MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder and select players met with members of the media Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex prior to K-State’s Big 12 opener against Baylor this Saturday in Bill Snyder Family Stadium, a game that will kick off at2:30 p.m., and be televised nationally by ESPN2. Selected comments from Snyder’s press conference (archived here) are posted below, along with a collection of comments from players.
Scattered singles and K-State VIP Tailgate Packages remain for the game against the Bears. Reserved seating starts at $35, while the K-State VIP Tailgate Package is $55 and includes a reserved seat, pregame access to the South Goss Tailgate Terrace and access to an all-you-can-eat buffet along with soda, beer and wine up until kickoff. Scattered single tickets are available by clicking here, while fans can purchase the K-State VIP Tailgate Package byclicking here.
K-State Football Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Bill Snyder
On the passing game…
“I thought yesterday in practice that Jesse (Ertz) threw the ball pretty well. He was conscientious, as he always is, of what he was doing. He threw the ball well with good placement. He made good decisions and was accurate with his throws. I feel good about how he practiced yesterday.”
On entering Big 12 play…
“In yesterday’s practice, collectively, it was probably the most spirited that we have had throughout the course of the year. I would like to think that if you love and care about the game, that you will get excited about playing. Getting into conference play brought some enthusiasm, as did getting off of a bye week. They can focus their attention on getting ready for this ballgame because it is going to be here very quickly. From that standpoint, I thought the enthusiasm was enhanced.”
On the wide receivers…
“In yesterday’s practice, we threw the ball well but we also caught the ball well. We ran routes well, our receivers looked quick. They have taken it upon themselves to make strides so that is the way I view it from yesterday’s workout.”
On Baylor…
“There are some things we have to put more emphasis on based on their game against Oklahoma. They played with some personnel groupings and some formations that have not been as prevalent in the previous three games. We have worked on those things but probably not to the same degree that we need to.”
On running back Justin Silmon…
“We know he is capable. He ran reasonably well two Saturday’s ago. I do not think anything has changed. We have always assessed him to be a fine player and a good running back for us.”
On the team’s enthusiasm…
“Coaches are pretty consistent about what they do as far as enthusiasm. I think they are enthused, everybody may demonstrate that a little differently. They go about their business and try and get their guys to do what they are supposed to do. You get a variety of staff, which is important to have – some guys are quiet in their coaching and some guys are a little more vocal. That is a human nature thing as it is with players. Some players who are really into it are very quiet and reserved and they go about their business. Their eyes and concentration are on what they are doing. It is a matter of is it a natural thing or meaningful thing. False enthusiasm does not help anybody. The young guys know each other quite well, so they know if it is real or not. If it is real like I thought it was yesterday, then it is significant.”
On the defense…
“I do not think we are where we need to be but the numbers show up decent right now. I think we lead the conference in pass defense. We have not been in the conference with teams that do put the ball in the air as much as our conference does. I think we made some headway. Some of the things that have been concerning have been addressed and we are making improvements.”
On if starting the conference slate at home adds significance…
“I think that it does but I want to play them all at home. At the end of the day, you are still going to have to play five on the road and it becomes important to understand how to deal with that. Being able to confine everything between the white lines, so to speak, and keep our focus there, and not on hotels or flights. I encourage the players to let us deal with the issues. We have people who are good at what they do and they can deal with it. The difference here is you have a tremendous fan base that cares about and supports all these young guys. That is very meaningful to them. We had quite a turn out at Vanderbilt but unfortunately we did not respond to that.”
Junior Tight End Dayton Valentine
On the upcoming game…
“It is the attitude of going into this week knowing we are finally getting into conference play. Last week we had the bye coming off a loss, and the guys felt a little bit down. We did not get to come out and play to have a redemption game to take that anger away. Coming back, the guys realize how important this week is and to be prepared for this next week against Baylor to start the conference strong. The team realizes that and we had really good spirit yesterday.”
On quarterback Jesse Ertz…
“One thing about Jesse is that every day he comes in wanting to get better. One thing I have noticed is the fact that his demeanor has not changed much in the sense that he is coming out here every day trying to get better. We might be coming off a loss but he comes out and gives everything he has got. He is consistent and he really wants us to prepare and work just as hard.
On Baylor’s rush defense…
“One thing I have noticed about Baylor’s defense is that they have improved every single week. That is what we are trying to do, improve every single week, too. It is not going to be an easy game by any means coming off of how we played and how they played against Oklahoma last week. They have a lot of movement and blitzes up front. We have to be good with our eyes, hands and steps. We need to be able to create those lanes for (Alex) Barnes and (Justin) Silmon, and all those guys to get loose.”
Sophomore Wide Receiver Dalton Schoen
On fixing the wide receiver struggles from the Vanderbilt game…
“We have just been focused on improving and making all the corrections from the Vandy game. Just focusing on the little things, whether it be getting your route depth or being the right position and looking the ball in.”
On if there has been a noticeable improvement since the Vanderbilt game…
“Yes, definitely within our receiver groups and the whole team. Honestly, we had a great bye week and came out yesterday and had a great practice with a lot of spirit and energy.”
On the offense going into Big 12 play…
“We know what we are capable of. You saw the first couple of weeks. Obviously, we know what will happen when we don’t execute, which was what happened at Vanderbilt. We know as long as we go out there and execute our game plan, we can do some good things.”
Sophomore Linebacker Elijah Sullivan
On the bye week…
“The bye week was very helpful. It gave us a chance to look at a lot of things and get everything cleaned up. The Oklahoma-Baylor game helped us see a lot.”
On having a spirited practice yesterday…
“Everybody was into it. We came out with a different mood, especially with us coming off that loss. Going into a game week and coming off a loss, you have to have everybody invested and ready to go out there and do what they can.”
Senior Linebacker Jayd Kirby
On how the week has been…
“Everything was just getting ready for Baylor and getting Vanderbilt behind us; fixing what we needed to fix there.”
On how the bye week is beneficial when facing an offense like Baylor…
“It came at a good time and just gave us a little extra time to focus on Baylor. They looked good against OU.”
On stopping a pass-heavy offense…
“It is going to be a test. I do not think we have seen 50 passes in a game yet, so it is going to be something new. We are going to have to defend them pretty well.”