cannot say enough good things about it encourage everybody to go check it out on YouTube cats talk by Wildcat nil and we'll talk more about that in the show but I would also encourage everybody like if you if you're considering signing up for the membership first go check it out there's a price tier for everybody you know we've talked about it before $10 a month $25 a month 50 999 and so on whatever you you feel the need to sign up for but a really cool prizes and things that you get for each tier that you're in and I cannot wait to show up to the tailgate hang out with you guys but I would also encourage everybody to you know if even if you'd all do the the membership tier program at cats nil.com to support the businesses that are supporting Wildcat nil so like you said Curry if you're in Manhattan and uh you still got enough gas to make it there trying to make it to a darus uh this weekend for the UT Martin game and still on your gas there before you head out of town before you head into town Etc as you can support Wildcat nil and if you're looking to stop up stock up at your tailgate get some some B bashale beer from Manhattan Brewing or go to hi ve pick it up from there get a four pack a dollar goes back to Wildcat nil for every four pack sold from IV like you said Curry so go do that if at the very least as you stock up as you're getting some bent holiday bottle mon bourbon get some Wabash Al too and uh support wild cat nil and look I I can just just Echo everything you said about the golf tournament Curry I mean the for the Wildcats classic with the men's basketball team last year and the first annual event of it was an absolute blast at cobbert Hills we were there threea was there you guys hit a home run with everything and uh I think people should really jump on that that's a really fun opportunity to hang out with the team the players have a great meal win some prizes hey play golf with your buddies and uh hang out with J own tang and the staff and players so absolutely abolutely yeah I I got to ask you Curry uh and I hope I don't get you into trouble here and you can dodge us if you want uh which probably means I will try to get you into trouble what do you uh what do you uh think of that when you see people tweet about how wealthy Kansas state is nowadays when it comes to nil what's your uh reaction to like you got National media everybody all over this stuff with ch day we're the elite rich now huh yeah that's funny um you know it's it's it's just it's 12 months ago I think we were we were um it you know toward the back of the pack and so now to be even considered you know in that upper echelon of of of nil you know sort of nil infrastructure um spending whatever you want to call it I think just speaks to uh the level of embrace the level of buying that we've uh you know that we've had over the course of the last nine months I mean you think about the first C couple years of inil I think we were um largely behind behind the pack we were largely at the bottom of the Big 12 and fortunately despite that we were still able to have some success and still able to um win a lot of football games win a lot of basketball games win a big 12 Championship go to the go to Elite 8 um and so then when things when it was becoming clear that hey we need to either buy into this thing or get left behind we bought in and so we were able to you know go out and raise a bunch of dollars um and and and really you know when a lot of schools were just starting to experience and D experience Ona fatig we were just really getting started um from a larger from a larger fan base perspective and so I think we're able to to create a little bit of a competitive Advantage there um in year three of N and so it's it's fun to see it man I mean you know we we've been working really really hard at this thing for for two and a half years now um and for two of those years you know we were we were you know I I joke about this but we were excuse me we were uh you know in 2022 season um you know during football games the Ryan and Jesse and Pearson and myself were were sneaking into the West Stadium Center and and sneaking into inwa into people's suets and and talking to them about nil and asking them to give and so to see it come from that to now you know going to these donor events with Jean and and people from the from the athletic department from the aerd fund Greg Williams from the KSU Foundation to to see that transform has been rewarding for us and and so to some degree it do feel like hey our hard work is paid off and and we've you know we've helped we've helped Kate transformit inil program and and that's been that's been great to see um you know excited about where our rosters are at I think all of our rosters are a really good spot I think this could be a special year for K State athletics and and nil is certainly going to play a part in well look I I think I speak for all Kansas State fans when we want to say thank you for everything that you've done curry in transforming the image and doing all you've done to raise the money for Kansas State look it's K State fans have a lot of fun with it on Twitter and stuff and bragging about how wealthy we are and look that's a ton of work has went in to convince people how nil works and in that space and that's huge credit to you guys working your tail off because you got full-time jobs and you're doing this on the side just in the best interest of Kansas State and I think everybody should know it's it's K sters behind Wildcat nil it's guys like Curry Ryan hennington former football player as well Pearson mcy former men's basketball player at Kansas State Freon as well former K State football player like these are K sters running it I think it's one of the things Jee Taylor talked about he has a ton of trust in you guys and Faith the Wildcat athletic department endorsing you guys as well so and encourage everybody to go to cats nil.com and check it out by the way look I got to speak out quick my Wildcat nil gear came here by the way guys this thing this thing ships in like one I guess I shouldn't make false promises but it got here very fast like it was within a couple business days when it arrives so and it's it's high quality gear like this shirt really slick Sleek material very comfortable hat is great in fact my wife saw it the other night when she out she's like I like that hat like I feel like she wants that so the gear is awesome I know you guys have done some rebranding efforts there as well Curry and uh it's it's tremendous stuff and then unlock all the content the tailgates all the stuff that you guys are doing it's it's well worth it while at the same time supporting kstate athletes and I think and that we're going to be rewarded for giving the K State fans are going to be rewarded this year because we should be in for a fun basketball season and football season here because of the great support of K State fans and Wildcat and iil all right look I promised you we're going to talk K State football and uh we're going to do that right after we come from break but before we do so we got to tell you about HomeField apparel a premium College apparel brand based out of Indianapolis HomeField as some of the best kstate apparel you can find anywhere they've got 55 Kate items to choose from on their website at HomeField apparel.com including awesome retro t-shirts that are super soft comfortable several hoodies retro Kate logos that you'll want to stock up on as we get into the fall as well as a few hat you've seen me rock here before on the Pod also don't miss out on homefields can't miss kickoff in 2024 with their exclusive college football boxes Kate was one of 50 or so schools that was selected to be a part of this drop the Box comes with a couple of Kate shirts and awesome retro hoodie socks even a hat if you want to upd upgrade to the uh the Platinum football box that HomeField has all the items are exclusive to the drop so you won't be able to buy these anywhere except if you purchase the box go check out the boxes and the other 50 plus kstate items at HomeField apparel.com and we've got you covered with 15% off go enter discount code 324 HomeField apparel.com 324 when you go to check out and you'll get 15% off your entire order we'll be back with curry to talk KDAY football we come out of break we appreciate you supporting KY Sports Network by listening to our podcast you have helped us become the highest ranked Chiefs podcast Network in 2022 and 2023 and don't forget about our daily substack newsletter the best written analysis you can find on the Chiefs straight to your inbox every day kcsn dos substack tocom well Curry let's transition to football and uh out of the gate we kick off with our top story line of the week as always which is brought to you by our friends ATA Lano a Premier Home Improvement Company based out of Kansas City locally owned by tremendous K Staters Will Curry this K State football team's getting a ton of hype coming off a 9 and Four Season they're betting favorite by most night to make it to the Big 12 Championship they're viewed as a top team in the new Big 12 by most of the advanced metrics and analytics and Avery Johnson's getting some Buzz as a Darkhorse Heisman Trophy candidate are you buying into the hype and and how do you assess this team heading into the 2024 season that I I am buying into the hype um I'm trying to cautiously optimistically buy into the hype um you know I think I I've been telling people I haven't been this excited about a football season since my last year um and and that is because of the team that we have on paper now when I say cautiously optimistically buying into the hype it's because we've you know while while we have a great team on paper and if things go right I think this could be a special season we've also got um you know some some question marks I guess you could say some some areas where maybe we've got um some inexperience and we're going to have to have some guys Step Up in order for this special year to come to fruition and so I think you know there's a lot of reasons to be excited I mean you start with the defense and and what we have coming back and I think that get that alone creates a ton of room for excitement and what that defense could be offensively um you you were sh several key pieces DJ giddens Chase Brown uh Keegan Johnson Garrett Oakley Hadley Panzer Taylor por there's a lot of guys Carver Willis there's a lot of guys who play a lot of snaps last year um and then we've got you know then there's some inexperience I we have inexperience at the quarterback position we got to see ay quite a bit last year um but he's but he's still going into his into his you know first year as a full-time starter um there several spots on an offensive line where we've got new guys inexperienced guys we've got you know new left tackle who's coming from the FCS ranks we've got new starting center um who hasn't played a lot of snaps at this level um we're going to have some you know new guys rotating in on that offensive line and and and same thing on the defense at the defensive end spot um and so I think there's some you know and then special teams as well there's some inexperience there too so I think there's some areas where we're going to have have guys step up for this to be aeal year but on paper um there's reason to be buying into the hype I think this could be a really really good football team um they could make this one of the most special seasons in we've had at Cas state so Curry's buying into the hype and Stock A K State football so am I and you guys should buy into the hype when it comes to Al Leno in an industry where many of the home improvement companies have been bought up by private Equity Al Leno's remained locally owned by terrific K stator since they started in 1986 based out of Kansas City AL Leno specializes as premium window replacements bathroom remodels including the Coler Luxstone shower system door Replacements siding on your homes and much more they got you covered on all your home improvement needs if you live in northeast Kansas Western resouri including Manhattan Topeka Emporia KC Witchita many other areas aleno will come to you go to aleno home.com that's aen home.com or give Sam a call at 913 961 2165 Sam's a big Cas stor and he's so dedicated to giving Wildcat fans top-notch customer support that the number I just read to you is a cell phone number so give him a call he'll talk directly to you about your home improvement needs and probably even discuss a little K State football with you as well go to go support Al Leno tremendous K Staters owned and operating by and locally owned and have all your home improvement needs in mind all right Curry I I think it's only natural to start with the offense they're usually the the more appealing group that everyone wants to talk about gets everybody a little excited but I actually want to start discussing the Wildcat defense which I think is getting slept on a little bit maybe a little overlooked and it's a defense that allowed 1.91 points per Drive in 2023 tied for the best getting by a kstate unit since 2013 would have ranked third best out of the teams in the new 16 team Big 12 Conference in 2024 and they were number eight nationally in turnover Force per game something they've been terrific at top 15 in the country each of the last two years also ranked number two in the country in touchdown rate allowed inside the red zone is this the the deepest maybe most talented defense the Chris climbing era yeah I think so um again I think there's some pieces where you know particularly the defensive end spot where we're going to have to have some some guys step up but but otherwise yeah I think this is the deepest most talented defense we've seen I me start on the back end I think you've got five guys back there um who have NFL you know NFL Talent um you've got two corners who are who are being is as highly touted as anybody by the staff this offseason you know Jacob Parish has been a stud since his freshman year in ke Garber has transformed from a from a very skinny uh wide receiver to now a a 200lb quarterback with with Elite Speed um and then you look at our three safeties and you've got you know Maris seagull who was one of the best players on our defense last year after he got settled in and a guy who If he if he could have you know caught the ball a little bit probably could have had five or six picks um and and and he's going to be a guy who I think is an all Big 12 player then you've got BJ PA who's been you know performing well for us for two years now guy with Elite abilities great size great speed um Big Time hitter he's a guy who I think is going to take that leap and then Jordan Riley is is I think been one of the most impressive guys on the team this off season the guy who transferred to K State from B State um huge huge potential NFL NFL upside as well so I think the back end you're going to have one of the best back ends in in the conference if not the country um linebacker you know you return arguably our two best players from last year um in Austin Moore Dez Perell I think both of those guys going be huge for us year um Austin Roma is apparently taken that leap uh that from his freshman year to his sophomore year I think he's going to be a good player for us you've got a lot of guys who who have played a lot of games a lot of downs at that at that linebacker position and then you know up front You've Got You know guys like Brennan M Cody stuff will be Daman alio Uso Calo guys who have played a lot of football um who are coming back and who are going to be playing a lot for us this year then you know that's that's just the the front line guys and then you start talking about the depth that we have I think we've got seven guys who can play for us meaningful Downs for us at the defensive end spot we've got three at the defensive tackle spot at least um you know we've got probably eight or nine linebackers who could play meaningful Downs for us and then you look at the back end you've got you know we talked about the Five Guys that that that I think have NFL talent and then you know you've got a guy Kobe mallister who played a ton of snaps for us last year in fres in a safety I think he's a guy who's made that jump and it's going to be huge for us in relief um youve got a couple young guys you know Wesley Fair Jack fabis who I think are going to help us on the back game and then at quarterback I think you've got a lot of depth there Justice James and Jordan Dunbar who was a late ad a great ad um Can Angel Thomas Donovan Macintosh there is a lot of talent and a lot of depth on that defense um and I think that you know I think coach cerman said this the best defense he's seen since he's been at K State and I truly feel like it should be the best defense we've had in the CL era well you talked a lot about the secondary there Curry and look it's a secondary last year that ranked 14th nationally in pass efficiency defense was number two in the Big 12 behind only u in the 2023 season they posted their best pass efficiency numbers since the 2013 case 18 they were best in the Big 12 and yards per pass attempt allowed andc they held teams to a 55% completion percentage last year which is best in the Big 12 number 10 nationally best by a Kate defense since at least 2011 but likely beyond that and you kind already hit on some of the things about the secondary that really stand out so I guess I'll ask you maybe a little harder question how would you take this group over the 2022 group that included Josh Hayes Julius Brent and some of the star stud of talent Eko boo I mean those the three NFL guys right there Echo boo also still work out with the Chiefs how would you compare this group to them and and do you think this group could be even more talented I think so um I think obviously Ekko and and Julius Brent at the corner position were um were huge pieces but if you recall in that in that big Tok championship game um two guys who spent a lot of time on the field were Jacob peris and Keenan Garber that was the year that Keenan trans transitioned from receiver to Corner yet he was still playing a lot of snaps in the Big 12 championship game um I think those are guys who you know I think Jacob Parish has as much raw ability as anybody and and Keenan Garber apparently has become a whole different football player this offseason so I think I think those two guys can can reach that Echo boo Julius Bren level and then I think we're better in the safety positions um I mean again Maris seagull you know came from came from the FCS Lev last year played a lot of cornerback in North Dakota State transition to that safety position and after it got settled in was it just a force you know just an incredible football player for us and I think he's going to be even better this year um again BJ pay a guy that that has made a lot of football plays for us over the last two seasons I think he is going to take a huge lead forward and then Jord Ry I think everybody's going to be pleasantly surprised by him and I think those three can be the focal point of our defense and I think can be can be a a a pretty pretty good upgrade over that 202 to back end um and so yes I I do think that this that the back end can be better than that 2022 season I think it can be um as good as any we've had at casate recent we had Stan weberon about a month ago color commentator longtime boys for Kansas State and and he mentioned some of the value that it brings when you got two guys at corner that can lock a team down and man-to-man coverage and how difficult that makes it on an offense and Keenan Garber and Jacob Parish he certainly feels and a lot of us feel are guys that can do that I mean you played wide receiver and we're terrific at it obviously how much harder does it is it to go up against a defense that can that has a couple corners that can lock you down and manto man oh it makes it makes a world of a difference um you know it it's it's kind of like it's you know it's it's kind of like a basketball team he's got a couple lock down Defenders who can take the two best offensive players out of you know out of the out of the game out of the rhythm of the game um and force everybody else to beat you and in football you know if you got two guys on the perimeter who can lock guys down um you know that allows you to that allows you to focus a lot of attention elsewhere put a lot of guys in the Box um defensively I can remember you know playing some of those you know some of those some of my years at K State and playing some of those TCU defenses under Gary Patterson and they would have you know guys like Jason baret um who was a first- round NFL draft pick Kevin White who was a really really good defensive back really good quarterback um they had some of those guys who were ranthony T Tata was another good player for them um they had some of those guys who they would put on an you've been against somebody like a Tyler locket and say you guard that guy and you you've got him um and that just it it changes the dynamic um of of what what a defense can do and so I think having those guys out there you can put a lot of faith in them to lock down their you know their Zone where they're man um and and free up a lot of opportunities for other guys at the defense what's an area that you would like to see the defense improve the most at from last year to this year I think getting after the quarterback um you know I think last year we you know and you'll have the data for me um you know last year obviously coming off coming off of the you know having Felix um we we weren't efficient at getting after the quarterback you the only seemed like the only time last year that we got after the quarterback was on pressures um and and we have to have and I know we switched to that three-man front which was a big change and you had guys who were maybe a little bit um out of place in that in that scheme um we've got to have guys who can just pin their ears back and get after the quarterback and so I think that's something that I really want to see from this football team this year um and I think our coaches are going to do a good job of putting guys in a position to succeed on that front um and we've got some guys who can do it I mean again Cody Cody Stuffle be and Bren M played a lot of football games at K State um you know Toby Austin saw me is a kid with with as much raw ability and speed explosiveness as anybody I think he's a guy that you know you're going to count on him to go get you know five or six sacks this year then we've got some young cats who I think are you know a lot of people are expecting good big things out of and and so you're thinking you know cheaty and Jordan Allen um and Ryan Davis those are guys you know one of the one or multiple of those guys needs to be somebody who we can count on to get after the quarterback and then they throw Travis Bates in the mix too and we've got to find you know two three four guys from that Group of Seven who we can count on to put pressure on the quarterback to create turnovers to force bad throws um you know to get the defense off the field that's the biggest segment this defense needs to approve upon from last year completely agree which honestly Curry makes it all the more impressive that the secondary did what they did last year with the lack of pressure from the defense I mean they they weren't able to get a lot of pressure up front you the defense really held up in the secondary now I know there were some explosives that would probably be the the secondary thing that I would say they need to get a little bit better at is minimizing some of the big plays that they allowed especially in the passing game but I think number one to me is also pass rate I mean they were 99th in the country in sack percentage last year so that's a huge area that I think they need to get better at and be able to generate a little bit more of a pass rush was I mean look they'll be helped out by the secondary but they can help out the secondary as well even more and take it to level if they're going to be able to generate an increased pass rush uh one more question on the defense and I was going to save this for later but I'll just ask you now we're on the topic of the defense is there a guy on that side of the ball that maybe we haven't talked a ton about that you're most excited maybe as a sleeper candidate this year to really break out it's a great question um you know I think I think asome um is a guy that I'm gonna throw out there uh you know ASA was a you know flashback to that to that big class that we had a couple years ago with a um and it he was a big gift for us beting Alin Tu Iowa to grab him um and and he came in last year and and made an impression I mean you know we saw him on special teams in on defense last year making some plays early on this season before he suffered that ACL injury um and he apparently he's recovered nicely from that I got a chance to see him a couple times at practice and was really impressed with how well he was moving um the coaches love ausome um sharp kid you know mature kid very talented football player they think he's already take even with even with the offseason recovery they think he's already taken a step and it's going to be a guy that's going to you know that's going to play a lot of meaningful snaps you know with the way this defense plays and those three linebackers that they have out there almost every down um you know there's going to be a lot of guys there's going to be six eight linebackers playing a lot of snaps each game and I think Ace is going to be a guy who they're going to you know rely upon to give Desmond Desmond Pernell some some rther out there and I think he's a guy who can be really really good football for a player for us this year and in the future so I'm really excited about as us same here man and I uh he look he was arguably my second favorite recruit in the 2023 recruiting class behind only Avery Johnson he was a huge recruiting win it was a gut punch when he blew out his knee last year but the only saving grace was and it occurred earlier in the season the fact that it happened in late September was a blessing in disguise you remember Cobe Savage Curry I mean look he he did it in mid to late November at the Baylor game in wakeo and was probably a little slow out of the gate as a result so the fact that it happened a couple months earlier increased the recovery process and a timeline probably at the start of the season I cannot yeah I can't wait to to see what as new does before we transition to the offense do want to tell everybody about the kcsn foundation golf tney that is going to occur on Saturday September 7th starts at 11:45 in the morning Elber in boner Springs Riverbank Avenue we'd like to golf and we have some fun as well so if you'd like to join us get on over to Sunflower Hills Golf Course on Saturday September 11 starts actually closer to noon September 7th I'm sorry and we would love to see you there as the kcsn foundation is back for the third annual charity golf tournament it's a four-man scramble which was H and it's made possible by our presenting sponsor holiday Distillery as we already highlighted on the show so there going to be some fat fantastic bourbon there and uh since the first golf tournament in 2022 the kcsn foundation is given back more than $100,000 to the Kansas City Community with five Community programs which include feed it forward my first game with the boys and girls club book drive with impr prise bank holiday raffle um bought presents for operation breakthrough Christmas store teres teres palor scholarship raise money there as well so please help us continue to the can give to the Kansas City Community by coming out and having a good time on the golf course if you have any questions you can email us at kcsn Foundation gmail.com C let's transition here to the offense how do you kind of look there's there's a lot of new bodies on the offensive side of the football obviously Avery Johnson steps in at quarterback Dylan Edwards transfers in from Colorado they've lost a lot of guys especially up front on the offensive line you already hit on that how do you kind of evaluate and assess what K State's got on the offense and how excited are you to see this group yeah I'm excited I mean I think the potential is massive um again again I think there's a lot of pieces that need to come together on this side again you've got you've got a young and in experienced quarterback um who's who has already has massive expectations and so I think you know the hope is that he just that he starts achieving those expectations right away but I think it's fair to to expect some bumps to the road early while he gets into a Groove and and really gains that experience so that's a big piece for me and again I think you know offensive line we return a lot of guys who have played a lot of football for us um but there's also some pieces out there that were a little less certain to get East and Kil by all accounts has had a great offseason he's a plug-and-play left tackle I think we can expect him to hold up over there but he's never played at this level um the speed of the game will be different for him the size of the Defenders that he goes against will be different um you know Sam heck hasn't played many snaps for us in a kstate football uniform FL walk on from Valley he's gonna be the star at Center coaches love Sam they say that he's in improve that he's an improvement from from he's an upgrade from last year um and if that's the case then I think we them things could you know that offensive line could could be a nice could be a nice transition from last year to Cooper B group to this year um but again we're missing Cooper B we're missing KT Lon we're missing Christian Duffy guys can put a lot of football for K State a lot of good football for K State and so you really hope that that group can come together and mesh uh mesh well and if they do I think it could be a special year um running back room you gotta feel really good about DJ giddens and Dylan Edwards obviously DJ um we know he was a little banged up this off season and so hoping that he's healthy for the first game um but the lightning you know Thunder lighting combination that you have there between DJ you know thousand yard rusher coming back for his Junior season and Dylan Edwards one of the most electrifying players in college football is you know huge potential there and then I think you know the receiver group is another group where you there's reason to be excited but they're going to have to put it together um you know last year we heard a lot of hype about Keegan Johnson going in the in into the season and unfortunately he wasn't able to stay healthy and have that level of success um Jace Brown was able to come out of nowhere and have you know pretty pretty large success it's a true freshman and so your hope is that you know Keegan takes that leap um that Jace you know doesn't have a sophomore slump and is able to to grow a little bit and then you're able to find some production from guys like Jaden Jackson and Dante cus and try spy and Sterling Lockett and some others and then you know you've got two solid tight ends and Garrett Oakley and will Swanson so lot of reason to be excited about the offense but there's a little more uncertainty on that side of the ball and so really looking you know hoping that over these first couple of games um that these guys are able to gel and get ready for you know for for the Big 12 for the Big 12 schedule yeah I hope fans are are patient because there'll probably be some Kinks to be worked out in the first couple of games especially and so nobody needs to hit the panic button if things don't look perfect first couple of games because you got to remember you got a new offensive coordinator and Conor Riley making the transition you got a new quarterbacks and co-offensive coordinator Matt Wells coming in they're making adjustments to the scheme it's going to be a new scheme they're trying to learn it and you really talk about like Dy made this point on a patreon PA we did at patreon.com threa and you know there's really only two guys on this offense career that have started an entire season and once Hadley Panzer and DJ gids everybody else has not started an entire season at this level and so there is a lot of new guys and I guess you could throw Keegan Johnson into the mix but Keegan Johnson missed a couple games last year and and wasn't able to beat himself out on the field and then Jace Brown he came on as the season went but there's a lot of newcomers on the offensive side of the ball so the defense might carry the way a little bit early on in the season but the offense has a ceiling that if they hit this team could certainly be special and the offensive line you hit on a lot of things there like I try to think of it like this I think probably by the end of last year Cara Willis was maybe playing a little bit better than than Christian Duffy uh I think Andrew langang can be a guy that can be a really solid piece up front for them on the offensive line Taylor porier is an experienced guy coming back Sam heck could potentially be an upgrade as well at Center and if Easton k can be anywhere close to KT Lon and what he did I'm not saying KT Lon was a hell of a player really good left tackle got drafted for a reason but if he can be close to that then you're talking about really the the downgrade at left guard which is a huge downgrade because it's the the best offensive lineman potentially in program history and probably people don't realize how big Cooper BB was from a communication aspect too not only how good he was as a blocker but communicating assignments to the guys and as a leader on that offensive line but I think they can be decent up front I trust Conor Riley there I want to ask you about Dylan Edwards we we know DJ gens is one of the most underrated players in the country and we've talked about him quite a bit on three all of late but we you and me haven't had a chance to talk about Dylan Edwards on the show since he arrived at Kate H how would you like to see this staff utilize Dylan and maybe how does he change the Dynamics of this offense yeah I mean he changes the the Dynamics just based on speed and speed um he is you know one of the fastest player he's going to be the fastest guy in the field every time he steps on there you know we got we got a chance to see him last year play at Colorado you know that TCU game he really put the country on notice um we we know what he did in high school uh I got a chance to see him in practice last week and and his speed is just unbelievable his explosiveness his quickness his speed is is not something that we're accustomed to seeing at K State more anywhere for that matter he's just got a unique skill set and so I I you know I think you mentioned some of the growing pains that I think we will likely see just naturally you know that's another one you know you're trying to fit this this unbelievable offensive weapon into an offense that includes a DJ gens that includes an Avery Johnson that includes some of the receivers that you mentioned we're gonna and he's not you know people want to people want to compare him to Deuce because of the size but he's not dece Bond you know dece Bon was 5 foot six or 5 foot five and 190 lbs I mean he was he had some thickness to him Dylan is 5 foot 6 5 fo 7 5'8 and 160 pounds 170 pounds and so he's not a guy we're going to run between tackles a ton he's got that capability but we're not going to run through the tackles a time but he's a guy that you've got to get involved in the game in as many ways as you possibly can he's get a return punts he's get a return kicks he's GNA line up in the back field with DJ just with ay and then he's a guy who's gonna line up all over the all over you know split out I he's a guy they're going to Motion in and out of the back field he's going to line up in the slot he's going to line up out wide um he you know you just have to find a way to get him a the ball as many times as you can and get him the ball in space because if he gets an outs of space um it he's going to be Off to the Races and so I think he's the you know he's sort of that that jack of all trades type you know Swiss army knife that we that we haven't really had over the past couple of years in terms of his ability to affect the game in multiple different ways and I think if the coaches can find a way to to integrate him into this offense with some of those other pieces he's going to have a massive year for us what kind of challenges can a backfield of Avery Johnson his shotgun and quarterback with split back set of DJ giddens and Dylan Edwards put on edge Defenders at a defense like what are some of the things that K State could do schematically that's going to put a ton of pressure like I think about like you know read options but also I think about pop passes or rpos and pulling the ball but you could get Avery and and Dylan on the edge or have DJ going up the middle like there's so many different reads that they could do out of that like I'm just curious for your perspective having played offense and you're a bright mind Curry what what type of pressure does that put on a defense huge I mean even just having those three guys on the field together is is going to put a ton of pressure on the defense but having them line up in the back field is going to recap you know create a bunch of havoc in the defensive coordinator's line um because not you know not only can can all three of them run the ball at any given moment but de we've seen that DJ is a very capable wide receiver um and we know that Dylan is as well and so you're going to have you know the coaches coach Coach Riley coach Wells are going to have a ton of options at their disposal when they line those three up in the back field I think the most natural you know thing that comes to mind is is just you know the read option triple option I mean you know you know T you know DJ on on sort of a dive or off tackle run and then and then Avery running a read and then and then Avery and Dylan running an option and all three of those guys being an option on a play that Tri kind of that that that modern triple option type type run play is something that I think is going to give defensive you know give defensive coordinator spits and then you mentioned some of the ways that you know those guys can you know either through rpos or threw just routes out of the back field you know putting those putting those guys on linebackers putting you know putting ay putting DJ putting Dylan on angle routes against you know against a linebacker you know 230 pound guy um you're going to create massive mismatches you know you think about scam routes or will routs to these guys out of the back field again putting them on a bigger slower um defensive guy I think you're going to going to put defenses in a lot of precarious positions when you have those three on the field together at once and I think the possibilities are really fun to think about yeah I mean you think of you just brought up like the triple option and then I think back to like the Nebraska days under Crouch when Eric Crouch was at quarterback and K State did this some too where they ran the triple option pass where they drop back fake the option drop back I mean you could do that with Avery and Dylan after you fake the dive with DJ giddens and then have it look like you're running the option and then Avery pops back and throw the defense is going to cheat up with the speed and the threat of Avery and Dylan Edwards man you could do some fun things I'm salivating thinking about what Matt Wells and Conor riy are going to bring to this offense now I don't expect to see the full Playbook on Saturday against UT Martin so some of that folks you're probably gonna have to wait on for some of the bigger matchups um but anyways we'll we'll get to that later in the season and discuss it more maybe one more curry and then we're going to get to our rapid fire questions to put a wrap on this show and get some of your season predictions but you had Dylan Edwards on on the pod on the cats talk by Wildcat nil which by the way quote twet quote tweeted by Dion uh coach Prime quote tweeted it 130,000 plus views Curry on that uh on that YouTube show congratulations you do a hell of a job in the interviewing a fantastic show that you guys put on tremendous content I'm just curious from your perspective like what stood out maybe what what was something really stood out from Dylan when you interviewed him for sure and thanks for your kind words obviously it's been it's been a new Venture for us and for me and it's been fun uh it was fun to see that Edwards pod go crazy um no had no idea what that sort of Coach Prime um that that coach prime factor would would have um or influence it would have and so uh you know I was I was thoroughly impressed with Dylan's maturity um you know obviously he's he's been a guy that we've all followed intensely for the last three four years you know through his recruiting process through his first season season and a half at Colorado and now into his first offseason at K State you know we followed the guy intensely um and so there's been a narrative about him um that I think is unfair and he he is I mean you could see it in that podcast he's a mature guy um he's got he's got a a you know a a a humility to him um that you know that I don't think people give him credit for he's a he's a smart you know he's an intelligent guy I think he understands the bigger picture which is really impressive you know here's a guy who massive recruit had some have some serious success in his freshman year at Colorado a program that was getting as much attention as anybody um during that season and he comes to you know he comes back home to Kate the school that he previously decommitted from to go elsewhere to play with a to play with a DJ giddens in an offense that had a lot of established Playmakers and you know it's from by all accounts it's not been about Dylan he's not made anything about him or or trying too hard to make an impression his his goal from day one has been just fit in find my role fit in impact the game however I can and I think that's been the most impressive thing because again he is coming into a room where we've got a thousand yard rusher a guy who's gonna get a ton of carries um and so I think by all accounts Dylan has has been thoroughly impressive to everyone um in terms of his approach his off the field you know his off the field approach um in the way he's just you know way he's driv with the locker room so thoroughly impressed with Dylan in that podcast and I've been impressed with him um you know in all my dealings with him and and I think he's going to be a guy that is gonna you know fans are going to love him on the field and they're going to love him off the field he's got great personality he's a fun kid um I think there's a lot to be excited about there yeah I mean I been thoroughly impressed with everything that we have heard about Delan Edwards since he arrived in man Haden he seems to have really embraced the Kate culture in this program and you I think people got to remember the recruiting process it's hard on these kids and you know being a 17 18 year old going through it there maybe were some bitter feelings from some but you know like put yourself in his shoes and the situation that occurred and I think he's he's fully embraced Kansas State and cannot wait to see what he brings to the football field I think he's going to be a leader for this football team by the end of it all as well so really excited for that uh we're going to dive into rapid fire here and uh get some a curries on the record predictions here for the football season we did our over unders on a kcsn pod on three M few weeks ago John and d y maybe gave me a little bit of a hard time for some of the numbers that I set so I'm going to get some M Curry's numbers here and we'll lock it in in and keep track of how these goes I would be remiss though before I I say this and we dive into this real quick I mentioned some of the other kstate businesses that are supporting Wildcat nil and I have to give a shout out to our friends and guys over and girls at Riverbank brewing in Council Grove that you guys heard the show that we did last year the player interview pod last season all year each week during the season that was brought to you by Riverbank brewing in conjunction with Wildcat nil that is returning for 2024 so go check out Riverbank brewing in Council Grove I mean I'm telling you folks like I I've been there numerous times it is awesome the patio is amazing hang out on the covered patio plenty of TVs you got the the river kind of throw you know flowing by you just a beautiful setting can watch some college football there go check them out they also put on an amazing concert just recently in Council Grove I know a lot of the people I follow on social media were there and uh enjoying some of the live music that Riverbank Brewing helped put on Jesse a tremendous tremendous case theater Dedra as well and the other folks of river B Brewing so go support them and be on the lookout for our first player interview pod this week on three M all right rapid fire Curry give me your uh your pre prediction on K State's record by the end of the season what do you got uh regular season regular season sure all right I'm going 11 and one I don't know who we lose to but we lose one okay all right I was going to ask you uh which game on the schedule concerns you most like do have you given that there a couple there's a couple I mean you know T Lane early on the road is is that that scares me Arizona on a Friday night after that t Lane game scared me um Oklahoma State we've had some trouble with them over the last several years that one's that one's going to be tough BYU I think is a little bit of a trap game uh West Virginia on the road that's going to be a good football team um KU and then Iowa State I mean those are the games that stand out as games that are going to be difficult wins um and so but but um if you had to pick one um I'm going to West for any game on the road I think where it is in the season in in relation to other games um I think there's you know that's that's going to be a difficult that's going to be a difficult road test um so if I have to pick one I'm gonna go with that one same I have West Virginia I have k a 10 and two but I had West Virginia as a loss the spot is a really hard one you go from playing in Boulder at Colorado which will be a hyped matchup to then going to to Morgantown and then you got KU on the rise on your instate rival right after that that's a tough ask and this West Virginia team coming off a 91 season with a lot of returning experience back so very similar to me um Iowa state is probably the other one for me that's a big concern at the end of the year is the Cyclones play their Super Bowl against Kansas State and um yeah I I noticed you didn't say did you say Oklahoma State I don't think you said did you say Oklahoma State oh I said we've had I said we've had you know I think I don't one and three against him in the last four um something like that record isn't great against them other than the big blowout in 2020 22 we've we've not had a bunch of success against them I think they're team that can go a lot of different ways this year I mean obviously the oi Gordon some of the offseason stuff the injury the you know the arrest um you know I think it's hard to say what that team looks like and obviously we play him at home but that's still a team that we've struggled with over the last couple of years I only asked you I push you on the Oklahoma State thing because it's been a a fun conflicting topic on three M Curry if you if you've heard I've uh I've been really down on Oklahoma State considering them to be a fraud from last year and uh think K State's going to win that game by two plus scores and John John and John and Dy have Oklahoma State I think winning the Big 12 so uh right it's huge huge debate somebody's got to be wrong yeah it'll be them uh to be fair I will say that like Chris kimman has lost I think people are realiz he's one and four against Oklahoma State and Mike Gundy but one was the pandemic season at home right so you didn't really get the true home atmosphere so Chris kimman had to play three out of four games really on the Road and still water and tough matchups comparatively to only getting one true home game against Oklahoma State and in that one true home game with the capacity crowd K State beat the doors off of Oklahoma State 48 nothing so I will say that as a caveat uh to uh maybe defend Chris kimman there and hope that uh he can make it two wins against Mike Gundy this upcoming season so do you have Kate winning the Big 12 Curry I do yeah all right against who Utah all right go in shock look at look at us we are so aligned that is exactly what I've got all right all right um over under receiving yards for keeg and Johnson I set it at 700 yards what do you got he had 270 or 227 last year I think Curry is what he had I'm going under um I think Keegan's gonna have a great year I think he had 227 yards last year um obviously missed some games didn't play a lot in the G some of the games that he played in um I I look at Malle nolles in 2022 he had he had 725 yards and a pretty good season and I I think getting to that point is would be a really great season for Keegan and I think he's going to have a great year but I don't see him getting above I don't see him getting over 700 yeah well it's it's a great number because you know 725 is the most by a Kate re receiver since Curry seon and Tyler Lockett actually in 2014 yeah man I'm sure you'd like to see that be broken and see another thousand yard receiver join the club you're nine nine wide receivers for sure I mean it's it's it's interesting you know I tell people because that year there were two and people think oh a thousand yards isn't that difficult well it is and I'm not saying that we achieved something incredibly great that year we we really if you look at our statistics we threw the ball a lot we had two primary receivers there wasn't there wasn't much else out there I mean we had you know we had some guys who had a couple hundred yards here and there but if you look at this year's team you know who who will probably not throw the ball as much as we did because of some of the options they have running the football um but you've got a ton of weapons I mean you've you've got the six receivers that we talked about who I think are all going to play you've got two tight ends who are going to catch passes and Garrett Oakley will Swanson maybe Braden mofed to and then you've got two guys out of the back field who are going to catch a lot of balls so there's just not going to be that that intense focus on two one or two guys in the offense so getting up to that 8 n00 a thousand yards is just a it's really difficult um especially when you're talking about a 12-game regular season so I just I think I think you know Keegan in the 600 to seven yard R 700 yard range I think would be a great season look if you told me right now that I could get 600 yards from Keegan Johnson I'd take it I mean I I think K's got enough weapons where if you give me that and he's healthy enough to give you 600 yards this season I think they got plenty of other guys that can deliver and that would be a huge asset this offense so I guess I I I feel like I probably know where you're going with this next one then I'm G ask you about Jace Brown Jace Brown keep in mind most yards ever by a true freshman at Kansas State last year at wide receiver with 437 receiving yards third most by a freshman overall including red shirt freshman when you look at Tyler and Kevin Lockett or Aaron Aaron and Kevin I'm sorry um produced the top two seasons in school history as red shirt freshman so jaay averaged 16 and a half yards per catch last year which led the country among true freshman as well I set the over under Curry at 825 yards I feel like you're going to take the under based off what you said and all the weapons Kate has I am but I think it's going to be really close um you know obviously he he got four about 450 last year and he didn't play the whole season um really didn't come on burst onto the scene until Big 12 play and uh it became you know the top weapon and I think he and Avery are roommates they best friends there's an obvious Rapport there I think he's going to be a guy you know with his speed in the slot is going to give defenses fits um I I think he's going to get really close but I don't think he's at Clipson 825 okay couple fun ones here to wrap up will Howard had 2,994 total yards last year that's between rushing and passing that was the mo ninth most in school history for a single season Josh Freeman is number five in 2008 with 3,349 yards I set the over under total yards for Avery Johnson which is including rushing and passing at 3,400 that would be the fifth most in a season in school history that's a lot to put on a guy's shoulders who started one game at quarterback but what are you taking over under on 3,400 total yards for Avery man I'm going over um I think you know you you you you under I mean I think when you look at like what will did last year you underestimate what you know what A's running ability can do to a number like that I think he's a guy who could easily have 800 yards rushing and 20 and 2700 yards passing um he's going to be the focal part of the offense he's got a skill set that we have never seen at K State I think if if he can stay healthy um he's a guy who is going to who's going to break a lot of records and so I'm going to go over I think I think he's going to have a tremendous year I think he's gonna he's G to go you know he's going to be well above that 3,400 y I love hearing that I'm excited to uh to see where that goes I think I accidentally had Avery like breaking the school record Curry for single season passing yards at one point when I was modeling this as you know your your friend and former teammate Jake Waters owns that Mark in the 2014 season that's that's some pretty lofty numbers I think it was 3,500 and I believe Jake is actually the the number one allpurpose Ser total yards at 3900 Plus in that 2014 season he couldn't he could even run Jake I know you're throwing that in there open and Jake will will hear that so I'll send it I'll send it you know Jake r a little bit but but he was not not even close to the ground throughout the the neighbor is and know obviously Jake was a fifth year senior polished passer um he had one of the best receivers in school history um the best in my opinion and so there there was a different Dynamic there but I still think ay with his running ability with his throwing ability and some of the weapons that he has on the outside I think he's a guy I think he's a candidate to be in that 35 3600 range awesome DJ gens ran for 1226 yards last year K as he surpassed that in 2024 you think he finishes a little under that just because they got so much more from a rushing standpoint with Dylan and Avery yeah I think he finishes under um and I think it's just I think he's gonna have have fewer carries I think I think there's multiple reasons for that one I think we know he was a little banged up this offseason um I think they're going to ease him into his workload early on in the year and so he's not going to get a bunch of carries in the non-conference games I don't think maybe the Arizona game but the first two games I think you're going to you know you're going to see him in that 15 carry range um and and then you've got you've got a you know you've got a different you know different different assembly of weapons on the offense this year I mean a is going to carry the ball more than will did um you know Dylan Edwards is going to carry the ball more um than our backup running backs did last year I think you're going to see Jimmy white and Joe Jackson out there getting carries and so there's you know there's just a different d DC to this offense than there was than there was last year and so I think DJ is going to be as productive without having as many r that makes sense yeah no it does and this is one of my favorite ones right here I'm curious for your thoughts does Dylan Edwards reach 1,000 receiving and rushing yards combined you know I'm gonna say no um just because I think it's going to take some I think it's going to take some time to to integrate him into the offense I think if you would have said you know a th000 or 1,200 well obviously more than 1,200 if you would have said a number that included allpurpose yards I probably would have taken the bait um but I but I do think again it's going to be you know it's it's going to be we're gonna have to find we're gonna have to find that right Dynamic that right balance you know with Dylan and his and his involvement in the offense and obviously trying to integrate him in with those receivers also with DJ and Avery in the backfield and so again another guy gonna have a crazy gonna have a great season gonna be a huge weapon for us going to score some touchdowns going going to be huge in the return game but I I think a thousand receiving rushing combined is is is a little bit higher than what we'll see Dill that who leads K State's defense in sacks that's a great question I'm I'm going Toby um I think you know again it's I I think brenon Ma is gonna is gonna rebound from a one sack season last year and get closer to his 2022 total of six or six and a half whatever it was um but I think you know th this I think last year was a good learning experience for our defensive staff um they they understood that hey this three-man thought Works in a lot of ways but but it also it it handicaps us a little bit in our ability to to to rush three four guys and get after the quarterback and I think they're going to make some changes and I think they're going to find ways to let guys get after the quarterback and we saw some of that from Toby last year and we've heard a lot about him and he's put on a lot of weight he's focused simply on that defense end position this off season not playing any standup linebacker he's a guy who you know in obvious passing situations there he's going to get a lot of snaps and he's going to put a lot of pressure on the quarterback and so I think he's going to be one of those guys um who he's not going to BL as many snaps as mod or stuffel Bean or Travis Bates or some of those other guys but he's going to he's going to perform significantly in the sack space just because of his of his explosiveness his his twitch um I think Toby's gonna have a big year for the cats freak athlete and he was my pick as well Curry I mean people forget like yeah Duke Duke LED K St last year with just six sacks and I think three or four of them came in non-conference but like Kate really did struggle to get after the passer last year they'd made some adjustments up front some tweaks and now Toby you know not only being a freak athlete but being able to spend the entire offseason playing DN and practicing that Joe clander told us that on the Pod as well you know that he had not worked out with the DNS until this off season and so that's been a huge help for him I I think he brings a different skill set and then Jordan Allen is a guy that I I think could maybe come on as the season goes as well talented red Shir freshman Ryan Davis as well we've heard a lot of Buzz there so cannot wait to see that do you uh do you have a score prediction for UT team mark that's a good question I'm going to go 45 to 10 it see seems reasonable it's gonna be good weather that we're looking at 80 85 yeah um you know there's going to be a lot of you know young guys with some nerves and and um but I think the defense will I think the defense will hold them to to zero or three until till late in the game and the offense will the offense will have have their way and and wouldn't be surprised to see a uh a touchdown in the return game you know I think one thing we didn't get to talk much about this this segment with special teams and obviously we've got tenet coming back which is great I think he's going to have a great year um a little bit of uncertainty at the punter position um you know I think you know Simon mcclanan is goingon to be the guy there and then uh you know but then you know something we have you know something that that has been has been flying under the radar um is that you've got not only do you have Dylan but you've got a special teams coordinator this year in in Nate Nate Casher I don't know how to pronounce cater cater a guy who's spent a lot of years in the NFL um in and a guy who everybody has fallen in love with in the football program crazy high energy a ton of football knowledge um you know we've our special team has been has slipped a little bit over the last couple years has not been the factor that it used to be and I think he's going to return it to what it was um I got to see you know I got to watch a couple practices and watch him out there with the guys he's he's got high energy he's got positive energy I think the guys are going to want to play for him um and I think he's you know he's he's bringing back a a more tense focus on special teams um than we've seen in the past and so I think expect more from our special teams this year um despite you know some of the turnover it's some of those some of those core special team spots yeah look I already kept you over an hour Curry and I felt bad enough about that and that you know you bring up special teams and I do feel like we probably did it Injustice but me not bringing it up enough but it's a great Point like if you look at Brian Freeman special teams rankings his fbii special teams rankings last year last Year's unit was the worst special teams unit by a Kate unit since 2010 when they were 48th in the country they were 47 last year in 2023 casate ranked 115th in the country in kick return efficiency last season and 53rd in pun return Korea I don't even think they had if I recall correctly a kick return over 40 yards last season which is nuts to think about yeah which which brings me to my last over under which is actually a special teams does uh I'm going to set the over under for special teams touchdowns which keep in mind last year was only the second time since 2005 Cas they didn't have a special teams touchdown wow um you know they had the two-point conversion obviously with Kanan Garber returning it against KU which was a huge play and there was a blocked putt by Shane Porter at Texas which was big but there were probably more mishaps than successes on special teams last year I think we can all agree with that with Dylan Edwards now in the fold and some of the maybe you know Nate cater at special teams coach I'm setting the over under for special teams touchdowns this year two and a half it's prettyy high number to be honest like what what are you taking I'm going over um I feel good about it I think I think you're going to see a couple return touchdowns and I think you're going to see a you know a block punt give return for a touchdown um I I I just I think we're I think we're gonna have a great we're gonna have a a good unit we've got a lot of guys who have played a lot of special team snaps I mean you start thinking of you know guys like you know B Palmer Ace even asome last year in his in his few games Mikey berson's a young kid from from Kansas City who I think is going to be a core special teamer um Jed Denine is a kid is a guy who's played a lot of special team snaps Ty Bowman is a guy who's played a lot for us on special teams a guy who's been around for three four five years now and it's and it's going to be that kind of special teams Guru that we had last year with set Porter um I think I think there's there's there's a lot of core guys there that go unnoticed and then you throw Dylan into the mix I think you're G to see a couple return touchdowns maybe one in the punt fashion one of the kick return fashion and then I think you're going to see a PL a block punt I'm taking three I'm getting aggressive again we we've been a giant in the Special Teams arena for the last you know 25 years um you know with a couple with with a few down years and and I think we're going to return to that form this year and that that's going to bring a new Dynamic to this to this team and um you know you think about you know you mentioned the lack of kick return of success last year and just think about what that does for a football team you know to have success in the return game and putting the offense in good situations putting them in positive you know you know positive yardage situations from the start of a drive makes a it makes a world of a difference if you're always starting you know in your own if you're starting field position is always you know between your 10 and your your 40 you've always got a lot ways to go so I think you're going to see a lot of positive situ positive yardage um situations from our from our return game it's going to really really help our offense this year um so excited about it um I'm taking the over I think I think Dylan is going to be a massive weapon for us I love it man and and when you think about last year you had four losses all four decided by one score or less how how impactful would a special teams touchdown been and any of those games or an explosive play there that could have changed the course of last season if you get just a couple of those so I cannot wait to see what happens I cannot wait to see what happens this season and I can't wait to do this weekly with curry though Curry I promise you're not gonna have to take a PTO day to take the whole show because you know we went over an hour here for episode one of the 2024 season you have my commitment that I'm not going to do that to you again but okay there was plenty there was plenty to talk about here as we preview the season I know our listeners love hearing from you and hope everybody enjoyed the show as we preview the 2024 season it's gameweek we are a few days away from the season opening kickoff like Curry said it's going to be beautiful weather and Manhattan this weekend so cannot wait get on out there hope to see some of you make it on over to the Wildcat nil tailgate if you are a wildcat nil member go to cats nil.com check out all the great things they're doing there go to Riverbank brewing and counil Grove check out them and support all the businesses that are supporting Wildcat nil and including HomeField apparel.com go there discount code 3 24 get 15% off and a Lano for all your home improvement needs for Nick Springer behind the scenes producing this show and Curry seon for being such a gracious member with this time I'm Cole manbeck thank you for listening to another episode of three Mall