VAN MALONE, ASSISTANT HEAD COACH
On progress this spring…
"Oh, it's been great. It's been great so far. The guys come every day ready to work. It's been practices where we feel like, as a staff, we've continued to get better, continue to grow and continue to get younger guys that we hadn't necessarily seen as much get reps. We've got quite a few guys who are post surgery, and so to be able to have them out there to watch and get mental reps has been good as well. So, it's been great so far. We still have a lot of work to do though."
On the experience gained last season…
"Wow, let's not talk about last season much. But yes, there are guys. You think about Will (Howard) having an opportunity – and I know he's an offensive side of football – but guys like him having an opportunity to play, that experience is going to help us in the future. Yes, we have an opportunity to have spring practice that we didn't have last year is going to benefit us incredibly, and we've shared that with our players. I say we're not going to talk about last year, but as I refer to it in my mind, I think about how we were when we were doing meetings on Zooms and couldn't see the players. It was a different place to be in, so to have the blessing to be able to go out on the field and be around one another and to watch players grow and develop and, like you said, some who were forced into play last season. Now with that season of experience under their belts, we feel like guys will continue to get better because of that experience. As we go into the fall, we hope Will will benefit from that. Then also we have some early enrollees who have come on to the campus and who are getting opportunity to be a part of spring practices because last year we didn't have spring. Guys like Tee Denson, they didn't get that opportunity, but then at points in the season they were thrown into the fire. So, it's been refreshing to watch. Definitely a relief from 2020."
On the depth at corner…
"All of those guys – even with the addition of Julius Brents – all of those guys have continued to progress throughout the spring. So, I'm pleased with where we are. Of course, never satisfied as a coach. I want to continually get better. It's an open competition when you go into the spring. The thing for a player – as I remember my career 89 years ago – you go into the spring with the hopes that that everyone wants to be on an even playing field, that everyone will get reps and can put himself in a position to expand his role on the team. So, that's the challenge that I put forward for Ekow (Boye-Doe), for Tee Denson, for Julius, who is a new guy, for my wife's son, Vaughn, all of those guys to get the opportunity to go out and compete and get reps every day and for them to perform well enough to gain the trust of the staff, as well as their teammates. That's essentially important."
On Julius Brents…
"First of all, off the field, he's a kind of young man that you want on your team because he takes care of his body, he takes care of his academics, he's a leader, he does a great job throughout the staff in terms of creating and forming relationships. I don't think I've heard anyone give a bad report about him. So, I'm excited as his position coach to have him on our team. When you have a transfer come in, a lot of times it takes a moment before he opens up and he has friendships within the team, and Julius hasn't been that. He's been a guy who's really worked hard and earned the respect of his teammates, really, before they even knew him. They respected his work and respected what he was about as a young man and as a football player. So, I'm excited about him and where he can grow to be."
On preaching the fundamentals during the spring…
"It's that. I think Coach Klieman would talk about the need for us, as a defense, to improve our tackling efficiency because you coach the defensive backs who play in areas where they have to make space tackles. So, that's something that we've really emphasized. We've talked about creating turnovers, because to be successful defensively, you're going to have to create turnovers. You're going to have to give the ball back to the offense. That's something that, over the course of my career, I've enjoyed that from different defenses that I've had the opportunity to work with. That's something that, as a defensive staff, we consider very important for us to be successful is to stress that. It's more what are the things that you emphasize are the things that you get. So, tackling efficiency, fundamentals of creating turnovers, understanding angles to the football, but then our guys, just simply understanding football. Understanding formations, understanding alignments in splits of the receivers. You can never get enough training in that way. So, to have the opportunity to have spring practice and to have our guys here that focus on that, emphasize that as a staff, we feel like those things will help us in the fall. To not get it one season, you as a coach when you look at the totality of the season, you look at all the clips, you understand how you could have some shortcomings."
On how many players are needed at cornerback…
"When you play in the Big 12 Conference, many teams operate on the more rep standard, so as many guys as you can have to be ready is really advantageous for your defense. We've played four to five guys in different games at different points in the season. Also, that position is a big special team source, so you have guys who are on kickoff, you have guys who are on kickoff return and on punt return. They're getting many more snaps than just their defensive snaps, so it's important that you have four to five, sometimes six, guys on the ready to be able to play in the games. Again, it depends on the situation, but I always look at it as a coach, if you can trust a guy, then he should get out there and he should be able to play. In crucial situations, we always want to have our best players out there, but when a guy's playing 75 plays, then he's not at his best. I think our strength and conditioning staff will do a great job of getting our guys in shape, but we have to continue to have more guys ready with injuries, with COVID. We want to be prepared in that way."
On who has been standing out in the return game…
"There's been a few guys. Russ Yeast has shown up a couple times as a returner. Of course Deuce (Vaughn) has shown up. Malik (Knowles) has been a guy who's continually done well back there as a returner. Philip (Brooks) has shown over the course of time that he's a guy that we can depend on, that we can trust in those key situations in terms of as a returner on special teams, and he takes great pride in it, as well as those other guys. I think at this point – and it's still always an open competition – but he's done a lot to set himself above the other guys."
On the nickelback position…
"We're always looking for good players to transfer and play in those positions because you can never get enough of those type guys. Those are sometimes the guys who suffer injuries at different points throughout the season, as well. I feel like at the safety position and at the corner position is what we talk about in recruiting, is that the more value you bring as a player is presented by your ability to be able to play multiple positions. So, we've talked as a staff about being able to move a guy here or there from corner to safety to nickel. I think there's a number of guys who could play in that position. As we're going through the spring, we are placing different guys in that position just to see how it shakes out at the end. If nothing else, it provides us some safeguards in case we lose a guy to injury at that position or even another. So, throughout the season as a staff, we've mixed and matched different personnel at that position, as well as others, to be able to make sure that we will find ourselves in a good position. I know I didn't answer your question, but I did that on purpose."
On Director of Strength and Conditioning Trumain Carroll…
"I think as a staff we looked at different guys that we could bring into our staff as a strength and conditioning director, but when you evaluate who we are as a team right now and what we specifically need, it just felt like Coach Tru was the best choice for us. Yes, I've had a relationship. Actually, this would be our third time working together. Our players have said this in the short time that he's been on our staff is that he's someone who cares about them. He's continually trying to form relationships with them. He set forth a goal to learn their names in just a few days. Of course, he was not successful to learn 130 guys' names in two or three days, but he continually has grown those relationships, and I'm sure he knows everyone's name now. Our players have been impressed with Coach Tru. He holds them accountable, is pushing them and always seeking to find ways for himself to be better. I've been impressed with that component of Tru's operation since I've known him that he's always pushing to be better. He's always looking for better ways to do things. Fortunately, it's always the players who benefit from him being that way. So, I think that he's going to take our program to another level in terms of strength and conditioning, but he's also going to help our players as they continue to grow on and off the field because I believe that's one of the things that he does as well is grow relationships with the players so that they respect him as they walk in there and allows him to push them to limits."
On offensive player that have impressed him…
"Well, there's been a lot of those guys. Guys on offense who have been impressive. Of course, that guy who wears 22 (Deuce Vaughn), he has not been a challenge. So, I won't put him in the mix at all (laughs). But Daniel (Imatorbhebhe) has done a great job. He's physical on the line of scrimmage. He's physical in coverage, and our guys, when you ask them from linebackers to safeties and sometimes corners find themselves mixed up with him, he's been quite a challenge. Malik (Knowles), of course the fans know Malik, but he's shown significant improvement and our guys continue to talk about him. Keenan Garber, a young player who is now an older player, has really good speed. He's had a good spring from my guys' perspective. Jacardia Wright has done a good job coming out of the backfield, blocking as well as running, a tough, physical runner. Then another running back who's done a good job for us, like I said, from my guys' perspective and really more than his offensive snaps, but he's done a good job on special teams has been Joe Ervin. He's done a really good job, and our guys, as well as some of our staff, have remarked upon what he's done out there on special teams."
On the open practice…
"First of all, let's go back to your age, I resemble that remark. Buddy Wyatt actually played on the same basketball team as Moses, when you talk about age, but anyway. No, our plan is to practice and to do some of the things that we've done all spring, so it won't be in the format of the (purple) and white scenario. It'll be a practice, just because that'll be most beneficial for our guys for us to be able to take advantage of one more day of practice. We feel like it is important. When you do those games scenarios, sometimes you water it down, and you don't get the benefit of a day of practice. So, it's important for us to use each of these days to continue to grow, to continue to develop, to give our guys reps really the way they're used to seeing them. That's why I think Coast Klieman wants to hold our practice in this way. It'll be a fun experience for the fans because they'll get to see our guys in their natural practice element. I think a lot of fans want to be able to see that. So, that's another reason that we're doing it that way."
SAMMY WHEELER, JUNIOR TIGHT END
On his bad luck with injuries…
"Yeah, it's tough getting hurt every year, but I think it's a learning experience. It helps you grow. So, just hoping for the best next year."
On how comfortable he is at tight end…
"At this point, it feels really natural. It feels like I've been doing it for a while. I definitely feel like one of the older tight ends now, so that's good. It was a lot better because I started tight end right as the new coaches and the new staff came in and the new system, so I just learned it right with everybody else."
On an area he can improve…
"I'm really starting to get better at blocking. The hand in the dirt, point of attack blocking. So, I think it's just size and strength is my main, and of course the fundamentals just getting better at that."
On Daniel Imatorbhebhe's similarities to Briley Moore….
"They are completely different guys. Both great athletes, just freaks. But personality, everything, the way the play is totally different. I feel like I learned a bunch from Briley, and I'm learning a bunch from Daniel right now. Both are older guys coming in from knowing other things, so I think it's been really good for me."
On his rehab process…
"So, with the collarbone, I've been through it before. It's actually pretty quick. It's about just six weeks, and it's really just waiting for the bone to heal. So, it's not much rehab compared to something else. It was actually really quick. I was 100% halfway through winter break. I don't even notice it."
On his collarbone injury…
"I think my mom gave me bad collarbone genetics because that's both of them now. But, now they are both reinforced so I should be good."
On the receiving ability of the tight end group…
"I feel like we are deep this year. We're going to use a lot of guys. I feel like it's going to be a deep position group for us for sure."
On where he has improved the most…
"Definitely blocking, finishing blocks. I feel like I've gotten a lot better at that, and I'm still getting better. Just overall getting better every day, getting a little bit better every day."
On how much weight he has added since the position change…
"15 pounds so far probably."
On how much weight he still wants to add…
"A little bit more. I'm just trying to develop a little bit more, add strength, maintain speed though. I probably went from 220 (pounds) to 235."
CHRISTIAN DUFFIE, JUNIOR OFFENSIVE LINE
On the competition on the offensive line…
"It's definitely a lot. It's picked up a whole bunch. I'd say since my time being here, it's definitely the most it's ever been. Just numbers wise and talent wise, it's amazing."
On back and forth from left and right tackle…
"It was a bit of a challenge, but just knowing Coach Klieman and Coach (Conor) Riley's faith in me and trust in me, knowing that I have the talent and ability to do it really helped me to settle down and play."
On how much better he is this spring because of experience…
"I feel like I've definitely taken a lot of strides this spring. I've got a long way to go, and I'm just going to keep chopping down every day, keep getting better."
On what side of the line he is at this spring…
"I'm still hopping back and forth, but my majority of the time is at right."
On if right tackle is a comfortable spot…
"Yeah definitely. It's definitely my preferred side. I feel a lot more comfortable on that side."
On offensive linemen who have taken a jump forward…
"I'd say, most of them played last year – You have Carver Willis, definitely a very talented young guy. Taylor Poitier, really talented, really explosive guy. Dawson Delforge, great guy doesn't play a lot, he's going to be the mix. Just some of those guys and a lot of guys stepping up."
On the team's Prizefighter of the Week award…
"Just our four core values that we talk about as a team. They've been implemented into this spring that we really focus on. They just pick four players out of the team who showed those attributes during the week. I believe the coaches pick one who they think should have won the prizefighter."
On the running back he enjoys blocking for other than Deuce Vaughn…
"Joe Ervin, that kid he's talented. Even Jacardia Wright. Both of those guys are really explosive, they are really fast. You guys all know Deuce, obviously, but all three of those guys. We'll be watching film and I'll see a cut they made, and I'm like, 'There was no way that was even possible.' All three of those guys are amazing."
On where the depth at the offensive line will help the offense…
"I feel like just the ability to have multiple pieces to put in like a puzzle almost. You can mix and match it any way you want to. I think being able to have that depth and being the kind of offense where you're run heavy, we can put long drives together. Being able to rotate guys out and keep fresh legs on the field, I feel like that's something that can really be helpful."
On the rotations at the offensive line during the spring…
"I don't think we'd say we do too much just at one position all the way across."
RYAN HENINGTON, SENIOR LINEBACKER
On his transition to linebacker…
"I'm getting more comfortable day by day. It's been a fun transition for me just to expand on my capabilities on the defensive side of the ball. So, I'm continuing to grow in the role, day by day. So, it's going good."
On changing and playing multiple positions…
"I think it's been an asset to where I am now. I've been able to experience different positions and see the field from different sides, so I think the culmination of positions I've played have helped me to be a better football player, understand the game and play faster."
On being able to adapt into whatever role the team needs…
"Ever since I came in as a freshman, with the Snyder staff, they approached me, and they said, 'Hey, you have a little bit athleticism. Come play special teams,' and I was all for that. So, from day one, I've been a K-Stater and I'll do anything I can to help this university, help our football team win. So, I do take pride in my role."
On replacing the leaders on special teams…
"No doubt, they (Brock Monty, Tyler Burns) were big leaders, and they helped me grow into this special teams role that I've kind of took after them. So, I do want to step up and help fill the void, per se, that they left. They have been great assets to me, and they helped me with the x's and o's and the fundamentals of the game. I'm trying to do the same for the young guys in the team and just build a cohesive unit so that we can continue the success this season."
On when the last time he played one position for a year was and how challenging it is to move around …
"The last time was probably my senior year in high school, honestly. It's been challenging, but I'm up for the challenge. It's nothing that I backed down from and it's been a part of my career, so I wouldn't change it for the world."
On the linebackers…
"The first name that comes to mind is Cody Fletcher. He's my roommate and probably one of my best friends. He's back for his extra year, and he's provided an immense amount of leadership for an entire room. I could go through the entire room and name off people from myself, Daniel Green, Wayne Jones, Eric Munoz, and then young guys too. There's a lot of competition, and I think we're a cohesive unit. We help each other, whether it's on the field or in the film room. So, overall, I think we have a good unit that helps each other. A lot of guys are doing great things in there."
On transitioning from offense to defense...
"If I'm being honest about my story, it was tough, because I kind of made this transition through COVID. I actually didn't get any spring practice last year in 2020. So, right when spring practices were supposed to start, I was going to get my first defensive practice. We got the call that we had to go home, so it was tough, learning on the fly, learning through zoom. My mentor Ty Zimmerman, who played here at Kansas State and had a very decorated career, he was an incredible help. He helped me with the fundamentals and understanding the game. We trained all through COVID, and that was probably the hardest transition, not being hands on during the COVID time and having to come back and compete at a high level. Overall, just learning all the new techniques and the new assignments and alignments, it's been a challenge, but nothing that I would shy away from."
On how he learned to tackle...
"A lot of trial and error. Going back I wish I had more practice. I've done everything – you name it – from visualization to hitting bags to just tackling on air and the live reps helped. Scrimmage reps. I didn't really get a chance to put my toes in the water and had to dive right in, but I take pride in being a football player. I think I have a decent ability to just go out there and do what I'm asked to do."
On if he still plays scout offense...
"No, I haven't in a while. I remember back when we were preparing for Navy in the Liberty Bowl that the coaches liked my athleticism and they wanted to give me a look at quarterback to prepare for the quarterback that we're facing the same when we faced Kylar Murray and Jalen Hurts. But, no, I haven't done any scout work."
On his journey so far…
"In the back of my head, I kind of had a feeling this would happen. It's just kind of this out of body thing that I can't really explain. I just knew that I would find a way on the field and I would do anything I can to contribute to this university. So, looking back on it, the twists and turns in life are unpredictable, and I don't take it for granted. I'm just appreciative of it and it's been quite a journey. I'm sure there's a lot more left, so it's been a blessing really."
On if the coaching staff or he brought up position changes…
"Kind of a little bit of both. Back during the Snyder stuff, I got recruited as a quarterback and kind of played receiver early in my career to be able to help out, back and forth. The defensive staff then approached me and said, 'Hey, come to defense. We think you'd be a great fit.' I said, 'I appreciate the opportunity, but I really want to give quarterback a shot.' Then I struggled earlier in my career with Kleiman's offense and that was just not really the right fit for me. They saw something in my athleticism and at the same time I said, 'Hey, I'm a little frustrated with quarterback, but I think I can help the team a lot more.' They said, 'Yeah, come on.' They're all for it, Klieman was and (Joe) Klanderman and (Scottie) Hazleton at the time was. So, a little bit of back and forth dialogue, but it wasn't one side or the other."
On the difference between safety and linebacker…
"The physicality of the game. At safety, you have a little more time to react. You're 10 to 12 yards deep, and at linebacker your reads are a lot faster. You have to have better hands, and you're going against a lineman every single play. So, just the physicality and the technique has been the biggest difference for me."
WILL HOWARD, SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK
On his body composition…
"I definitely changed my body a little bit over this offseason. I think I put on nine pounds of muscle and lost a couple pounds of fat, too. So, that was really my main goal. I didn't really want to change my body weight too much, but I definitely wanted to change the composition of it. I accomplished my goal in that, and I want to keep continuing to move in that direction."
On becoming more of an athlete at quarterback…
"It's definitely something I wanted to do, to try to develop more as an athlete as a runner. And just in the pocket, to be able to take hits, just growing as a player. It was something I wanted to do, that was kind of one of the goals I set out to this offseason. I'm glad that it was what I did. We talked about it after the season, kind of set out my goals, and I didn't want to put on too much more weight in the number. I just wanted to try to change the composition."
On what he needs to improve on…
"There's a lot of things I need to improve on. There were some bright spots, but a lot of a lot of things to build on. First of all, just decision making. Having a spring ball this year is going to do numbers in terms of that, and I feel a lot better. I feel more experienced in terms of that. Certain throws and become a stronger runner, being able to have more breakaway speed. I could go on for days about personally what things I need to work on and improve on. I'm just trying to continue to work on something new every day."
On Skylar Thompson coming back…
"I just treated it like any other news. I'm glad Skylar is back. He's a great friend of mine. We've definitely grown a lot closer over last season and even this offseason here. We've become pretty good friends, and it's good to have a guy like him around. He's been great teaching me and giving me some good advice over the course of last year and even now. So, it's good to have a guy like him back."
On his freshman season and the speed of the game…
"There are a lot of challenges, and that's definitely one of them. Getting thrown in and really not expecting to play. I want to say you're always ready as a backup but being asked to play in that kind of capacity was not something I was exactly ready for, I guess you could say. That was definitely a big piece of it was that speed of the game and how things move and how defenses play and how much different it is than the high school game is definitely something that was different out there last year. So, that the experience of having last year is going to definitely help me in the future, but it bit me at times it not having that experience. It was definitely good to get that experience and have those games and that time under my belt to see that live."
On if it would have helped having spring practices last year…
"Definitely, being here would have helped too. I was at home for however many months we were at home, and that definitely didn't help anything. Being able to have it this year and just getting the reps that you get and the extra time to just work on yourself and work on the things you need to improve on personally, as the team, is unmatched. It's definitely been really nice to have it this year this time around."
On the quarterback room…
"I love the competition, and that's something I didn't say earlier, but Skylar (Thompson), having him back and having guys like Jaren (Lewis) and Jake (Rubley) and our whole room. We all we're all very close and we all are good friends with each other, but we know that we're competing. You know that's just kind of how it goes. I really like the how competitive it is and how it kind of pushes me and pushes all of us to be better every single day."
On what Will Howard learned about himself last year…
"He learned a lot. I was able to grow up a lot over last year. Coming in as a young kid, an 18 year old, not really knowing what the college game is like, not really ever taken any snaps, not really ever being on my own. I had always been in high school living with my parents, and I kind of had to grow up a lot in terms of not even just on the field, but off the field too. I learned a lot about pushing through and being able to overcome things that were difficult. I don't want to say I never had a football season that was that hard, but it was. It was a difficult year in terms of COVID and in terms of all the things that we had to go against and as a team and personally, being thrown into that and not really knowing what to expect. I definitely learned a lot about myself and how to kind of come back and combat those things that are difficult. I think that as tough as it was last year, it's definitely going to pay dividends in the future."
On if it was overwhelming…
"Yeah, definitely. I mean it was tough. I didn't get to go home for seven months, and it was a lot of stuff that was thrown at me and us as a team. I just knew that I wasn't doing it for myself, it was a team effort. I knew I had to just keep pushing through because this is all I've ever wanted. This is my dream. At times it seemed hard and it seemed like it was a tough situation, but I think back and I always try to put things in perspective. This has been my dream since I was a kid, and I'm getting to live it out. Even though things weren't going as planned always, it was a heck of an experience, and I'm glad I had it because it's going to help me a lot in the future. It's going to help us be a better team in the future."
On last season…
"I'm a very critical person, especially on myself, and going back watching film, there were some good things that I did for sure. But, really looking at it, I know that I'm better than what I put out there. We know that we're better than what we put out there. We've made strides as a team to change our culture and change what we do around here and change how we practice. I feel like it's going really well. But personally, I wouldn't say I was happy with last year and in how we did. 4-6 –that's never how you want to end the season, but I tried not to get down on myself too much about it this offseason. It was nice to kind of look back at it from a different lens. It's always different when you're in it, and then when you step away for a little bit and you get some time to think about it and kind of reflect over what happened last year, it was tough at times, but there's a lot of things that we can take and making the positive from last year is as tough as it was."
On taking spring ball reps…
"It's been it's been really, really big for me and for us as a team. It hurt our whole team not being able to have a spring ball last year, and I think it's definitely helping us come together more as a unit, as an offense, as a defense, and to work on some of the things that we want to improve on. It's done numbers for me and for us as a team."
On if he had spring ball last year…
"Probably just knowledge and understanding of our offense and going against defenses and how they move around and how things kind of change and operate in the college game. I was studying our offense, and I knew it, in terms of on the chalkboard, but it's a whole different game when you get out there and not being able to get any live reps until the fall. It definitely hurt me a little bit in that respect. If I would have been able to have some reps under my belt and kind of know what a practice is like here and how things work, that would have helped. But, looking back at it, it is what it is. I'm getting it now and it's definitely a really good thing that we're being able to do it now. Hopefully things with COVID are moving in the right direction."
On the defense…
"We've had a lot of good guys on defense step up. We've had some good transfers. Julius Brents has been really good this spring and Timmy Horne, those two guys have really stuck out to me as some dudes. They're really good players. We, all across the board, had some really good play from a lot of dudes on the defense. I really like how our defense moves. Even though we lost some notable guys from last year that are going to go do some big things at probably the next level, I think we got some really good guys behind them."
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