K-State Football | Chris Press Conference - Aug. 26, 2024

well good afternoon everyone um it's great to be starting a new season uh we're finally in game week talk to the guys on Saturday we had practice Saturday morning then gave them Sunday off uh get back into our our routine today um I know it's a change this year we're doing this on Monday uh rather than Tuesday um and uh it helps us for sure as coaches doing it this way I don't know if it affects you guys a whole lot but uh it does help us um so we'll have a normal Monday practice and and have a normal week uh we've got some guys banged up a a little bit that U nobody's been actually ruled out but we have a couple of guys that uh um will have to watch throughout the week and see if they progress well enough to play uh which we hope that they do we're excited about the opportunity uh getting a really good UT Martin team in here uh coach Simpson's done a great job he's been there a long time and and they have a great system and and he does a really good job of getting those guys to um play within their schemes offensively and defensively uh they've won their league three straight years um as you guys know that's my background and I know how good the football is and and our guys are going to know how good the football is as well so we'll finish uh our continued prep work uh the next few days and then be ready to roll on Saturday Chris starting game one at quarterbacks a little bit different than what Avery experienced last season what advice do you have for him as he's uh you know taking on this new challenge yeah just be him be himself uh we have a lot of guys around him that can make plays at all those different skill positions uh and I I don't think he's going to be nervous that's just not his nature I think he's going to be very uh confident but we just want him to play Within himself and uh make the plays that uh he's capable of making and we know he's going to make a few that uh uh are going to be kind of Off Script because that's what uh he's he excels at but uh I'm excited to see him you know run the show your depth chart here you got quite a bit of star power at both return spots kick return and punt return how have they looked in practice have they been game Breakers yeah um we're going to kind of see how it goes uh with practice this week but we feel comfortable really with Dylan or Sterling back there on punts um probably see both of them back there at some point uh we've kind of pushed the envelope with Dylan and with Jace and with Keegan on kick returns not sure which way it'll go uh on Saturday but maybe everybody would get a shot back there we do like the ability we've got a number of skilled guys that we need to get the ball in their hands and that's an opportunity for them to do that so um we'll just see how it plays out this week exiting the preseason practices what did you feel like was the strength for you guys on each side of the ball um what I thought going in on defense which is veteran group a lot of guys on both sides of the ball or on all three levels of that defense that have played an awful lot of football uh and US continuing to try to provide depth in those three uh positions of dline linebacker and secondary so I think the strength on defense is just the veteran people we have there um offensively skill you know we we've got running backs we've got receivers that uh can make big time plays um and uh we've got to find ways to get guys touches uh but I've been pleased each day that there's been somebody else in the wide receiver crew that has stepped up there's been uh a bunch of running backs that have made plays and and tight ends as well so um you know we're going to we're going to run into some problems too we're going to have some adversity on Saturday and we've got to be able to withstand it and be able to grow from it what has Daman ELO kind of proven and showed to kind of get the nod on the depth chart right now uh probably an entire body of work and I think he's one of our top leaders he was an elected Captain but he received a bunch of votes like a lot of other guys did we had a lot of guys get votes but he's just been a really good leader on that side of the ball and he's been a consistent consistent player at the nose position and both he and Uso are going to play a lot of football for us UT Martin has won I think three straight conference championships and they've sort of established themselves as one of the better FCS teams uh this year in particular return a few guys on offense that helped them last year what stands out about that offense and what challenges do they present um well D's a really good quarterback that's uh played a lot of football for him when when you have a returning quarterback uh it's always a bright thing and then uh they've got a number of interior offensive linemen that have played a lot of football they've got so many older guys Juniors and seniors that have played a lot of football on the offensive side they've got a bunch of wide receivers that can make plays um get a kick returner that's exceptionally talented guy that's a wide receiver for him so I think the fact that they aren't just uh boy you got to stop the run or you got to stop the RPO or pass game they do both equally well and they're really balanced so for us defensively it's going to be a big challenge they're a really good offense coach how hard is it to manage one of these games I mean obviously you need to win but you probably want to see a lot of players and is it kind of hard to balance that out particularly in the first half well it's always tough to balance the first game because you you just sometimes don't know because you haven't had as many live situations whether it's uh tackling or or different things that uh live special teams that you don't do a lot of we we go really hard but we don't always go to the ground um so yeah it is a balancing act obviously we've got to put our best foot forward to have an opportunity to win the football game uh and play the guys that have given them given ourselves the best chance to be successful and and there's we don't talk much about well what if if we yeah just I've been there I've been on the other side of this thing when I know that's been talked about and then then you end up getting beat um by the FCS program and this is a really good football team that uh um we've got to play really well on both sides of the ball with some inexperienced guys getting their first snaps and then like we've talked all all fall camp and and really all summer Our Stars got to be Stars you know if you guy that's played two or three years of football step up and show people you've played two or three years of football and and be the dude be the guy every team's different there you know Locker Room's different talent's different but what does this team do maybe you think can do better than last year's team um hopefully we can be more explosive on offense that would be uh one thing that uh we we talk about and you know kind of tease the offensive staff of you got to call another couple plays because we got pushed out at the five or got tackled from behind at the six or didn't get it in we' we've had the ability with a number of skill kids to hit some home runs and um now we can't just take home run shots we we've got to be able to get the ball ball in space to some of these guys quickly and let them make some plays and maybe try to hit a home run um so I think we can be more explosive um and then on defense I hope we can El eliminate some of the explosive plays and and uh that's the thing that probably makes me most most concerned is um you do everything you want but if you cannot stop at the explosive play um people are going to you know get quick scores and and stay with great momentum and that's something that uh um we've made a a point about because of our offense having such explosive players we go good on good an awful lot and if they're getting explosive plays on our our first team defense uh that's concerning so we've got to be able to get more explosive plays and elim them eliminate them you talked about being a veteran team uh I see you have several red shired freshman on your uh to deep but uh do you anticipate any true freshman playing a role this year yeah um yeah we probably do probably not ready to to talk about those guys yet um because I don't know who will but uh I think you hit it on the head AR you we've got the red shirt freshman class or true sophomore class when you look at you know Jace and and Avery and um ASA some of the guys that that played some for us Austin Roma I mean that was is a really good class and you're going to see a lot of guys that were red shirted last year that you probably didn't see very much other than a gamer to um be real factors this year you know whether it's Wesley Fair Jack fabis Mikey berser on his examples on um on defense and and uh a number of guys on offense that uh we were really impressed with this class that we were able to register a bunch of those guys but they're going to have to be a factor for us this year for us to be successful you seen the offensive line kind of gel into a new unit over over fall Camp um yeah it's uh we we've we have some experience there with Carver and Hadley and TP playing a lot of football for us um een Kilt he's played a lot of football not for us but he's played a lot of football Andrew L gang's been here a long time and done some really good things and I'm excited cuz lion stepped up in a big role um Sam heck um you know he's filling some big shoes with what we lost at Center over the last couple centers we've had in in uh Gillian Noah but he's doing a really good job it's the next group it's pistori it's capria um it's Alex key it's Beckwith those are the guys that uh we're continuing to push because we're going to need those guys and um I we're probably in the seven or eight deep right now but we need to push that closer to nine um and I don't know if coach Riley's ready to get all the way to nine deep but we're we've feel like we're going to be able to play seven or eight guys and and that's something that I'm excited about with Drew little being on the sideline to help us rotate some guys man I know we talked about a bunch of the defensive ends throughout fall camp but one guy that I feel didn't get talk about too much as Travis Bates yeah what's impressed you since he got on campus work ethic and just uh you know Blue Collar kid that uh goes to battle every day he's going to play a lot for us you know he's battling with stuff and we need to keep stuff uh healthy for the Long Haul so Travis is going to play some plays there you're going to see a lot of defensive lineman play and um I'm excited because we've always had good depth there um and this year at the defensive end spot we have great depth there and we we wouldn't miss a Beat by playing six or seven guys there maybe some have a different skill set than others uh but uh I like what we have there and we've got to find ways to get multiple of those guys on the field and we're working on that with different packages right now I think at the beginning of fall Camp mentioned the quarterback or cornerback for battle and where that sort of stood at that point where does that stand now and how comfortable are you with those guys fighting for that spot well yeah at corner you Jacob Harris and Keenan Garber you feel really comfortable they've played a lot of football then and we've talked about those guys a lot they're they're all conference players um Justice James has really had a good fall Camp um Jordan Dunbar a transfer has started to emerge as as a guy that we think we can count on um on defense as well as special teams Donovan McIntosh is a guy that's um made a lot of plays uh as as another corner so we've got a number of guys there a lot of them may be special teams guys uh and give a blow to Kenan and and Jacob but uh um we're continuing to to do a good job of developing up there in terms of Avery Johnson uh you know this is his first start at home how do you sort of manage those beginning Reps for him just to sort of make sure that he's as comfortable as can be for the beginning yeah if you know Avery I'm not worried about how I manage things cut the kid loose let him go play kid's really good and so I'm not managing anything I'm going to encourage him tell him I love him tell him how much I believe in him and go play go do what you do you've been waiting for this opportunity and uh um he'll make plays within himself but man I'm I'm as excited as you guys are question about another really good guy Jace when he first came on campus coach when did you realize that he could be a player for you yeah he was an early en rooll e so we saw a lot of things out of him in Spring ball it was just trying to simplify some of the things game planwise um so because he's got unbelievable speed and ability to be Elusive and he's gotten so much stronger he's gotten better at running routes um he and Avery have a really good chemistry uh they throw the ball around a lot to each other um he's a guy that we we missed him this last spring he was out with an injury um and uh probably started more full go in July and you you've seen him get stronger and more confident he's had a really good fall camp and and he's a guy that we're talking about of one of those explosive guys that could be a home run run Guy and um so I'm excited because Jace is Jace is playing really well and playing really fast uh I think he feels healthy and I'm excited to see what he's going to show everybody have you seen maybe the chemistry with Avery go e even higher than a year ago well um they missed a lot of time in the spring so that that takes set you back a little bit it just you need to be around each other throwing the ball all the time and and now we've been able to get back into that in Fall camp and um you know those guys have have kind of been in sync ever since they've been here they live together and they um do a lot of things together and they know they know each other's traits and so um he's continued to grow and get better take Juan Roberson help out the QB room experience he's played um you he's learning our our offense and and he's made some really good strides from obviously practice one to where we're at now and uh I I like the fact that he's continued to grow and get better and and he knew when he came in here like we need you to perform we need you to to elevate Avery we need you to elevate canth we need you to do those things um and we knew it wasn't going to be something overnight because our offense is probably a little bit more complex uh from what he's done I don't know that but I can just tell because of all the the terminology we have and um the last few weeks he's he's played really well on the same respect I I think Jacob canuse played really well we we know who our our first one is in ay and we're still battling for that second spot right now we've put both of them with the ones at different times to give Avery a rest and and to push those guys with the starting offense and they've both excelled and then we've split the reps with the twos and it's a conversation that coach Wells and I'll have at the end of the week uh of which guy will go in but they're both playing really well right now ask with Hadley Panzer have you seen him make a jum in any way with u you know the extra playing time extra leadership that's available there yeah I I think he learned from from the best in the last few years uh of bibs and KT and I thought those two and Gilly those guys were phenomenal leaders and he learned from those guys and they pass it on that hey you you've got to be a guy he and Carver and TP have really stepped up they're the ones that have the most experience but they've really stepped up in their leadership role um you know Hadley was voted a captain by his peers so um he's got to have a big voice and and sometimes and I'll have a captain's meeting later on but that voice isn't when things are going well that voice is is when you're having adversity and uh they chose you to to be one of those guys that they they look to when we have adversity and so um but uh Hadley is one of my favorite kids he loves playing this game of football he is appreciative of everything that he's been able to do at Kansas State and what Kansas state has done for him uh and so you just can't do anything but love Hadley that kid is a is a kid that loves ball I was going to ask you about an offensive lineman too I kind of feel like kilty sometimes gets maybe not talked about enough H how consistent has he been learning what he's doing and fitting in yeah uh really consistent um we were fortunate to get him here in the spring so we could learn what we were doing and there's some differences and a lot of it is terminology um but what's helped East and guilty is going against you know Big 12 caliber players every snap of practice I mean there's not a drop off from from our first one to our sixth one as far as the ability to pass rush and you know mat's a little bit more Moxy than some of the guys because mat's played a ton of football but man you get you know um Jordan Allen off the edge and you get Toby off the edge and you get Ryan Davis at coming at you I mean we've we've really tested uh Easton with all these defensive ends that can make plays and and he's gotten better because of it and he doesn't say a whole lot um uh but I think he's going to be a real stable Force for us at tackle and play a lot for us saw what Garett Oakley could be at least in small doses last year but better towards the end after him how are you feeling about the tight end position now yeah I'm I'm glad you ask that why the guy that has jumped at us this year uh is Braden Lofton um he's made play after play um and not only in the pass game but in the Run game he's really done a nice job of getting that extra weight that extra strength so he can be a point of attack guy um but he's made just a ton of plays in the past game and he's got the chemistry with all those quarterbacks knows how to get open knows how to find those teams hasn't played much for us and so there's a guy that one of those we were talking about that we're counting on that hasn't played very much but has shown us great things um uh Swan's been consistent as he always is and uh will Will's going to play a bunch of football for us and knows our offense better than any of the tight ends do um but bradden's the one that has really stepped up sometimes we've held Oak back a little bit to make sure he stays healthy um and really Braden's the one that's been a beneficiary over it coach um coming off Aces injury last year how ready is he to back up Dez yeah he's um he's ready uh he really took care of his body uh got his knee back and we noticed that quickly in Fall Camp when we didn't know how much he'd be limited and and uh with his hard work with the training staff they cut him loose and allowed him to to go play uh and he's been really good we've like I said we moved him from will backer to Sam backer um we think that maybe is a little bit more natural position although he could play will if we asked him to we've pressed him more on special teams right now because of uh his ability to run get off block and um he's he's mature Beyond his years um he's going to play a ton of football for us and uh we're excited about him because he's another one of that group in that freshman red shirt freshman class that uh uh is really talented two weeks ago the defensive players came in here and they bragged about how many turnovers they were forcing so over the last couple of weeks has it been that kind of story or is the offense doing a good job at taking care of the football how how good of a battle has that been yeah it's it's been good we've kind of Switched a little bit we still do good on good but we're we're putting in some Scout work now a little bit and and doing more situations um I think it's been great for both sides I think there's some times where um they've gotten behind the DBS which has been good for for us to see offensively that we can run by some fast guys um I don't think we've had as many turnovers as as they'd gotten that week of of whatever fall practice or fall fall camp that was when they were getting them bunches which is awesome to see and you know the the key to success is pretty simple is turnover margin can't give it away and you got to be able to take it from them and then explosive plays you got to be able to prevent them and you got to be able to get them if you can win those two um categories you have a really good chance to be successful uh this is your uh going to be your sixth year at K State um hard to believe yeah uh are are you just still as excited for the season to start you know ready to get going and playing or is it kind of a a routine that you have in place um it gets quicker and quicker and it comes faster and faster uh and we all like fall Camp because it's football football football and that's awesome and all a sudden you get to when school starts and then um you kind of get a lull and last week was a little bit of a lull we had some good practices we had some practic practices that I thought were just okay um and then today we better be amped up a little bit because it is it is game week and the guys know it and they had a work out with true this morning and true said U they came in and got their work done and and yeah I'm I'm excited uh I always am this time a year when it's time to go play games um you're busier uh obviously with different responsibilities that you didn't have during fall camp and now all of a sudden I've been in more meetings today probably than than I care to be in um but it's it's that time of year and we're excited to get going did you watch theeland game I wa we had practice so I was able to watch the fourth quarter um and um I thought I thought it looked spect I was trying to figure out everything not necessarily the game I was trying to find the surroundings and the stands and and the sidelines and uh the field and all that stuff it looks spectacular um it's why we sent these two guys over here they can give me the the low down um and I'll ask those guys later on but uh um yeah and I don't know how many times they ever talked about next year's Kansas State Iowa State I saw something maybe in in one of the corners of the end zone of next year uh K State Iowa State but uh uh no it uh we watched a little bit of it yeah great game d Scott um one how my kids doing at kdb because they play at night to so that's the first thing uh is how's he's doing um but then just I take it all in and I probably do a better job of that now than I did in year one where I didn't know what was happening but I take it all in um whether it's uh I've got so much respect and a lot of people know this for Dr Trace I've got so much respect for uh what he does with with the pride and and I love our band I love hearing it uh as as they're coming in the students section um cuz they'll be you know rolling in in full force an hour before kickoff those things I never take for granted and I always take in I take them in better now than I did when I first got here um but just the pageantry of college football and like to tell our new kids hey we're going to pull up in buses about a 100 yards from the front of the stadium and you're going to get to see what college football's all about and they're like what you know and some of the older guys like it's one of the coolest Traditions that we started a few years ago go um with the walk where we get out of those buses and and the fans are there young kids families the B it's awesome and that's that's what college football is about that's what excites me to your question that's what I get excited about um is the pageantry of what college football is