Watch Collin Klein’s Press Conference | Watch Joe Klanderman’s Press Conference | Listen on Wildcats Uncut
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 prior to the Wildcats traveling to take on TCU in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday. 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 TCU defense…
“Very well coached group. Coach (Joe) Gillespie does a great job. They run to the football, they’re long, they’re athletic and they know their scheme. A little bit of at times a bend but don’t break type unit. Execution is going to be important, sustaining drives is going to be important, especially when we cross the 50 and being able to get in the endzone.”
On TCU’s 3-3-5 scheme compared to others they’ve faced…
“They’re playing a little bit more Cover 2 out of it, probably a little bit more than what our guys do. But then they’ll switch on you and play a lot more man in some situational type stuff. It’ll be a good challenge for us. Again, I think it does help that our guys are used to the pictures of at least knowing who’s who and where they line up to get some of those keys and tendencies.”
On getting more production from the wide receiver unit…
“Yeah, I mean, it’s on everybody. The passing game, for it to what it needs to be and want we want it to be, it’s going to take everybody on all three levels. But those guys are doing a nice job. I think our continuity has improved over the last couple of weeks. So, we’ve got to keep moving forward.”
On the duo of Deuce Vaughn and Adrian Martinez…
“Oh, man, obviously they put a lot of stress on people. There’s times that you’re watching tape and you’ll see whether Adrian keeps it or gives it, depending on how they decide to fit it and where they’re going to go, you see guys do a double-take. You see a safety start to track a guy that doesn’t have it and then react. Even just that much with those guys is the difference between five or 50 (yards) sometimes. It’s a huge deal, but again, it takes everybody, and we’ve been able to create some big plays with both of those guys.”
On Adrian Martinez playing loose but avoiding turnovers…
“He does such a great job of studying and understanding pictures. He’s done such a good job in our time together of playing what he sees. So, you’re not guessing, you’re not forcing that type of thing. But you know what, sometimes that is the cost of doing business, and we just have to move through it if something does happen. It’s not going to change how he goes about anything or how we go about anything. Ultimately, doing whatever we’ve got to do to win the football game.”
JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On TCU quarterback Max Duggan…
“Yeah, I think he’s just playing with a lot of confidence. There’s not a lot of slowdown in the things that he’s doing. I think he’s making decisions and going with them, and he’s healthy. I think that’s the thing that’s kind of been his downfall over the years is he runs the ball so much and he runs so hard, he takes pounding. There’s been years in the past where he hadn’t been the same at the end of the year as he is in the beginning sometime. Right now, he’s healthy and he’s playing fast.”
On Josh Hayes coming in and performing well from the start…
“He knew what to expect from me, and he knew what to expect from Coach Klieman. Totally different system, a lot of different terminology. We’ve tried to kind of marry the two so there’s some things that he understands. It’s a totally different position. He was a corner, that’s a whole other way of seeing the game. A player is not a player is not a player. He’s seen it from a corner’s eyes and seen it from safeties eyes, and they are on way different ends of the spectrum. So, kudos to him for all the things that he’s done just adjusting because it’s been extraordinarily seamless. He’s just an incredible student of the game. He’s up here working all the time on his stuff, and we put him in any situation and just kind of takes it and smiles. ‘You want me to go play man coverage against their best guy, no problem. You want me to be in the box in the run fit, no problem. You want to use me as a blitzer, no problem.’ Just so lucky to have him.”
On TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston and his YAC ability…
“Obviously, the vertical stuff is scary because of his length, and I think he’s got good speed. He does a great job of creating separation on corners or whomever and going up and getting it. But yeah, likewise after the catch and even some of the jet sweep things that he does, he’s not an easy guy to bring down. He’s going to have to have bodies around him quite a bit.”
On how good the defense has been so far this season…
“I’ll be honest with you, I’m probably the worst guy in the country at looking at statistics and those kinds of things. I look at it as a bottom line of execution or not. I think each play has an identity of its own, a life of its own. I guess what I’m most interested in is us just executing. What my job, I think, is as a coordinator is to put guys in competitive situations and then just trust that they’re going to get things done. If I can do that, I think we’ve got a good enough team to win a lot of those competitive situations. We’re still a work in progress. I don’t want to start patting myself on the back or anything like that at all. We’ve got a big, big, big batch of games coming up here. But, I’m happy. Our guys love football, they work their tails off every day and it’s just a great group to be around on a daily basis.”
On linebacker Austin Moore…
“I would say Austin has been as consistent of a player that we’ve had on defense at any position. He’s just kind of an under the radar guy and gets the job done every time. I’m so proud of him and his journey and where he is. I think everybody looks at him as an example of how things should be and what a K-State player is.”
