Head Coach Bill Snyder
On personnel and play calling…
“We just have to make sure that we have a good feeling about what we are capable of doing and make sure we invest our time and effort in those things. You see a lot of different looks defensively, and if you have too much on your plate, you do not have the opportunity to test each scheme against a variety of defensive looks. It is important to be able to pair things down so you can get enough work against taking one scheme against a variety of different defenses. You just have to have repetition of all the variables that take place. The biggest concern that we have is having too much on our plate going into a ballgame and not being as prepared as we need to be.”
On getting more production out of the running backs…
“We have to be more productive with the totality of our offense. We have to be able to throw it and run it. When you get three or four in and out, there is not very many snaps. You look at the number of snaps we took, which was pretty limited and consequently you cannot get as many repetitions. You do not have as many opportunities to carry the ball. It is just a matter of being productive with our offense. Being able to move the ball and eliminate those three and four out in out series.”
On quarterback Alex Delton…
“I just want to see him continue to compete as well as he can and as committed and determined as he has been. I am very confident that he will be. I do not have any real concerns about that. It is going to be important for him to have a level of confidence in his capabilities and understand that he is capable. He did not play as well as he had the previous ballgame. Once again, part of it was him and part of it lies in some other areas.”
On defensive tackle Will Geary…
“He is playing very well. As we have said so many times, he is a hard-nosed young guy that plays hard. Every snap he is competitive, and as he begins to use his hands a little bit better, it gives him a chance to get some pass rush that might provide those sacks. He has played well versus the pass and versus the run. We have played well up front, and in this ballgame we played well up front. I think they had a little less than 100 yards rushing, and they are a good rushing football team.”
On scoring while in the red zone…
“We have to do what we have to do better, and do the right things and do them better. That was a significant element of the ballgame the other day. We were 1st and Goal on the 7-yard line and could not get it in. There are a lot of things that contributed to the loss and it is probably capsulated in maybe four snaps in the ballgame. You cannot rely on putting the ball in between the uprights all of the time. You have to get down in there. You cannot afford to lose four points constantly down there, and that was the case. We were inside two times and failed to get any points on the board. We have got to be better.”
On linebacker Trent Tanking…
“Trent (Tanking) has been very consistent throughout the course of the year; that is the kind of young guy he is. He is always going to process things well and be in the right place at the right time. He is always going to give you his best effort and tries to be a leader with our defense. He is just playing very well and very consistent.”
On third-down conversions…
“When I visit with people in the program about down and distance, I always talk about third down. My push is toward first down. If you are on defense, you can get those short-yardage gains. You have a better chance to get to third and long as opposed to getting third and short. If you are on the offensive side of the ball, that first down is very significant. You can get to the five or six yards and you are looking at worst case third-down and short. The percentages should be in your favor on third and short as opposed to third and long.”
On offensive lineman Abdul Beecham…
“He had some difficulty throughout the course of the early season. I thought in this ballgame he played better. I am beginning to see some movement on his part. He is becoming a more productive player. I was not truly unhappy with how he played on Saturday.”
On improving…
“When you lose ballgames, obviously you have things to straighten out and get better at. When I say get better, I do not mean just players, I mean the coaches as well. All of us have a number of different things that we have to address and be able to have an honest self assessment on a variety of different things. We have to be able to make changes where changes are necessary. We need to put more emphasis on certain things. There is a lot of stuff that goes on in the game of football and it does run the gamut for us right now.”
On the response of the team during Monday’s practice…
“Yesterday afternoon was the first time I was able to see and be able to talk with them collectively. Sundays we are off except for some physical recovery work they have to do. Yesterday, I was interested in seeing exactly how they were going to respond. I thought it was positive. The emotion or spirit to initiate the practice I thought was good. We had a couple leaders step up and do their part as best as they possibly could. Their practice on Monday was not a physical practice, so they did not get a chance to relieve some of the physical tension. I thought the practice was productive and good but not without mistakes. For a Monday practice, it probably was a little better than in the past.”
On Oklahoma’s defense…
“They have a lot of people that run well. They do a nice job recruiting to speed. You look at their linebackers and they get where they are going in a hurry. They have two basic approaches – one with an odd front and one with an even front. You never know what you are going to get. There is enough variety in their defense that creates issues in regards to preparation. Fortunately, we have been able to work against similar defenses in previous ballgames. Upfront, people have had success running the football against them. When you look at them, they have some inside people. They have guys that can be pretty physical and run well. They have two fine athletes, which would be guys on the parameter for them that run and react well. They are pretty aggressive players and they have good speed for guys who are in the 250-pound category.”
Sophomore Quarterback Alex Delton
On watching tape of the TCU game…
“I re-watched tape Saturday night, and then yesterday we re-watched it as a team. There was a lot of stuff self-inflicted on the offensive unit. I have to do better and we have to do better as an offensive unit.”
On getting the running game back on track…
“You have to have a running game to be a successful offense, especially with how we play because we have a very balanced offense.”
On how important the back half of the schedule is…
“I think it is huge. I was just saying that you cannot let TCU beat you twice. TCU is a good ball club and it is unfortunate what happened – they beat us and got us pretty good. Since yesterday, we have been preparing for Oklahoma and making corrections on our offense. We cannot look back on the past and let that affect how we practice and play Saturday.”
Sophomore Wide Receiver Dalton Schoen
On the challenge ahead this week…
“It is a big game, just like all of them. Another top-10 opponent is coming into our stadium, obviously our backs are against the wall a little bit sitting at 3-3. We know it is a game we have to be prepared and focused for.”
On Oklahoma’s defense…
“They do a good job at hiding their coverages pretty well. They mix it up and have some decent defensive backs who are pretty physical and try to get their hands on you down field. So that will be something big for us to work on.”
On maintaining their mentality…
“I think what we did yesterday, which was watch film, getting the corrections made, and putting that behind us. We know we are a talented team and capable of doing some good things, we just have to go out there and perform. I think if we can get a good start to the game that will be big for us – to get the ball rolling and get that confidence back a little bit.”
Senior Place Kicker Matthew McCrane
On the message to the team prior to Monday’s practice…
“It was right before practice and was probably the longest we have talked as players before a practice. Jesse was extremely motivational in the middle of the group. Nothing has changed, our expectations are still good for this football team. We are frustrated just like everyone else. We can only control we what can control, so that is all we are worried about.”
On hitting the reset button…
“We need to get bowl eligible. Number one would be to win the game this weekend, that is our first goal, and we will worry about the rest as it goes along. I am confident in this football team and that we will be bowl eligible. We just need to do our job and get the ball in the end zone and score. Our defense has played phenomenal, we just need to do what we came to do.”
On what Jesse Ertz’s leadership means…
“It is awesome because I have had my fair share of injuries and understand it is not fun. I think Jesse had some things to say after the game and he was frustrated, just like all of us. When an injury happens, you are down and frustrated, and I think that is something the fans do not exactly understand. You kind of go to a dark place when you are injured and cannot play the game you love. I appreciate Jesse getting up in front of the team yesterday and getting us back and motivated for the ballgame this weekend.”
Senior Linebacker Jayd Kirby
On yesterday’s practice…
“There was a lot of energy and a lot of focus. There was a lot of execution too. It was just a good practice.”
On what is needed for defensive improvement on third down…
“Just executing whatever call we are given. Everybody needs to be focused on doing their job, and that is pretty much it with filling out your responsibility.”
On stopping Oklahoma’s offense…
“We are not scared of anybody. In no reason am I saying they are not a good team. They are very talented, and it is going to be a big job that we have to get done.”
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RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics