MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder and select players met with members of the media Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview Saturday’s season opener against Central Arkansas. Selected comments from Snyder’s press conference (also streamed live and archived here) are posted below, along with a collection of comments from players.
K-State, which opens the season ranked No. 19 in the Preseason Amway Coaches’ Poll and No. 20 by the Associated Press, kicks off the 2017 season against the Bears with a 6:10 p.m., conteston Saturday, a game that will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and also available via the WatchESPN app. All contiguous seats for the season opener are sold out, but standing-room only tickets are available through the K-State Athletics Ticket office online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum. Fans looking for additional reserved tickets for Saturday’s game can do so though Vivid Seats, the official secondary ticket partner of K-State Athletics, by clicking here.
K-State Football Weekly Press Conference Quotes
Head Coach Bill Snyder
On if preseason practices were different with multiple returning players…
“I do not think it has been tremendously different. I think there is a confidence level, but that is pretty consistent year in and year out. I have said so many times, my caution is not taking anything for granted. They have the experience and have been around for a while. A lot of guys have played a lot of minutes on the field, but every day is a new day. What we do today and what we did yesterday does not count much. It is not different at all. They have their hands full doing what they are doing and they go about their business. I have been pleased with how we are practicing. I think they are into it. They have been giving me the impression that they have not taken anything for granted. We are still working toward that daily improvement that we chat about all the time.”
On Denzel Goolsby earning a starting spot at safety…
“Number one, he is a very conscientious young man. Wherever you would play him, he would give you his best effort. He would do the extra thing you need to do in order to enhance your performance level. He has done that since he has been on the defensive side. We were looking for depth at the time, and he had the opportunity to move up the depth chart. I did not move him – I gave him the option if he wanted to move. I wanted him to do it, but again, I always let that be the decision of the player. He chose to do it and he did it for the right reasons. He thought he could help the football team and he was given what he might have felt was in his best interest. I think he realizes that it was a positive move for him.”
On center Reid Najvar being out for the season…
“It is never easy to lose a man. That is something that he loves and has been engrained in his life. All of a sudden to have it taken away from you is a difficult thing. For us, it is just a matter of moving on. It is the next man up and that is the nature of the game. If you have an injury on Saturday afternoon or Saturday evening then somebody has got to step up and go. It is not a matter of trying to figure out what can we do. It is just a matter of somebody has to step up and fill in and hold his own.”
On the depth at running back…
“Alex (Barnes) will be our starter, but all of them will play. I think there is a role for each and every one of them for the most part. That is probably the deepest position we have at this particular point in time. Justin (Silmon) has proven that he can play. We have seen some flashes with Dalvin Warmack, he has done a nice job. Mike McCoy has really come on as a young pup. He was on scout squad last year and he has really stepped up and proven that he can play and has the talent to do so. I think all of those youngsters will help us. All of them will have the opportunity to be on the field hopefully.”
On the backup quarterbacks …
“You know how I feel about Alex Delton; I have shared that with you a hundred times. He is a quality young man and a talented young player. We want to be able to utilize him and we will not just in the capacity where he lines up and runs the football. He can do more than that. (Skylar) Thompson and (Hunter) Hall are the next two in line. Both of them had pretty decent camps. There are still a few things that they have to do to become a little bit more knowledgeable about, as it relates to having the entire system at their hands. We will pick and choose what they do. Those are the things that we are comfortable with and that they are comfortable with.”
On having success running the ball…
“All of it is important. I do not think there is anything that we would attempt to do that is not significant or important in a ballgame. What is important to me is that we have the capacity to be able to have balance in our offense; that includes being able to run the ball well. I want people to be able to respect that we can run it when we can and we can throw it when we can. That being said, it makes it a little harder to defend against.”
On playing well in the first game of the season…
“We always want to play as well as we possibly can. Everybody talks about finishing, finishing, finishing, and I believe in that. You have to be well conditioned and physically strong enough and mentally tough enough to finish ballgames. It is equally as important to me that we start well. Coming out of the locker room – whether it is the special teams unit, kickoff return, kickoff, or defense – getting off to a good start is important. It is important to play extremely well, and obviously we want to play well all the way through. We talked to our players about the first five minutes of the first quarter and the second half is just as significant as the course of the ballgame.”
Sophomore Offensive Lineman Adam Holtorf
On playing center…
“I have been playing center since I arrived here. My first summer it was my primary position. Coach (Charlie) Dickey put me there and I have been working there predominately.”
On the toughest part of playing center…
“The mental aspect of it. The game plan in and out each week, you get a new defense that plays dramatically different. So, you have to be able to adjust and learn how we are going to block each defense a little bit differently.”
Junior Defensive Back D.J. Reed
On the potential of the defense…
“We can be really good. We have a lot of talent and depth. We just have to have fun, run to the ball, make plays and do everything within the defense scheme.”
On Central Arkansas’ offense…
“They are a good balanced team; they run the ball and also pass the ball. Their quarterback likes to scramble and make plays with his feet. They look pretty solid on film, so we cannot come in sleeping on them.”
On Denzel Goolsby earning a starting spot at safety…
“Denzel is another consistent person. He has been grinding with me since January. He deserves it. He’s been working very hard throughout the off season and camp.”
Junior Tight End Dayton Valentine
On Adam Holtorf taking over the starting center role…
“It was apparent he was the next guy up no matter what position it would be at on the line; if one of those guys went down, he would step right in there. He has prepared himself for that role.”
On the excitement for first game…
“We are just extremely excited for that first game. This year, it being a home game, we are excited to actually go out there and play in front of our fans.”
Senior Defensive Back Brogan Barry
On how he received the news of being put on scholarship…
“It was during a punt-return drill and I actually had a bad rep and kind of screwed it up, so I was kind of nervous. Then I hear Coach Sean Snyder call me over. He had told me, ‘If you haven’t already, you need to go down and fill out some paperwork for a scholarship.’ I said, ‘Are you serious?’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ I hugged him and I jumped up in the air. I had a bunch of guys around me and they hugged me and celebrated with me. It is a feeling you really cannot describe.”
On how gratifying he felt when receiving a scholarship…
“It really felt like my experience had come full circle. As a walk-on, it is that moment you always dream about and are working for every day.”
On his role models on the team…
“There is so many. If you go way back, Ty Zimmerman was a great guy that I looked up to as a freshman. Guys like Weston Hiebert, another walk-on that ended earning a scholarship. My roommate, Trent Tanking, has been another role model that I always looked up to. There are so many great people in this program, and I am sure I am leaving a bunch of people out.”
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RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics
The Junction City Lady Jay tennis team hosted a quadrangular Thursday with Salina South, Lawrence Free State and Manhattan.
