MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder met with members of the media Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview Saturday’s Senior Day contest against Texas Tech. Selected comments from Snyder’s press conference (also streamed live and archived here) are posted below.
The Wildcats and Red Raiders kick off at 2:30 p.m., on Saturday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium in a game shown nationally on ESPNU. Tickets to the game can be purchased online at www.k-statesports.com/tickets, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum.
K-STATE FOOTBALL WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES
BILL SNYDER, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On quarterback John Holcombe II switching his jersey number in anticipation of playing…
“Well, he could and may have to. It remains to be seen. That’s absolutely correct. There was a purpose in the number change and having the same number on the field. And he’s doing well.”
On what impresses him about Justin Hughes and his rise up the depth chart…
“He was down a ways (on the depth chart), and injury put him in a position to have a chance to compete. I think he’s always been a capable player. I think his approach to the game and his approach to all the surroundings and all that goes on in the game of collegiate football become more important to him. I think he’s made the effort to be the kind of player that’s important to have in a program, in a variety of different ways, other than just the physical capabilities. I think he’s grown as a man. A lot of progress in a lot of the side areas. I think it’s benefited him on the football field immensely.”
On Texas Tech linebacker Dakota Allen…
“Well, I know he is a very talented player. I know some of the story, but I don’t know all of the story. I would be remiss to make comments that might not be accurate. I think, what you just indicated about his work habits and his determination and spirit to compete through all the difficult times, would tell me that he’s probably all of that. He’s been a young guy that’s just determined to make it and consequently did.”
On the improvement of the Texas Tech defense over the years…
“I think that’s what everyone seems to refer to. I don’t think anybody’s inaccurate in that respect. I think they’re a better football team, a better defensive football team. I think that has had as much of an impact on their growth collectively as a team and program as anything. That they’ve done quite well, in terms of improvement in special teams. It doesn’t mean they’re not making headway on the offense. They lead everybody in everything in regards to offense. I concur with what you’re saying. They have become a much better defensive football team in a lot of different ways.”
On what’s been lacking on offense and what can they do better…
“You know, it’s easy to say throw the ball downfield a little bit more, and that could be an answer if we’d throw the ball down the field effectively. That’s the most important. Incomplete passes don’t create big plays for you. I think we have to do a better job at our blocking consistency at our second and third levels. Meaning, off the line of scrimmage and downfield. I think that would help us a great deal. Those probably as much as anything.”
On how they manage the new redshirt rule…
“We’re well aware of where they stand in regards to the new redshirt rule, and if we didn’t have that rule there’d be some other rule we’d have to be very understanding of. You question probably is, would we play those guys beyond the fourth ballgame. If it’s of necessity, then we probably would, yes.”
On how true freshman defensive back Lance Robinson played…
“He played well. I was pleased with what he did. I mean, he’s not without his mistakes, but overall, I thought he played well, played aggressively. He made some tackles. He probably tackled better than might have been anticipated for not getting on the field very much.”
On facing a team like Texas Tech that can put up a lot of yards and a lot of points…
“They can do all of those things. Only one team has held them below, I don’t know, 40 points or so. I think, obviously, the important things, offensively, we’ve got to be able to have some possession time. You take this last ballgame, I think we were far below our average in terms of possession time. Part of that was KU, part of it was because of us. You know the capacity to defend well against big plays; Texas Tech has been pretty good about that. What Texas Tech is really, very proficient at that people don’t see, quite as readily as the fact that they’re really pretty good with the short passing game and a substantial running game that allows them to maintain possession of the ball, move the ball and gain clock time on their own. They haven’t always been a team like that, but the onset of more of a running game has helped them with that. We’ve got to make sure we cannot give up those extended drives, that we can get a few 3-and-outs and consequently, offensively hang on to the football a little bit longer. Eat up some clock, and as a was mentioned a moment ago, get a few of those big plays. But a lot of things go into it, which goes into every ballgame in terms of not getting penalized. We had, what, seven penalties this last ballgame? That didn’t work out in our favor. And not turning the ball over. That’s obvious that we can’t afford to do that. So, a number of things.”
On the senior class dedication…
“I have a great appreciation for all young people in our program. For those who sustain their period of time here, obviously an even greater appreciation. I think they’re young guys and not awful lot of starters in that group and young guys that have been very persistent, young guys that have fortitude and commitment, not just to the program, but to their teammates, which I greatly appreciate as well. Their teammates care a lot about them as well. A lot of good young people.”
On being a difficult year for seniors…
“I think it’s been a difficult year for everyone. It’s probably, at the end of the day, maybe the sensitivity of the season is a little greater with seniors because it is their last year.”
On Texas Tech wide receiver Antoine Wesley…
“Other than being talented guy, the range that he has and his ability to go up in the air and compete for those throws. They get an awful lot of those and they are tough to defend against unless you have a 6-foot-5 guy that can defend those, which are hard to find.”
On Texas Tech being the most balanced team K-State has played…
“I think that is a good statement. As I said, they have made very recognizable improvements in their defense and their run game, and they have brought their special teams along. So, the answer is yes they are very balanced.”
On having a hard time getting off the field against KU…
“There are a number of certain things they did that created issues for us, but I wouldn’t broadcast them in here. Not necessarily schematic things, but the choices we made that created some problems that allowed them to move the chains. Not extended plays, but things that allowed them to get four or five yards. They had one drive in the first half that was 18 plays and was about nine minutes. They only got a field goal out of it, but by the same token it ate up nine minutes. If you go back and look there might be a nine-yard gain, but most gains were pretty minimal.”
On open-field tackles…
“We still missed some tackles, but I thought we did improve. Pooka Williams did not play as much as I thought he would, but he is a very elusive young guy and he makes anybody have second thoughts about how they are going to tackle him. I thought we tackled him very well for the most part.”
On Kliff Kingsbury’s offensive scheme with quarterback Jett Duffey …
“Kliff is a bright young coach and has a tremendous offensive mind. I have not seen his playbook, but if you were to look at it you would probably see anything and everything there is. The offensive approach in the game of football is utilizing everything that you have. They try to recruit to the passing game, I think that is the case a great deal. With the other quarterback, if he is the guy to go, I do not know if he will be. However, if that is the case, then he does bring the capacity to run the ball. Some of it is QB run game and the other is scrambles. This young guy can throw the ball too. There were a couple he had last game where he aired one out 55 yards down the field and if it was an inch left or inch right or forward or backwards, it’s an incompletion, but he dropped it in there. He has the ability to throw the ball as well.”
On how much of a difference the quarterback run game made in the second half against KU…
“It always makes a difference and it has always been a part of our game. It is just like Texas Tech creating a difficulty with the balance of running the football, which is the same for us. That is why we use the quarterback run game – to create a balance. It is not just to hand the ball to Alex Barnes. There is a lot of different ways you can advance the ball with different people. It is utilizing basically an offense that is playing with 10 guys on offense. You can’t block all 11 on the defense side, so they always have one guy open to make a tackle. It cuts the numbers down to a certain degree to help you.”
On new redshirt rules changing approach…
“Not really. I say that because I still believe that a youngster is far better in his fifth year of eligibility. That is for two reasons – number one, he becomes a better player; and number two, it gives him an opportunity to definitely graduate and to work toward a master’s degree or second major, which is a big benefit for them. As far as the senior transfer rule, I realize that our thoughts are contrary to protecting yourself in that way. By the same token, if a young guy is unhappy and you are not the right place for him, then he is not going to do due diligence to your program anyway, he is probably better off going somewhere else.”
On personnel changes on special teams last week…
“We are in a situation where they kind of have to grow in that situation. Our injury charts it is somewhat significant and is two pages for the first time. It is just guys that fit the capabilities that exist, which we are running very thin on. So, there is not going to be much change who we have out there on special teams. There will be a couple of changes but not very many at all.”
On whether injuries play a role in coaching…
“You do have to think, which has always been the case. Some of it depends on what your offense is capable of doing at that point in time and some of it is predicated on the special teams. In that environment, we have linked it to rather our offense being on the field or being on the 35- or 40-yard line, do we punt or do we go for it? First and foremost, are we going to make it? I have not had any hesitation about punting the ball because as you have noticed we have done very well on ‘pooch punting’ the ball. We have downed one on the one-yard line last week and downed one inside the five the week before. As far as field goal situation, as you saw we just do not have the capability in doing so in the range that we had when (Blake) Lynch was out there, so that affects it as well.”
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RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics
