Head Coach Bill Snyder
On approach toward non-conference games…
“My approach is the same all the time. I see them all the same way no matter who you line up and play against. The hard part is, how does your team view each ballgame, regardless of who it is you play? What I try to make our young guys well aware of is you cannot take anyone for granted, and it really is all about preparation. Look at the number of upsets and the number of ballgames that were extremely close. I am quite confident that every coach that had one of those close ballgames that people say shouldn’t have been close, went in with the idea that if we don’t play well, we could be in trouble. It is conveying that message to the young guys that play the game, and for them to realize that they do have control over the outcome of any ballgame and it is all dependent how well you prepare, and take that positive preparation to the field and play exactly that way.”
On anxiety for home opener…
“I think they are excited to be able to play at home. We have always had amazing fans and an amazing student body. That is motivational to the young guys in our program. They have always felt that, and look forward to it. I sense the anxiety, and may have a little of it myself where I normally don’t.”
On big running plays…
“There are a lot of things that are significant in transforming a drive into a score. Statistically, big plays are certainly a part of that. First downs in the beginning of a possession show a high degree of scoring capabilities. There are a number of statistics like that that would indicate that, if you do this, this, or this that your degree of success as it relates to scoring go up dramatically. Big plays are certainly one of them, whether that is the pass or the run. You would expect pass plays to produce big plays, and there are more of those. The running game, it defines a demeanor that we can probably run the ball pretty well. It is a big boost for the running back’s teammates. Offensive linemen take a great deal of pride in being able to advance the running game. When you get significant plays in the running game, it tends to motivate them.”
On the challenge placed on the running backs…
“Well, running backs are only a part of advancing the ball in the running game. Offensive linemen have a lot to do with that, receivers play a major role in the big play facet of the running game, as well as the tight ends and fullbacks. If you watched the Miami game (against FAU), that fullback for Miami is a sizable young guy, and was very effective in that ballgame. He created some running lanes for their running backs.”
On FAU’s top offensive threats…
“(Jason) Driskel comes from some heritage that allows him to be a pretty good player. Last year we were able to play against his brother (Jeff), and is a very fine quarterback. (Jason) Driskel presents some problems because he is a good scrambler as well. He is a good-sized young guy, good strength, large lower body, and he can stay on his feet. He is not the easiest guy in the world to tackle. His scramble ability and his ability to throw the ball pose some issues. He handles the offense quite well. He took some sacks last week, but I wouldn’t put those on him. I think he knows how to bring it down, pull it out, and not make bad decisions. The running back also had a couple big plays in the Miami game. I think he is somewhat of an explosive back, and has some good vision. He is a strong runner. It is significant to be that kind of a running back, someone that can get their pads down and run hard. That doesn’t always create the big play that we were talking about, but it does allow you to be more efficient on each of those down-and-distance situations by getting the extra yard or two.”
On the FAU defensive front…
“Their defensive front is a substantial group of players. They play very physical and have good quickness and range. Both of their defensive ends are tall guys, they get their hands up, and are quick at using their hands on the pass rush, which is always a concern. The inside guys are physical guys that get off the line of scrimmage, get their pads down, and knocked Miami back a time or two as well. Miami had a difficult time getting started, and a big part of that was the front four of FAU.”
On the importance of the quarterback running game…
“I think it is always significant to have your offensive system invested in putting your quarterback as an additional running back. It is just a matter of numbers. You always have enough people on the line of scrimmage to defend against a handoff, where you have one more guy than they can block. If your quarterback runs it, then it balances up the numbers. Now you have a blocker for every defender. You still have to make those blocks, but by the same token at least you are not outnumbered.”
Senior Linebacker Charmeachealle Moore
On the bye week…
“It seems like it is taking forever. It has been dragging; it has not been going fast but we have been practicing and getting better, so that is the positive thing that comes out of it. We are ready to play, anxious to play.”
On having an early bye week…
“I did not know we had a bye week until Coach (Snyder) told us that Sunday. He said we had a bye week and I thought about the fact that we had to wait another week to play. It was kind of frustrating, but it comes with the season. It helps us get better and correct anything that we need to correct, so I am grateful for it.”
On team anxiety…
“I do not think there is any anxiety. I just think everyone is ready to play and get back out there and show what we have.”
On preparation for FAU…
“We prepare for every team like they are going in the game to win. Coach Snyder always says not to take anyone for granted and that is what we try not to do. We try to prepare for everybody the same. That is what we are doing, preparing for everybody the same and giving our best.”
Senior Defensive Back Dante Barnett
On the bye week…
“We spent a lot of time working on ourselves. Since we had a bye week, we took out the time to improve ourselves as a team before we began to focus on our next opponent.”
On upsets in college football…
“It shows you how college football is, you have to come ready to play every Saturday.”
On anticipation for home opener…
“It’s different because once you start off the season, you are ready to get started for a couple of weeks before you have a bye week. It gave us a chance to improve before we got to our next game, and it gave us a chance to lay around and enjoy college football.”
Sophomore Running Back Justin Silmon
On working on improving the offense…
“We have been getting our timing down and fixing some of the mistakes we made in the Stanford game. We want to eliminate all mistakes.”
On the excitement of playing against FAU…
“I would say it is a mixture of wanting to get back out there and the fact that it is the home opener. It is definitely exciting to get back in front of the home fans, and it gives us another chance to play the game and to hopefully get a W on the board. We did not like the result of the first game, and we definitely want to fix that, but it is going to be good to play in front of the fans again too.”
On the running game…
“We just have to keep pushing. I feel like we are going to have some breakthroughs, and I feel like we have the guys to do it. We just have to keep working and it will come along.”
On the FAU defense…
“We have seen some things that we are going to try and do. I feel like if we execute and we run hard that we can break some big runs against whoever we play. It is up to us to make the best of opportunities.”
Sophomore Defensive Back D.J. Reed
On if he is anxious for the home opener…
“I wouldn’t say I’m anxious, I’m happier. The first game I was more anxious and nervous, but now it’s all settled down and I just want to play.”
On expectations on for the first home game…
“I know it’s packed all the time and everybody tells me 50,000 deep. I went to the basketball game last year when they beat Oklahoma, and that game was crazy. They say football has 10 times more people, so I’m looking forward to that.”
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RYAN LACKEY
Asst. Director/Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics
The new clear bag policy will be in effect for the K-State football home games this season. The Wildcats host Florida Atlantic on Saturday.
