Chris Klieman enjoying his Wildcats’ intensity early in fall camp
Kansas State Coach Chris Klieman congratulates his players after a touchdown in the first quarter against UCF Saturday September 23, 2023 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
MANHATTAN, Kan. — There is a lot of excitement around campus as the Wildcats crank up the gears in fall camp, and their coach is feeling positive about the direction of the team.
After all, Kansas State is coming off a nine-win campaign, has several returning players that are eager to make their mark in the new Big 12, and Chris Klieman knows the hard work over the past six months is about to pay off on the gridiron.
Although the Wildcats are just starting to get the pads popping, Klieman is witnessing really good competition, physicality on both side of the ball, and guys are flying around. The sixth-year coach finds it all encouraging, and believes the best is yet to come as they navigate through the pivotal month of August.
“We’ve had great practices, there’s always great excitement those first two days when it’s helmets and jerseys,” Klieman said. “Then all of a sudden we put the pads on and guys are getting sore, but they’ve bounced back each day, and been ready to go out there.”
Klieman’s staff remains close-knit, and they’re doing a marvelous job of developing the younger players. NCAA rules allows for more coaches to be on the field this time around, and that gives Klieman options with position groups. Establishing depth is very important right now too, and Kansas State will need it with a challenging schedule looming.
The Wildcats are still looking for a viable option behind quarterback Avery Johnson. Ta’Quan Roberson and Jacob Knuth are battling it out to be Johnson’s backup, and Klieman values what both of them bring to the offense as a whole. Roberson is still soaking up the playbook, and Knuth is coming off impressive work with the scout team.
The running back room is deep, and led by returning 1,000-yard rusher DJ Giddens. The wideouts are looking promising, and Klieman feels Keagan Johnson is due for a breakout season. Now it’s just a matter of getting enough touches to the playmakers.
The offensive line needs to come together fast over the next couple of weeks. Replacing veterans like Cooper Beebe and KT Leveston, who were NFL Draft picks, doesn’t happen overnight. Which is why Klieman is leaning on Connor Riley’s experience with the group, to get everyone up to speed.
Klieman is expecting the defense to be a team strength, and why not when Joe Klanderman knows the Big 12 like the back of his hand. Klanderman has a potential All-Big 12 caliber defender at every level of his defense. Linebacker Austin Moore will be the man in the middle once again, and Klieman is in awe of how Marques Sigle is blossoming into a leader in the secondary.
Regardless of the experience, production and leadership, Klieman understands it all still comes down to execution, especially on offense. The chemistry is there between the staff and the players, the passion is strong, and guys are trusting each other, which should be beneficial in the clutch.
“You can see that we have a lot of good team speed, credit to our strength staff, because our kids are fast, we got really good speed,” he said. “We just gotta make sure that we find ways to get them the ball, and design some things to make sure that the touches go around.”
In Klieman’s eyes everything is still a work in progress, with evaluating and inserting the youngers players on the roster. He’s also leaving the past success in the rearview mirror, and pushing forward with the new regime. The Wildcats are projected to be one of the top teams in the conference this fall, and they’re No. 17 in the Preseason Coaches Poll that was released earlier this week. However, Klieman wants his players to ignore the outside noise and focus on the task at hand.
“Yes there’s excitement, there’s really good momentum and expectations, but forget about the expectations, just go about your business daily,” the 56-year old said. “Don’t talk about championships, don’t talk about what we can be, let’s talk about what we can be today.”
The opener against Tennessee-Martin is later this month, and Kansas State must stay in grind mode leading up to kickoff. It’s going to be all work and no play from this point on. Klieman can’t wait for more studs to surface in the meantime, and he’ll be ready to unleash their talents on the opposition.
“There are a lot of guys that only people in our room and our building kind of know about, and you guys will know abou real soon, because they’ll get a lot of snaps out there.”
