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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State offensive coordinator Collin Klein and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman met with members of the media on Thursday at the Vanier Family Football Complex as the Wildcats host TCU on Saturday night inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Links to video and audio of both press conferences are above, and a transcript of select quotes are below.

COLLIN KLEIN, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

On the plan for the starting quarterback this week…

“We’ve been repping them both at practice. Both have had a pretty good week. We don’t know who will take the first one. I would expect both of them to play, be a part of it, and contribute. We’ll kind of finish up this last day of prep and have a meeting tomorrow morning to kind of put the exact plan together.”

On the potential of splitting two quarterbacks…

“Well, the first and main thing, both of those guys are just incredible individuals, and they’re incredible team guys. I know even as the game went last week, we were able to do what we did with some quarterback run game stuff. How they have worked together has been outstanding and very similar to Adrian (Martinez) with Will (Howard) last year. It has a very similar dynamic, as far as their heart for the team and wanting to help each other ultimately do whatever it takes to win.”

On Will Howard’s health going into this weekend…

“He’s definitely feeling better than he was a couple weeks ago. He went out last week pretty well, so I think he’s alright.”

On if he knew how long Avery Johnson was going to play last week against Texas Tech…

“If I was going to put a number on it, probably not that much. Every game takes its own twists and turns, sometimes it aligns how you think and sometimes it doesn’t. At the end of the day, we’re all trying to make adjustments and figure out how to direct the game offensively based on what they’re doing and how things are working. There’s a lot of things that end up dictating where we end up going so, ‘no’ is the short answer. Again, he was ready, answered the bell and was able to make some huge plays.”

On managing the quarterback situation as the game unfolds…

“I don’t know. Just because, again, there’s so many variables that go into it, but I know that we are going to do whatever we feel like is necessary to put our team and our offense in the best position to succeed. With whatever that means, I know both those guys will answer the bell when their number is called.”

JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR

On the preparation against TCU from last week’s performance at Texas Tech…

“A little bit different style, I think a little bit different family of stuff. The same thought process though, as far as the tempo goes. I think these guys do a really good job offensively because they’re able to mix in some tempo, which gets you on your heels a little bit, along with just being able to slow things down, shift, motion and trade and do some things that will challenge you mentally. Sometimes you play tempo teams, but they’re somewhat simple in formation. These guys are tempo, but they can also switch gears on you and get into some stuff that challenges you a little bit. A really well coached team.”

On facing a balanced TCU team…

“It’s interesting. Conventional wisdom could tell you if your backup quarterback is in, you rely on the run game. They kind of went the opposite way with it. I think some of it is you take what you’re given, and BYU was doing some things that would lend itself to throwing the football a little bit more. They took advantage of it, and they did a great job. I think he (Josh Hoover) throws the ball really well, and I can see why they’re comfortable throwing the football with him.”

On coming up with interceptions in last week’s game…

“It’s just a magical thing that sometimes happens. There’s no answer to that, and there’s no magic calls. There’s no magic things that anybody did. VJ Payne made a tremendous play on one that was a great individual effort. Kobe Savage was a great individual effort in the end zone, too, because he was just in a single-high defense. He got over and played outside the numbers, which was phenomenal range for a guy. There were a couple of tremendous individual efforts. Then sometimes they happen. We had an overthrow. That was probably a pretty good individual effort, but nothing that would show up on the stats sheet as Beau Palmer did a really nice job of getting some depth, getting underneath zone, the quarterback floated a little bit, and ended up in Kobe Savage’s hands. We’re giving Kobe a little bit of grief for dropping the one that my grandmother could have probably caught. Sometimes that stuff happens, too, so there’s no answer. We just have to keep playing hard, and sometimes those things fall into your lap.”

On Will Lee III’s status for this weekend’s matchup…

“He practiced yesterday and felt good afterwards. He will practice again today, and we’ll see how it goes.”

On having enough linebackers…

“We’re trying. We are out there scouring the sidewalks looking for bodies, but no it’s fine. We’ve got some good capable players there. It’s just having to dual train some guys, which is difficult. We’ve been doing that with Jake Clifton an awful lot. We’re starting to do that a little bit more with Desmond Purnell. We’re putting some guys in some spots that are difficult. Austin Romaine just continues to get better as a true freshman. Austin Moore is as solid as ever, and he can do anything we ask him to do. We have capable bodies there, it’s just the mental strain more so than the physical on some of those guys because of what we’re asking to do multiple roles.”