Chris Klieman Week 2 Kansas State Press Conference

well good afternoon um US changing this to Monday I feel like I just saw you uh which is which is a really positive good thing um looking at the film we made some good things did some really good things made some mistakes we've got to clean up I think we have their attention um because there's some things uh um different things just some detail um some recognition uh of of running the correct route or the correct depth maybe a blocking scheme that got uh screwed up a couple of times uh we talked about on Saturday night uh we kind of didn't blow the coverage but didn't get the best leverage with the coverage um so we've got some things we've got to get short up um this week and we have in essence a pretty short week because our our Friday gets rolling really early um with some meetings and walkthroughs before we head on the plane to head to New Orleans how big is the difference going from a Willie Fritz coach team to a John John Summerall coach team well um you know John was at Troy and he was here last year uh he's a terrific coach they've got a really good scheme you know we've watched we watched all the Troy film from last year when we played them last year and now we're seemed like we're watching them again um and then because we just have the one game but it's it's a really well- coached team uh it's a lot of similarities offensively and defensively from scheme I'm I'm sure there's going to be some differences just because you got to have your personnel match your scheme um but um you know it's a really well- coached team they've got really good players we know we're going to play in a really tough environment back at the last game was there a position on offense that you ended up thinking played better than you thought live um well I don't think anybody played poorly live we just probably made a few mistakes that uh hopefully we can clean up from game one to game two I thought our running backs ran really well I thought DJ made some really good Cuts uh I was pleased with getting Joe Jackson a few carries and then uh awesome to get Le James uh White the touchdown because Jimmy deserves it he's worked hard for a number of years and it was good to see him so give me your breakdown of two lane offensively offensively um terrific running back it starts with him they've got uh I think he was freshman of the year and he's an all all conference kid coming back um they're really good up front and uh they're trying to get him touches and he's extremely talented downhill guy um a Young quarterback that had a lot of success in the first week uh they have really good skill kids outside but they they have so much experience up front in the offensive line um and with that running back that yeah obviously that's the first thing we have to be able to do is is try to control you're not going to shut down the Run game you got to try to control it a little bit quite a bit of the defensive Personnel played here or some of it played here a couple years ago I think a few of them did yeah what did that defense do to you that day two years ago that frustrated your offense so much um well the biggest thing is we we didn't convert on fourth down if I recall um we missed out on a couple fourth and shorts that was the big thing I thought the biggest thing that that that crew did now it's a different football team theirs and ours is they tackled so well I know both teams have changed a lot since you guys played two years ago but is there any kind of Revenge mentality with the coaches or players heading into this you know I don't think so maybe had it been the same staff um with Coach Fritz potentially and I I couldn't tell you uh how many guys they still have uh on that team I know there's there's a handful we have um a handful that played in that game and a lot of guys that were a part of the the team um uh that probably remembers the loss you know guys like M and Austin guys that played a ton those guys probably remember uh a lot more um but no you can't think of it as as that we've getting an opportunity to go on the road I think it's important for this group to go on the road because we're going to have to win some games on the road to have a successful season kick in New Orleans man just going to be hot and humid do you do anything special to prepare for that you know it's all week actually uh you don't want to just get up and say here's what we got to do on Saturday morning it's it's the hydration all week uh it's recovery it's taking care of your body it's nutrition it's sleep um you know we do some specific things uh with our athletic training staff and and our nutrition staff and strength staff as the week continues to progress but you know it's individual accountability guys got to take care of their bodies when it comes to Avery how much does you know game situation score all that stuff how much does that factor in when you decide to run him versus pass him we saw him around a few times this last game he obviously is good at it but I know you don't want to do it all the time yeah I think some of it was the looks we were seeing um he had a couple of times where he pulled the football and and and ran that was a designed give but they they closed so fast on the running back that he pulled it and was able to make a big play um the design runs were are less right now um than in the past Seasons um twofold on that one it's a long season as well as um we feel we're doing some better things in the throw game um and have some things that we probably didn't get a chance to get to or didn't use uh this first week that we're excited about that it whether or not it's this next week the next few weeks I mean we're um still a little bit of a work in progress in the past game but I know we're we're working on it every day and and getting better you guys you guys were able to cycle in several guys at punt returner what did you like out of what you saw out of who was there and is that kind of going to be the plan yeah no we wanted to get um both Sterling and Dylan back there I thought that and and we had Pi a parish back there as well um because you know we had Philip Brooks here for uh a long time ever since I was here returning punts and so uh all those guys had done it in practice and we wanted to give everybody an opportunity because we just thought you know the chance of you having your one and only punt returner all year long um May maybe isn't the best so we want to make sure that give all those kids an opportunity um you know Jacob probably will do it a little bit more when it's a punt safe or in our territory and then um you know Dylan and Sterling um catch the ball really well and we want to give both an opportunity Jacob came out first after Avery Avery was sat L LED you guys to a touchdown is he kind of taking a little bit of an edge in that backup quarterback no um I think they both are doing once we got to that situation and I can't remember when we put Jacob in um you know early in the fourth quarter I I communicated with Coach Wells um that uh we'd go with Jacob next uh for a number of reasons um maybe because he's been here a little bit longer because it's still a dead heat but we we were hoping to get uh another possession so we could get taquan one as well um and so they both are are battling still on a daily basis but uh saw some good things out of both guys and and and both needed to get their feet wet and play a game game of college football here at K State ASA didn't play I think Austin Moore had to leave what's their status going in the next um uh we pulled Austin more precautionary uh at halftime he'd been dealing with something and uh was was was feeling good but um uh we pulled him and so we could use Rex van w a little bit more Rex needed those reps and then ASA just wasn't uh ready to play with something he was dealing with and and we'll see how practice goes this week but uh we're op more optimistic this week than we were last you feel the new bases on the offensive line performed in game action you know I was really impressed with Sam heck I think he's one that kind of goes on Herald to when you think of he's a quiet kid anyway but he's playing a really critical position for us from a communication standpoint from a call call and ID stuff to um snaps and you know operationally we were really good uh on Saturday we didn't have any poor snaps um we we had really good timing on some of our Jet Sweep series um we were we were great with the with the play clock with our quarterbacks and our centers and I thought cap did a good job capr came in and got 13 snaps and did a really good job but uh you know Sam's probably the one that jumps out of me that I was really impressed with's always excuse me prided himself on his defense and mhm you know I think two lane has also under Fritz built this defense that's really talented what stands out about Coach summerall's defense that makes them difficult well they're sound for starters um they played they've always played really good defense I've got a lot of respect for them they play hard they know um their scheme and they know you know where their strengths are and some of the things where they've got to be able to shore up some things just like every defense does every defense knows you have maybe not a true weakness but an area that is susceptable um and I don't know how much it looks very similar um but it's one game I'm sure there's some other tweaks and other things that they're doing defensively that they haven't shown yet because they didn't need to last week um similar to us we got a lot of things that we haven't shown yet I think that's part of the chess match of early season football of what are you going to show in the first week um based on your opponent based on the score what can you hold back I think they're they're probably in the same rain as we are as far as we didn't show everything they didn't it still comes down to do you get off blocks and do you tackle and those uh they did last week for sure and they always did at Troy coach your team showed a lot of remarkable discipline against UT Martin committing committing zero penalties while capitalizing on their own mistakes how do you incorporate the discipline in a relatively young Squad and how essential will it be as the season progresses well something we preach every every day uh of having great discipline and great discipline is not just eliminating the for me it's the pre-nap penalties you can't have false starts and you can't have delay games and off sides and uh I thought we did a really good job of that some of the things during the snap you're you're you're going to have a hold once in a while you're going to have a pass interference once in a while um I thought our guys did a good job of playing with really good technique uh and then the post Snap penalties we have to we've got to not have those a personal file a late hit whatever it may be well we emphasize it we talk about it um our kids know how important it is to play a clean game and you know two things we pride ourselves on is explosive plays and preventing them and I think it was 13 to3 uh in that battle uh on Saturday limiting the penalties that one area that um we weren't good in is turnovers we turned it over twice and and didn't get a turnover so to be down to in the turnover margin already um is is not a good thing we've got to get that thing flipped because that's uh the biggest sign of of of um maybe not having discipline or or not going to be able to overcome it when you when you turn the ball over twice now the block punt kind of takes a lot of that away because we block and score on that play with uh with Toby how how far has he come as far as uh adjusting to the defensive end position and also do you see him being more at this point just a pass rush Specialist or yeah um he's come a long way from spring when we moved him over there and he was really learning how to play the position um but um put his heart into it and said this is his best way to to make a great contribution uh put on a little bit of weight got a little bit stronger in the summer and then really worked continued to work on his pass rush skills um we don't want him to be a third down specialist right now that's his best rooll but we don't want that we're fortunate with the amount of defensive ends that we do have that we can rotate a little bit by down in distance um with the guys we have um now obviously we have to make sure that Toby's ready to play every down because Tempo will change that and he's getting better and better at playing playing the run and understanding it um but uh I've been really pleased with his progress um since we moved him last last winter coach I was I was noticing after the game that so many of the guys that played significant roles in the victory Avery Dylan DJ um the block punt was a Canen uh Toby and Dez are Kansas it just seemed like the heart soul of this team is even more so Kansas this year yeah I I guess I don't look at it like that um during the flow of a game or after a game um it's something that's really important to us in the recruiting process and really important to I think the fan base that um comes from all over the state to come to our games that uh uh hey we put on a really good product and we give the kids in this state an opportunity to be successful and you know I think you look at a kid like Sam heck that walked on here um and uh learn behind uh Noah Johnson a Kansas kid learn behind Hayden Gillum a Kansas kid and now it's his opportunity all three of those guys walked on and became starting centers in the Big 12 which I think is really cool um but uh we're trying to develop guys and sometimes uh it takes a little bit to develop really Dez Pernell is no different he came in as a safety and uh and then we end up moving him to linebacker and all a sudden it started to click for him and and so no we're we're proud and pleased with what we're doing with Kansas kids um you mentioned earlier maybe fewer rushes uh for the quarterback but is that an essential part of bab's game it definitely is a lot of times a lot of those runs are off of reads and take the first play of the game based on what they did we were handing the ball to DJ okay they took that away and then he had the option to either flip it to Dylan or run the football so there's a lot of those um uh play actions or plays where there is a read where maybe he keeps it maybe he gives it and and we'll see every week maybe a little bit different how teams play that too I would assume that a lot of teams are going to play that for him to uh make sure that he has to give the football uh because he's so Dynamic running the ball um and so every week's probably going to be a little different I don't even know how many times he carried the ball I didn't even see it three um couple couple were reads maybe one was a an undesigned scramble but every week's going to probably be a little bit different when you were recruiting Damen right here in Manhattan how much did you get to watch him play before you got into the recruiting process a decent amount because of Colby you know I I was able to go to the games and and saw a guy that played the game the right way you know he was under size he would tell you the same thing he was under size but uh I just Lov I loved his motor and for week after week watching um Manhattan because of my son I just kept saying this kid's this kid can play for us um I don't know if he was going to be a defensive end didn't know if he was going to be a defensive tackle in our four down uh then we flipped to our three down and he put the weight on and became a really talented nose guard for us so um you know he's earned everything that he's he's received and and it's fun to see somebody like that have the success uh obviously being a local kid but putting the time and effort and work into his craft to be really good what's impressed you the most about Darian Mena for for two lane their quarterback I think that was his first start um and I thought he threw the ball really well I thought he had control and command um of what he saw pre- snap and I think that's the biggest thing for a Young quarterback it's something that we work on with um with Avery and Jacob uh is what they see pre- snap is it true and what you see post Snap and he looked to have really good command of what they were doing ask a little bit about how it went with Connor and Matt and then also the helmet communication things those types of deals behind the scenes yeah um I thought it uh it went well uh offensively with the coaches communication when when you don't get into a rhythm in the first half offensively um it's probably not real Pleasant on that headset either um with RS but uh because we couldn't get into Rhythm we couldn't get into turbos we couldn't get back on the ball fast because we just we weren't you know getting good enough on first down or missing out third down if you get a third down play you can come back up on the ball pretty quickly the thing that I was pleased with on the helmet communication offensively was the quick words that I heard from Wells to the quarterbacks after the play was called of get your eyes on this guy or you know here's your read or whatever or a quick hey get us into a third and short you know little things like that that could trigger and obviously it shuts off at 15 on the defensive side and the benefit of being at home um a little bit is we used it a little bit with Austin Roma uh of a the the and they weren't going real fast UTM wasn't going Mach One so we eliminated signals a handful of times so that we could tell Austin and then he could tell around them and then we could spread it off to the corners and stuff so it eliminated a little bit of signals I think I don't know if Joe did that five times or if we did it 10 or 12 times um it's a work in progress just like the the tablets are a work in progress I enjoyed the tablets simply because if it was a TV timeout and I know I've got three plus minutes Hank would come over and I'd say hey let me see the let me see the block punt I want to see where we got it from let me see uh how they got behind us on the on the Long play that was incomplete let me see um what they did against this run for us I was able to look at things uh a little bit and then jot my own notes make sure I asked Rous about this or make sure I asked Joe about this from the sideline I think our players were able to see oh if I'm a safety hey you were close too close to the hash I felt I was middle of the field now you look at the film oh boy I wasn't as close to the hashes maybe I should have been some some little things like that I think that's a true work in progress of tablets how did you feel um and I didn't actually count how many guys got in the game but were you in the neighborhood of what you were hoping for yeah we really were I I think we're close to 80 somewhere in there um we got everybody in the backup offensive line that we wanted to get in the game we got all the running backs that uh we want we wish we' have gotten kantou in there but we got all those running backs in we got a number of wide receivers in Andre Davis who's missed some time and Andre is still going to be a really good football player for us he's just missed some time to get him in there um to get a lot of those kids uh linebacker from Gavin Meers to Wittenberg um um struber and getting some of these younger guys that um are still learning the system I think was important so it was it was good and then on special teams we whether it was a returner or kickoff we were able to get some guys in the kickoffs you know T um Chris did a great job we kicked more some out of the end zone when I say the name Braden Lon what comes to mind um kid that uh has worked his tail off the last three years to get himself in position to help this team I one thing I've always said about Braden is he's always cared he's always wanted to be really good when he came in as a freshman he knew he was undersized and needed to get bigger and stronger then as a red shirt freshman he kept learning uh and and now in his third year I just think it you know he's 240 some pounds he learned a lot from Ben he's learned a ton from swanie and Oak um and you know he he did some really good things at the point of attack did some really good things blocking on some perimeter runs we had and then you know he he caught the football and and was a big Target and um uh quarterbacks feel really comfortable and confident with him and and that's a guy that that has made himself into what he is right now because I think he came in maybe 210 215 or something um and it takes a while you know Senate was 207 or 209 when he came in here it just takes a little bit and I think he's done a great job with getting his body ready to play this game touchd down catch really quick and just how thrilled you were about that I was ecstatic I thought it was a great play call and play design for what they were doing uh we kind of scored on two very similar plays in the throw game to the boundary um we didn't think they they were going to leverage our person to the flat and the first time it happened to be Braden and he ran a little wheel route and and Avery put it on him I was so excited for him to get in the end zone uh I thought that was a big time Big Time play Big Time call by our offense and then we executed it and then the same thing with Dylan we were get the wheel route but um no I was excited for Braden Thursday got a day or two head start on you guys for this game did you do anything to try to even that out with any of your staff no um we always have our ahead Scout guys that are working on the next game um but as a as a true coaching staff no we we you can't you we can't keep all that stuff scored away in our mind probably and so we went back to work early Sunday morning and um came in early again this morning to it's a first true normal week for us and so got a lot of stuff done Sunday we don't see our players on Sunday they come up on their own probably uh they do treatments and watch film uh and then this morning they had a lift we met from 6:00 a.m. all the way up till whenever the heck we get going about 240 I get a chance to meet with the quarterbacks right after this to talk a little bit about what I'm seeing from their uh defense and it's our first full week and so there's a lot of guys that that are getting their first taste of what K State football is like in a in a normal game week