MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State’s preparation for the 2017 football season continued Thursday as Fall Camp entered its fourth day with practice number three on the turf at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium, but the Wildcats paused for a bit to meet with the media during the team’s annual media day event. Head coach Bill Snyder conducted a media day press conference inside the Vanier Family Football Complex, while student-athletes and members of the coaching staff posed for pictures and answered questions on the field.
Selected comments from Snyder’s press conference (also streamed live and archived here) are posted below, along with a collection of comments from K-State’s coordinators and an assortment players. The Wildcats resume Fall Camp and preparation for its Sept. 2 opener against Central Arkansas on Friday. The next public event for K-State is the annual Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday, August 12, at 5 p.m.For details on the event, please click here.
K-State Football Media Day Quotes
Head Coach Bill Snyder
On the team’s preparation during the summer…
“During the course of the summer I thought we had a reasonably good response from our players. A lot of what they do, not all of it, but a lot of it is not mandatory so they did a lot of things on their own. I appreciate how the leaders have been responsible and have gotten all of our players to be invested in some of the work they did.”
On Fall Camp…
“We just finished our third practice this morning. We had two practices that have been in shorts and one practice with pads. So we really haven’t had the capacity to have major full contact yet, that will come in a couple of days. Practice has gone well. For the most part we do a lot of individual work and fundamentals, etc., and then we will do group work as well as team work. Our group work and team work is normally what we would call ‘good-on-good’ meaning our ones against our present ones of that day. So it becomes very competitive and I think our youngsters have responded to that. Sometimes our offense has a good day, sometimes our defense has a good day and sometimes it is back and forth.”
On the team’s conditioning at this point of camp…
“I have been reasonably impressed with the conditioning, the vast majority of our players came back well conditioned.”
On how the team does not take things for granted…
“That is a key element. When you have a decent number of returning starters and returning players, the general public will probably say if you have a lot of people coming back then you will have an even better football team. We were pretty decent at the end of the season last year, so there is great expectations. There is nothing wrong with that, that is great. The key element is you have to do something about it. You just can’t be a returning starter or guy that played an awful lot and the same coaches coming back, etc. You have heard me say so many times every season presents new dynamics. Each season is different regardless.”
On the mild weather at camp thus far…
“It has not been unseasonably hot at all, so weather has really played in their favor.”
On having so many returners on offense…
“The experience is beneficial to them because when they take advantage of the experience they have had, and if they have learned, now they feel more comfortable. If they understand schemes offensively and defenses better, then they can probably react quicker. They probably get in and out of assignments a lot faster and it probably makes them quicker on the field.”
On Trent Tanking’s role with the linebackers…
“Trent Tanking has taken over the leadership of the linebackers and has become a firm leader with our entire defense. He has done well. He has had a good summer and has done well in the three practice days we have had so far. I think he has really stepped forward.”
Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator Sean Snyder
On dealing with Bill Snyder’s health issues…
“As far as the work side goes, we have a lot of veteran coaches here, so really we were able to move forward and pick up where things needed to be. We also kept dad informed on what was going on. On the family side, a lot of concern and worry. I know he is tough. I know he is going to fight it. I know he is going to beat it. Since he has been giving a clean bill of health, he has made it to every practice and meeting. As a matter of fact, he is probably wearing us down more than he is wearing himself down. I think right now he is doing great.”
On returning so many pieces of special team…
“It is great. Obviously, I have not been able to work with them during the summer, but what they have done with the program with Coach (Chris) Dawson and the strength program which is phenomenal. They have gained strength and gained speed. Our core guys have done a great job during the summer, getting their craft perfected. We always have a long way to go, but we are working towards it. I think the summer went well for them.”
On building off last year’s bowl win…
“A win really promotes a positive energy going into the offseason, which you start off a little higher on the ladder and you have a chance to advance higher on the ladder. Through offseason to summer, when you end on such a great positive note, you are able to move forward faster. At the end of the day, I think the jump you get from a win is a real positive. Now, it does not win any games for this season. We have to go out and do our job. Players have to play and we have to do a good job coaching, and if things go right and the ball bounces the right way, we will have a pretty good season.”
Offensive Coordinator Dana Dimel
On the explosiveness of the offense…
“We do not want to make predictions. We are just excited to have a lot of guys back that are good players that are more experienced in the system that have worked very hard. All these guys do their stuff the right way off the field, so they are fun guys to work with. I love working with these guys, and, obviously, there is some talent there as well.”
On running back Alex Barnes…
“When he gets his touches, he does a very good job with it. He will obviously get a chance to showcase what he can this year for sure. We also have some other backs. Justin Silmon ran very well last year when he got his opportunities and did really well toward the end of the season when Alex was hurt. Dalvin (Warmack) has had a great fall camp and is really coming into his own too, so there are some choices for us back there.”
On the cohesion of the offensive line…
“Having those guys back since we do so much is so important to us. Having quarterback and offensive line back are the two groups that, because of the all the concepts and schemes, that having experience is so important to us.”
Defensive Coordinator Tom Hayes
On D.J. Reed’s leadership…
“He’s been elected captain on defense, and anytime you are elected captain it is a great responsibility. In other words, you are kind of between the players and the coaches and that is the way it has always been. He is capable of doing that, he has a single purpose in mind and is very focused. He works his tail off on the field and is not afraid to say something to someone that is not. That is a good sign of a leader.”
On the linebacker position …
“Trent (Tanking) is a captain along with D.J. Reed and is doing a nice job. Jayd Kirby is doing some nice things. Sam Sizelove is in that hunt as well. There is several guys competing. We do not necessarily play lot of linebackers because of the all the spread offenses we play. We expect a lot out of those guys. They have to do a lot of things, make a lot of calls and checks, and I think all these guys are capable of doing it.”
On building off last year’s defensive success…
“I told the players that a great standard was set last year. A lot of these guys in the room right now that are still with us are a big part of that. They should have a quick memory to draw on. As long as they keep working, having daily improvement, stay together, play together, we will find replacements for those five or six guys we lost, but that is just the landscape of college football. It is our job as coaches to identify them and certainly the players’ job to go earn them and that is what they are doing.”
Junior Fullback Winston Dimel
On offensive versatility…
“We try to do what we have always done here at Kansas State. We try to control the ball, control the clock and play hard-nosed football. We try to be a balanced team as well. A lot of people say that we are run-heavy, but we like to consider ourselves a balanced team. It helps us in this league. Most defenses do not match us each week.”
On K-State quarterback Jesse Ertz…
“That dude works harder than anybody I know and gives everything to this game. He is up here watching film all the time. Just everything that a champion does, he does. To have him as my quarterback, I could not ask for anything else.”
On offensive talent…
“I think we are unique. Like I said, we have a lot of confidence coming back from last year and now we are just trying to come out every day and get better.”
Sophomore Running Back Alex Barnes
On where the offense ranks in the Big 12…
“We are up there for sure. We have a lot of guys coming back and I think the passing game is going to be good. This is going to be a fun year.”
On depth of skill position talent…
“I think we have a ton of talent, especially with the guys coming back from last year. Last year, we knew we had the talent but we did not have the experience. Now everyone has that experience and has gotten their feet wet in the Big 12.”
On where the offense will improve the most this season…
“In the passing game. Jesse (Ertz) and the receivers have been getting a bunch of extra film work and running extra routes after practice. It is going to special. There are some really good connections going on with Jesse and the receivers.”
Junior Wide Receiver Byron Pringle
On motivation going into this season…
“I have a lot of motivation. I knew that once I learned everything I could do, I could be a special player on this team along with my teammates.”
On underrated passing game…
“We have big running backs, so that is why some people overlook us. But we can pass just as much as any other school in the Big 12 and we can run with anybody.”
On the wide receiver unit…
“We are deep. We have a lot of special talent. We have guys that can do a lot of things. We can move guys around, they can line up in the backfield. It does not even matter. We have a lot of special talent.”
Sophomore Defensive Tackle Trey Dishon
On the defensive focus…
“I think the defensive focus would be rushing the quarterback, especially after losing Jordan Willis, who was a big guy in our pass rush game. Putting pressure on the quarterback and rushing the quarterback every step whether it is third down or not, is going to be helpful for us.”
Junior Defensive Back Duke Shelley
On how experience ties into confidence…
“Having guys around you that have already had the experience definitely brings the defensive backs’ corps ten times higher. It is awesome, from spring ball to now has all been clicking and working. It has been a great experience playing with those guys. It brings up my game because I have D.J. (Reed) and other guys on the other side of me making plays so it just makes me want to make plays.”
On what he sees out of his teammates…
“Work. They come in everyday trying to get better.”
On Eli Walker…
“D.J. (Reed) and I got with Eli the first day he got here. We worked with him, went through film and he has always had good work ethic and that is what I liked about him. He reminded me of how D.J. came in last year. Just how it is working out for D.J., I could see it working out for him too.”
On expectations from this year’s competition…
“Nothing less than the best they have to offer. I know the Big 12 is full of surprises. With the different offenses and schemes and things like that, it all works out for those teams. I just try to take nothing for granted and go in everyday with the mindset that he could be the best first-round quarterback coming out of the draft this year so just attack it like that and we will be fine.”
Junior Defensive Back Kendall Adams
On confidence since last year…
“My confidence level is at an all-time high. Playing my redshirt freshman year a few games and getting a full season the next year, I feel like I know everything. Now I can just slow down a little bit and I am to the point where I can help the other guys.”
On what he learned from Dante Barnett…
“I learned a ton from him. Being around him for three years really helped me. I am the old head as far as safeties now. We brought in a bunch of new safeties this year, so being able to tell them what to do and helping them, and watching extra film, Dante [Barnett] did that for me. He rubbed off on me and now I can give it to them.”
On the potential of the secondary…
“I feel like our secondary can match up with anybody in the Big 12. I have always felt like the Big 12 has the best offenses, so I do not see why we cannot match up with anybody in the nation. I have a lot of confidence in those guys. D.J. (Reed), Cre (Moore), Denzel (Goolsby), and a couple new safeties, we just got in are learning and they are really talented. Once they learn what to do they are going to be really good and help us a lot.”
RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics