Latest / Cocaine Willie / The Portal Hits MHK & Klein's Staff Takes Shape: Who’s In, Who’s Out & What’s Next (S4//E41)

Transcript

The Portal Hits MHK & Klein's Staff Takes Shape: Who’s In, Who’s Out & What’s Next (S4//E41) · Cocaine Willie

0:01
You actually have to be on cocaine to be on this park there
0:03
it's. A great.
0:21
Day. What is up, everybody?
0:34
You're listening to yet another edition of Cocaine Willie, the
0:37
official K State representative on the college huddle.
0:40
I am your commissioner Bob Trollsby, and as always I'm
0:44
joined by my Co host the good chef Andre Napier and Fireball
0:47
Matt Marcini. Before we dive into the episode,
0:51
we want to give a shout out to one of our two sponsors.
0:54
We do have a second sponsor that will shout out mid pod, but
0:57
first, this beer crack. I don't have a beer.
1:00
Does someone have a beer? Matt's got a beer.
1:02
This beer crack is brought to you by Auntie Maze Parlor,
1:08
located at 616 N 12th St. in the heart of Maggieville.
1:14
Oh poor man, go to Boo Boo. Auntie Maze has been yours since
1:21
7452. Years running now and is the top
1:24
destination in Aggieville on game days and school nights
1:27
alike. Whether you're looking for
1:29
entertainment like comedy, live music or trivia, Smack Down,
1:33
which happens on Wednesday, January 7th.
1:36
You've got Nathan Pages Underground Guitar Pole
1:38
Thursday, January 8th and boys, we've got 2.
1:41
Not one, but two therapy pie and cocktail nights this January,
1:48
Tuesday, January 13th as well as Tuesday, January 27th.
1:53
So those are really I think all of the events we have for
1:56
January except also Hosty A1 man thing is on Thursday, January
2:01
29th, but you can check out a list of all of their
2:03
events.online@auntiemaze.com. They also feature a wide variety
2:08
of craft cocktails, draft beers and everything in between.
2:12
If you're looking at simply grab a drink with friends, if you're
2:15
looking to hang out after work, after school, whatever it might
2:17
be, Auntie Maze has you covered there.
2:20
We it's our favorite destination as a podcast in Aggieville and
2:24
we always make a point to go visit our auntie every time we
2:27
come back to the Little Apple. So check out their website,
2:30
www.auntiemaze.com to get a full list of their upcoming events.
2:35
They're doing a ton of cool stuff all the time.
2:38
So go check them out and visit them at 616 N 12th St. in the
2:42
heart of Aggieville. And be sure to tell them Cocaine
2:44
Willie sent you. And be sure to get one of our
2:46
Wildcat Country Let's Ride Koozies while you're at it.
2:50
That's going to do it for our first sponsor.
2:52
But guys, let's start with the staff.
2:55
Let's start with the coaching staff.
2:56
We obviously all know Colin Klein is the head coach at K
3:00
State now. He's been assembling his staff
3:03
over the last three or four weeks now since he's been
3:05
introduced as the head coach. And that includes general
3:09
manager Trey Scott, quarterbacks coach Christian Ellsworth, some
3:12
of the guys we've already talked about.
3:14
Some of the newer additions to the staff include offensive line
3:19
coach Mike Schmidt, Brian Lepak being officially introduced as
3:23
the tight ends coach, Thad Ward coming back from Illinois to be
3:28
the wide receivers coach and assistant head coach.
3:31
Like the little title upgrade there for Thad Ward, Corey
3:35
Patterson, running backs coach coming in from Oklahoma State.
3:38
And then on the defensive side of the ball, we've got Jordan
3:40
Peterson confirmed, Buddy Wyatt confirmed, Nick Toth confirmed
3:46
as linebackers coach, quarterbacks coach, Marcus
3:49
Woodson coming in from Arkansas, Jordan Peterson coming in as
3:52
safeties coach, and then Jeremiah Johnson coming in as
3:55
the defensive backs coach. We already knew about Stanton,
3:57
Weber, It's special teams. And then Jeremy Jacobs coming
4:01
in, kind of a protege of one of the most well thought of guys in
4:05
in the strength world in college football.
4:07
Jeremy Jacobs coming in from an Ms. strength and conditioning
4:10
coach. That was a mouthful.
4:12
I've done a lot of talking. What are your thoughts on the
4:15
the coaching edition so far? Who are some of the guys that
4:17
did stand out to you most and how do you like the composition
4:20
of the staff? I'll touch on composition.
4:24
I mean, I think it was very interesting from a defensive
4:27
standpoint how I feel like they put a lot of emphasis on the
4:33
defensive backs in this system. 3 coaches for sure give credence
4:40
to we're just expecting a lot of coaching on that end.
4:46
Linebackers being handled by one person and Buddy Wyatt taking
4:49
over what is double the duty. I would imagine taking over the
4:53
defensive tackles as well. It's interesting on defense and
4:57
then offensively they put that staff together later.
5:02
I don't know what what the thought process was.
5:05
Obviously lowering over, you know, Ward back from, from
5:10
Illinois was a task 'cause I mean, he, he got a note, No
5:16
title bump, right? I mean that he was also all
5:19
these tags at Illinois. He's switching from running back
5:22
to wide receiver. So it is very interesting how he
5:27
made his journey back. He's got 2 stints at Kansas
5:30
State, 2 stints at Illinois. I think he's just finding that
5:33
middle ground at home in both. I like what we're doing and you
5:38
know, some of the rumors on where we were going with online
5:44
going pivoting to somebody that's kind of like outside of
5:47
what everybody was thinking and the Mike Schmidt is interesting.
5:51
That kind of makes you wonder how the offense is going to be
5:55
ran. Are we going to be more run
5:56
centric? Are we going to switch up the
6:00
the balance in terms of carries towards in terms of passes?
6:04
It's interesting because he is a very run heavy kind of offensive
6:08
line guy. Is he going to teach the
6:10
techniques of more run run fits and passing pass blocking this
6:15
second? So it's, it's going to be
6:17
interesting. I, I like all the coaching hires
6:19
though, every single one, Either they're young or they're very
6:24
well connected in the recruiting world.
6:26
I think these are probably the best set of recruiting
6:29
coordinators and coaching staff we've seen since maybe I mean,
6:35
Bill Snyder one point O, right? Well, yeah, I mean, if you look
6:41
at one point O and where a lot of that staff ended up, yes, I
6:46
would say yeah, the that would probably be if we were in that
6:50
position in five years with some of these guys, that would be
6:54
pretty incredible. But I'll start on the offensive
6:57
side just really quick. I mean, I like this group.
7:00
You mentioned Thad Ward. I think you know, Thad in 20/22,
7:04
he had really coached up that set of wide receivers in the
7:08
room before he left. I think he's a really big pick
7:12
up, a guy who, you know, did a great job in recruiting, you
7:18
know, from the for the wide receiver position and especially
7:21
coming from Illinois, I think that's a big win, you know,
7:23
getting him to come back to K State.
7:26
I really also, you know, just thinking about the offensive
7:30
coordinator position and you know, that's basically the last
7:34
role that we're we're kind of waiting on.
7:36
I know last week we heard, you know, a couple names, Ryan Haffy
7:39
with the Packers, you heard Alex Bailey, who is with Vanderbilt.
7:43
I have to imagine just based off of where we are today, if we did
7:47
not hire Alex Bailey from Vanderbilt after their bowl game
7:50
on Saturday, I imagine that the Packers guy is probably the
7:55
number one that they're trying to hire.
7:57
So maybe wish for they play Saturday night, right?
8:01
Hopefully the Packers lose to the Bears and maybe Sunday we're
8:04
hearing about it. But I I really like the
8:08
offensive group. You have young guys who were
8:15
very successful at A&M in building that offense up.
8:18
I believe they have kind of, you know, a thought process for how
8:22
they want their offense to run next year.
8:23
And it's just finding the right personnel.
8:25
And I think this is a group of coaches that's going to get you
8:27
there. Mike Schmidt was a hire that,
8:29
you know, I I think some people were obviously hoping for Zach
8:33
Hanson to come back from USC. But in the grand scheme of
8:36
things, Mike Schmidt's a guy who has been very successful at the
8:39
places that he has coached, and he looks like a guy that can
8:45
coach up some offensive lineman. Let me tell you, he looks like a
8:48
guy that is going to know how to coach up some offensive lineman.
8:52
Man Chef, I would pay like $1000 for you to do an Oklahoma drill
8:59
against that guy. You would be, you'd honestly be
9:03
surprised that I'm not too far off of probably what his weight
9:06
is. I probably, I, I added, be
9:12
willing to bet that he's, well, I don't know how tall he is.
9:15
It would be interesting to see how tall he is.
9:17
He doesn't look the tallest. He looks very stout.
9:20
Yeah, but I mean. Find his old his old roster
9:24
from. I I guarantee it, yeah.
9:27
Yeah, yeah. He would kill me, he would kill
9:31
me. Long story short, he would kill
9:33
me. Yeah.
9:35
But you can kind of see in that tweet there, I mean, very San
9:38
Diego State was very good rushing the football this year.
9:41
And, you know, a big thing, yeah.
9:43
I think we think about this past year was the inefficiency of the
9:47
offensive line. And so it's going to be getting
9:50
a group of guys together that, you know, depending on who
9:52
stays, you have a couple guys in the portal, you know, or
9:55
multiple guys in the portal that you're looking at or committed
9:57
thus far. So I'm excited to see see how he
10:01
improves that area. Just on the defensive side.
10:05
I mean, this is a group that I think from an experience
10:09
perspective matches what you would probably be looking for
10:13
for a first year head coach. You go down the line, I mean,
10:16
you have a guy that you've already worked with, with Jordan
10:19
Peterson from A&M. You keep some K State blood in
10:23
there, at least K State experience with Buddy Wyatt.
10:27
But then some of these other names I think are are really
10:30
good ones. Jeremiah Johnson, you know, he
10:32
was the one that coached the Coastal Carolina bowl game is
10:35
the interim a lot of experience in his time.
10:39
Marcus Woodson's a guy who people talk about as being an
10:42
incredible recruiter. And I feel like we're seeing
10:45
that now with some of the names or at least you know, guys that
10:49
we're looking at in the transfer portal.
10:51
A lot of them are, you know, getting connected with Marcus
10:53
Woodson. So you have to imagine he's
10:56
using that recruiting kind of pro S, you know, in helping, you
11:00
know, get some of these early guys who have committed from the
11:02
portal this far. So I the biggest thing with the
11:06
defense is there's going to be there's a lot of holes there and
11:11
early on we're seeing some good pickups, but it's going to be a
11:13
continued process here. The portal has been open for
11:16
what less than a week? Like it's we're going to be
11:19
seeing a lot more guys that are coming on visiting, you know,
11:22
just to fill up some of these holes on the defensive line, you
11:27
know, in the secondary. You know, it, it's going to be
11:30
very interesting to to kind of see what this group does.
11:32
But overall I've been very, I think I, you know, impressed is
11:37
kind of a tough, I don't want to be biased, but I look at the the
11:41
guys and the experience that he's brought in.
11:43
I think it really is a good melting pot of what you're
11:46
looking for of guys who you worked with in the past today
11:49
and am keeping some K state blood on the offensive and
11:53
defensive sides. And then bringing in guys with
11:55
experience, you know, bringing in guys who have experience
11:58
working, you know, not just in the Big 12, but in the SCCACC
12:03
Big 10. So I think it's going to be
12:05
really good. Yeah.
12:07
And to piggyback off of that, I mean it, it doesn't, I don't
12:11
want to be biased either and say like, oh, this is one of the
12:13
greatest Staffs like assembled. I mean, there's still a lot of
12:16
proving to be done. But it does scream to me that
12:21
Colin Klein is connected in the industry and that he's not in
12:25
over his head because he's getting people that have they,
12:30
they have their stripes and he's, they're there to help him
12:33
further the program and get it to where it needs to go.
12:36
So I, I, I'm really happy with that.
12:38
It's not like he's getting when he hired Ellsworth that we, we
12:42
knew he was following him from A&M, But that's a guy that's,
12:46
you know, the first time with the position group in terms of
12:50
it being his room. So that one, it started off like
12:54
what, or is he going to get some veteran guys?
12:57
But you know, lo and behold, he gets, he gets it going.
13:00
He gets the defensive staff first, which makes sense because
13:03
he is an offensive guy. He knows what he's looking for.
13:06
He knows what he can talk to with Trey Scott, the GM and get
13:10
things going rolling in the portal, which I think we'll talk
13:12
about in a little bit. But I, I did want to ask you
13:15
guys about the, the OC position because it seems to me that
13:20
every position group is taken care of.
13:24
So what I think this would be the first time I, I can't
13:28
remember that the OC is, doesn't, isn't in charge of
13:31
either the quarterbacks or some other position on the field.
13:34
So it'd be very interesting that it's basically just is it just a
13:38
wing, an arm of Colin Klein that does the play calling or like
13:43
what is the title? Because it's not an associate
13:45
head coach usually like if they're the OC, they're the
13:47
associate head coach or they're in charge of a position.
13:50
So it's going to be interesting to see what the O CS role
13:54
basically or title is really. Yeah, I mean, if you assume that
14:00
it's going to be Ryan Mahaffey, you have a guy who is an
14:05
experienced guy coaching NFL wide receivers.
14:10
You have a guy who, you know, especially with Matt Lafleur's
14:14
offense in Green Bay, Matt Lafleur offensive mind, you
14:19
know, in the NFL, you could, you know, definitely say he's one of
14:22
the top offensive minds in the game.
14:23
Worked under Sean McVay. I you know, is he going to be a
14:28
guy that's going to be calling plays?
14:30
I don't, I don't know. But I think it'll be a really
14:33
good opportunity to get a guy with NFL experience to oversee
14:36
the entire offense and and oversee whatever calling
14:40
client's plan of this is what I want AK State offense to look
14:44
like. But I think it's a really it's a
14:47
really big boon to certain position groups if a guy like
14:51
that is brought in. I think Avery Johnson, you know,
14:55
it's very funny because of we talked about the, you know, the
14:58
Jordan Love connection with Matt Wells.
15:01
This would technically be another Jordan Love connection
15:04
if that was the higher. But I do look at the wide
15:07
receiver position for Green Bay and that's a position that, you
15:10
know, if a lot, you know, if you all watch, watch the Packers,
15:15
it's a group that I think is somewhat unheralded in certain
15:18
aspects. They have guys in the room that
15:21
are talented guys, but you don't hear a lot about them.
15:24
I mean, I, you know, and Christian Watson, before he got
15:28
hurt and then he came back, he's been, you know, he was good
15:31
before he got hurt. He's been decent since then.
15:33
But they they have these guys that they've drafted really well
15:37
and gotten this young talent. And you have to think some of
15:40
that is because of a guy like him.
15:42
And so I, I will be interested to see, you know, if this is the
15:46
higher and that's the move, you know what it's going to look
15:49
like for a guy who, yeah, he's a wide receiver coach in the NFL
15:53
now, but kind of overseeing what an entire offense would look
15:56
like. And it make it makes me think,
16:00
sorry, I don't know, I'm, I'm kind of delayed.
16:02
But this is where my head went is with Colin Klein learning
16:07
from Mike Elko, who is like the defensive play caller at Texas
16:11
A&M, but he had Co defensive coordinators, D coordinators
16:15
that are there to basically oversee, maybe facilitate that
16:20
so he can do more of the CEO stuff, but still be in charge of
16:25
the the defense. And Colin Klein maybe do the
16:28
same thing where he is. He has an offensive coordinator
16:31
that helps him run practice that can, you know, do things where
16:35
he can beat other places but still do the play calling on
16:39
game day. Yeah, I was just looking at the
16:42
wide receivers for the Packers. A guy that we didn't even
16:45
mention is Romeo Dobbs. He's got 700 plus yards on the
16:48
season. He's he's in the few Packers
16:51
games I've watched, he's been definitely a stud.
16:56
Shout out to Romeo Dobbs in the the.
16:58
And the guardian cap, the guardian cap, I mean, in like
17:03
Jaden Reed or Jalen Reed, I can't remember what his first
17:07
name is, but he's been a guy that's really grown into that
17:09
role. You're gonna see Matthew Golden
17:12
as well. I don't know if he has any help
17:15
with the tight ends at all, but I mean, that's a group that
17:18
offensively has been very good in the NFL.
17:21
And to have that type of experience coming to college
17:24
and, and kind of working with Avery and his last year, you
17:28
know, bringing in some good talents in the wide receiver
17:31
room. You know, how can you develop
17:33
blinking cure as a tight end? I, I, I just think there's a lot
17:37
there. And it just seems like the
17:40
puzzle pieces are getting connected to where if you had
17:43
two guys that are kind of being floated out there from a name
17:47
perspective, it was going to be the Vanderbilt guy.
17:49
I feel like we would have heard about it a few days ago, but the
17:53
fact that it's not makes me think that, yeah, they're
17:56
looking in the direction of this one.
17:57
You know, Ryan Happy and. But who knows, maybe next week
18:00
this will be all for Naughty SO. So I got, I got to say, if
18:05
you're going to get a strength coach, he needs to look like a
18:07
serial killer, like Jeremy Jacobs.
18:09
This dude looks like he wants to skin an animal in a forest and
18:14
like, eat it raw. Yeah, he's a sick looking dude.
18:19
I mean, the eyes are dead for. Sure.
18:21
Yeah, his eyes. His eyes staring.
18:24
Staring into my soul, I've. Seen things, I don't know
18:29
necessarily what they've seen, but it it's coming with some
18:33
cruel intention and it may it makes you want to, you know, if
18:37
you're going to lift weights and he's around, you're going to
18:39
lift it heavier because or harder because it's he looks
18:43
intimidating as hell. He he has an interesting resume
18:46
and I, I, I don't know that enough people are talking about
18:49
the fact that he was an assistant director of strength
18:52
and conditioning on that LSU squad with Joe Burrow that's
18:55
been lauded as one of the best college football teams of all
18:58
time. When you think about the
18:59
strength coach in the strength and conditioning staffers, if
19:02
you will, that that's those are the guys that are setting the
19:06
tone in the locker room for everything that's happening off
19:09
the field. They're the ones that are, that
19:11
are setting the tone during the offseason workouts in, in
19:14
getting getting that mantra or that mentality into the heads of
19:18
these young guys, the the players as well as the the
19:20
veterans, the guys who've been around the block to get them to
19:24
reiterate some of the some of the messages from the top down.
19:28
And, and he's the guy that's pounding it into their heads on
19:30
a daily basis because we have to remember these guys aren't
19:34
practicing regularly outside of the spring and outside of fall
19:37
camp. So they're, they're in the
19:39
weight room, they're they're doing the offseason conditioning
19:41
program. And that's where a majority of
19:44
of the messaging and everything is being received.
19:46
And I think with the way that the portal works now, you've got
19:49
two weeks of portal time and there's no spring portal
19:51
anymore. So you got to get in these head,
19:53
these kids heads early and often.
19:55
And I think you're going to have an even better opportunity to do
19:57
that knowing that your your, your team, your roster that you
20:01
assemble after this portal window.
20:03
That's your roster. It it's set.
20:05
You're you're not going to have to worry about attrition in the
20:07
spring. So I think it's I love this
20:10
guy's resume. I love his pedigree.
20:12
I love what he's been, who he's been able to work with.
20:14
And in the fact that you're going to get him in there,
20:17
you've got it decided. Your roster is going to be set.
20:20
The guy said the staff is assembling so far, which we'll
20:23
get to to some of the additions from the portal.
20:25
Is is been pretty solid so far. I've been pretty excited about
20:29
the addition so I I I'm pretty stoked about where things are at
20:32
with the coaching staff as it stands right now.
20:37
Any additional thoughts on the staff before we do our do our
20:40
quick ad read on sponsor #2? I mean, just I think special
20:46
teams is going to also take a step.
20:48
I know we we Weber coming in. I know that was a big addition
20:52
and he is a case stater through and through.
20:55
So that's going to be big. It's going to be, I mean, just
20:59
from the interviews that he's done, it seems like he's kind of
21:03
figured out what needs to be done and he kind of identified
21:08
already like what the problems were with K State special teams.
21:13
And, you know, can he make it a difference maker, especially in
21:18
the first season when you're trying to establish a culture it
21:22
with the physicality, like you were talking about Bob, with the
21:24
strengths and strength and conditioning.
21:26
What Colin Klein had said coming in special teams could make a
21:30
difference, especially if you're if you're trying to figure out
21:34
what your offense is, can give your defense a break and, you
21:38
know, score some points, field goal kicking.
21:41
Any of those things can make a difference in a a season that we
21:45
don't know what it's going to be.
21:46
We because we really don't know what the team is.
21:48
But expectations, if you have a good special teams, that makes
21:52
all the difference. So I I really like the addition
21:55
of Stanton Webber as well. That is, I mean, that's what
21:58
we've been asking for. I love the addition of Stan
22:02
Weber that that is what everybody have been asking for.
22:06
And, and it, it appeases the people who both want good
22:09
quality coaches and want guys that, you know, they, they have
22:13
the connections, they have the ties to KC.
22:15
Because I feel like in a lot of cases, some of the people on the
22:19
boards or the Facebook, the K State family Facebook group or
22:23
whatever, like calling for Darren Sproles to be the running
22:26
backs coach. It's like, OK, we don't need to
22:27
be doing that. We don't need to be calling up
22:30
Tyler Lockett after he got injured on the field against the
22:33
Chiefs on on Sunday and ask him if he wants to be wide receivers
22:37
coach. I I think it, it strikes the
22:39
balance of keeping the blood, keeping that K state feel and,
22:43
and guys who have been in the program who have seen it evolve
22:46
from Snyder to to climb into now to decline while also, you know,
22:52
it's it's a guy that has good quality chops from a special
22:56
teams coaching standpoint. So all right, we are thrilled to
23:01
announce that this episode is also brought to you by our
23:04
latest sponsor, our newest sponsor, friend of Matt and I
23:08
Paul. We've got heartland beef
23:11
connection folks. We're not talking about grocery
23:14
store beef. Heartland Beef Connection
23:16
connects Kansas and Midwest families directly with local
23:20
ranchers. That means there's no middle men
23:22
and no industrial processing, no mass produced beef.
23:26
A lot of these ranchers that that are tied in with with
23:29
Heartland Beef Connection, they're located in the state of
23:32
Kansas. And of course plenty of them are
23:34
also K Staters themselves. So they've got the same value,
23:36
same work ethic, just doing it out on the land instead of on
23:40
the gridiron, which matters a lot to me as a 6th generation
23:43
Kansan, myself. Paul, friend of the program,
23:46
friend of Matt and I, we've known him for 15 years now.
23:49
He started a Heartland Beef Connection to help support
23:52
Midwest ranchers by matching them directly with families
23:55
looking to buy a quarter, half or whole beef shares.
23:58
You know where your beef comes from, how it was raised and who
24:01
raised it. And here's the part that people
24:03
don't expect. Not only does this beef taste
24:06
better, it's actually cheaper per pound than grocery store
24:09
beef when you buy direct and buy in bulk.
24:12
So it's better quality. There's more, apparently, and
24:15
you're not paying for the middle men.
24:17
So if you care about supporting Kansas agriculture, keeping your
24:20
money local, and eating beef that actually tastes the way
24:23
beef should, this is it. Here's the best part, because
24:27
you're listening to Cocaine Willie, you can get $25 off of
24:30
the Heartland Beef Connection match fee when you mention our
24:34
podcast or use the promo code CW25 at check out.
24:39
So check out Heartland Beef Connection at heartlandbeef.net.
24:43
Real beef, Real ranchers, better beef for your money.
24:48
How was that for the? First, let's go.
24:51
That's got to be piped up. Oh my God.
24:54
Bricked up, bricked up, boy. Let's go, Let's go buy some
24:58
beef. Let's go get some beef, All
25:02
right, boys. So talking about the transfers,
25:04
this is obviously the biggest thing that's happening right
25:07
now. It's transfer portal season and
25:11
let's start with the notable returners.
25:12
Let's talk about Avery Johnson announcing his return to K State
25:16
that dropped on Friday. We all knew this was probably
25:19
going to happen, but you never know with the portal here if
25:21
these guys are actually going to stick around or not.
25:25
Guys can they're they're they're they can change on a dime.
25:29
We, we just know that these are 18 to 22 year old kids.
25:32
So the fully the, the, the frontal lobe is not fully formed
25:36
at this point, which means that a lot of dumb things can happen.
25:39
But Avery Johnson was not dumb. He's sticking around at K State.
25:42
He made that announcement. I, I guess just when you think
25:45
about that announcement, how important is that to coach
25:49
clients first year knowing that we're not going to have to go
25:52
out to the transfer portal to try to find some backup
25:55
quarterback or a guy at maybe the G5 or G6 level who is maybe
26:00
not proven at the P4 level. What What does it mean to have
26:04
Avery Johnson coming in for the for the coaching staff for coach
26:07
client in this first year? I mean, I think if we look at
26:10
the transfer portal and how the first few days of this thing
26:14
have kind of run through, I'm not saying it would have been
26:18
disastrous because I think that's just, that's probably big
26:21
a big word. But I mean, you look at what
26:25
some of these quarterbacks that are going to the portal are
26:27
commanding. And I mean, I, I think Nebraska
26:31
is a really good example of this.
26:33
You know, you had a guy in Kenny Minche who was getting like,
26:36
what, $2,000,000 something, You know, he was going to be the
26:40
starter at Notre Dame, lost his job with CJ Carr, you know,
26:43
played eight snaps this year and is getting $2,000,000.
26:47
I mean, and then he decides, oh, I'm leaving Nebraska to go to
26:50
Kentucky. Yeah.
26:51
It it's just I, I'm not putting like I have to be a realist.
26:57
When you look at the transfer portal, when you think of
26:59
quarterbacks, it's the most important position out there and
27:02
you're going to be in a battle with a ton of big schools to try
27:05
and get a quarterback. So to be able to keep a guy in.
27:09
Avery Johnson, who has been with the program, has the the a
27:14
passion for K State. I mean, you can kind of see just
27:19
how much he cares about the university.
27:21
He wants to win. I mean, he wants to win.
27:23
He wants to be successful and for him to be able to come back
27:28
shows an intense respect for the coaching staff that Colin Klein
27:31
has put together. But I think it also proves a
27:35
really good point that he believes with the right
27:38
personnel, he's in the right spot.
27:41
And I just think it would have been very tough with how the
27:45
portal is right now for K State to be somewhat competitive if
27:50
you were going to try and bring in a quarterback or you're going
27:53
to stick it with Blake Barnett and Jacob Knuth and Dylan Duff
27:58
and probably know this season is going to be a little bit of a
28:02
tougher 1. You know, as we get these guys
28:04
going, I think Avery Johnson gives you an opportunity to be
28:08
in somewhat of a win now mode. You get the right guys around
28:11
him. And with the schedule, there's
28:14
the potential that you could go on a run.
28:16
And I think having Avery is way better than the alternative of
28:21
not having Avery and really not being sure who you're going to
28:25
be able to pick up. Exactly.
28:28
I mean, it's the first domino that really needed to fall in
28:31
terms of how you recruit going forward.
28:34
You can't acquire skill positions in the portal that
28:39
are, you know, people that are ready to win.
28:41
Now if you have a quarterback that is, you're undecided on or
28:46
you don't have 1. So it's it's really big that
28:50
Avery Johnson sealed that up. I mean, obviously he tried to be
28:56
in communication with some of the players that left already.
28:59
That will. I mean, sure, we'll talk about
29:01
the departures, but retention is big.
29:05
But you've got to remember that we are a six and six program.
29:09
Not mind you, some of these players are really, really good.
29:14
But we had to overhaul this roster.
29:16
We had to get better. But Avery Johnson was the first
29:20
domino because I don't think Avery Johnson was the reason
29:23
that we didn't win a lot of games.
29:25
I think the potential is still there he but him being in the
29:32
fold really lays the foundation and the groundwork for this
29:37
portal hall this season. So it without him, like Matt
29:43
said, it is total rebuild mode. It is total.
29:48
Your no, no eggs are in the basket for this season.
29:52
But now you've got a little bit of hope that maybe something can
29:56
come from this season. And I hope it does for Avery
29:59
Johnson sakes, because he's obviously he's going to be the
30:01
all time leading passer at Kansas State.
30:04
He's going to lead in for touchdowns single season more
30:07
than likely still. And and who knows where he ranks
30:11
and you know, for his legacy, it is a big factor that he comes
30:16
back because now he's an he in the eyes of the fans, he's going
30:22
to be a case stater. He'll always be welcome back.
30:25
There's some players that you know, when you chase the bag,
30:28
it's not the same. So I mean it's it's it's tough.
30:31
It's but I love that Avery Johnson made his way into the
30:36
hearts of all Kansas State fans. It's it's going to be that way
30:39
for the rest of his life. And that mean that might lay,
30:41
you know, for his future. If it's not the NFL, Kansas
30:45
State will always be here. Will Howard catching strays.
30:48
Jeez Louise, man, chef going after him and and Jace Brown, I
30:52
I think is another guy. I mean, he he answers the portal
30:55
and and he's a guy. That's what the best wide
30:58
receiver we've had since Tyler Lockett and some could argue
31:01
that and he's going to go off and and go somewhere else in in
31:05
in the eyes of Kay Staters. It's going to have a little bit
31:08
of a sour taste when you look at Jace Brown and see his name on
31:11
some of those leader boards and stuff in the future.
31:14
Obviously some great moments with them, but it always sucks
31:17
to see a guy not finish his career that that you developed
31:20
at K State at Austin Romain, another guy who's who's going to
31:23
chase a bag for for Texas Tech and and is committed down there.
31:28
That's. Another guy, by the way.
31:30
Yeah, geez, I mean Wayne Kiffin, baby.
31:33
The Wayne is riding the lane train.
31:35
Whoever's going to be throwing to him, we'll see.
31:37
Yeah, I think they got levied right.
31:40
No, has not No. He's not official yet.
31:43
He's not official yet. Speaking of other other
31:46
quarterbacks though, we do have all the other guys on the depth
31:49
chart quarterback wise behind Avery have stuck it out other
31:52
than Hudson Hutchinson who I think was a Washburn transfer.
31:56
So what 5th on the 5th? 5th in the pecking order, not
31:59
counting Miles to Yadecki do? You think that?
32:01
Do you think they do? You think they all stick?
32:04
I mean, they've got a while. I was going to ask you.
32:06
About yeah, 10 days. Yeah, I was going to ask you,
32:08
like, obviously the transfer portal will get into the
32:13
additions, but you you've got 10 more days from when, I don't
32:18
know when this drops tonight. Obviously you got 10 more days
32:21
of the transfer portal to get in.
32:24
When do you want your team completed?
32:26
I mean, when do these when, because when's the semester?
32:29
That's when you really want to get in, right?
32:31
You want to be basically your big cogs for your your team and
32:37
by semester, which is when I don't even know.
32:40
It starts the day after Martin Luther King Day.
32:42
So yeah, the the the portal closing on the 16th I think
32:45
makes makes the most sense because classes will start the
32:50
20th, right. Right.
32:53
So I, I mean, Jacob Knuth is probably the one that like
32:57
shocks me the most because I just, I, I mean, maybe he like
33:05
enjoys the situation that he's in.
33:07
I, I, I don't know. But like the timing with him has
33:11
always been like really tough. And I just don't know.
33:15
I think about like in 2027, you're not going to have Avery
33:19
Johnson. Jacob Knuth is going to be a
33:21
senior. Like see, I, I, I just think
33:28
you're probably going to be leaning towards like trying to
33:31
play Barnett or Duff. So I, I am kind of surprised
33:37
that Knuth has decided to stay. That's, that's just my opinion.
33:42
I have no, like, you know, from a talent level perspective.
33:45
I just looking at it from, you know, who's been recruited and
33:50
what where things are going to be at.
33:53
I I just wonder, you know, does he kind of like situations in or
33:57
is he wanting to play more somewhere?
33:59
I don't know, but yeah, that's a very interesting one.
34:05
I. Guess yeah, Yeah.
34:06
But the, the, the, the moral of the story here is quarterback is
34:09
not a position of need right now for for K state at the moment as
34:13
it stands on Tuesday, January 6th, 2026.
34:16
That said, there are some other positions of need.
34:19
We've obviously seen some attrition from the running backs
34:21
room with Dylan Edwards and Devon Rice and JB Price entering
34:25
the portal. That means Joe Jackson,
34:27
Montario, Montario Elston are two guys that are returning.
34:30
But we bring in running back Rodney Fields from Oklahoma
34:36
State. He had I think 600 yards on the
34:38
season average 155.1 yards per carry in this one.
34:42
Connection there with with Corey Patterson is nice to have their
34:46
wide receiver another position of need with with Jace Brown
34:49
going to LSU wearing a different shade of purple in Baton Rouge,
34:53
we've got Tibbs Moise and Sterling Locker, kind of the
34:56
most noteworthy guys that are still in the wide receiver room.
35:00
And you've got 11 commitment so far.
35:02
And Isaiah Williams who who showed some flashes at Texas A&M
35:05
coming over with Colin Klein there.
35:08
But yeah, I mean looking on the offensive side, those are you've
35:12
got one offensive line commitment, Keaton Jones from
35:14
Missouri, guy for I think from Coffeyville, KS, originally 4
35:18
star guy out of high school so he's got some good, good
35:21
pedigree. Well, thought of guy there, but
35:23
the defensive side is definitely where I feel like there's a lot
35:27
of attrition as well. You look at defensive line, you
35:31
look at the linebacker room, we've got commits from 2
35:34
linebackers, Jacoby Oliphant and Makai Mason from Oklahoma State
35:39
and Louisiana Tech respectively, Darian Hicks from Gardner Webb
35:44
on the defensive line, and then D BS Caleb Patterson from
35:47
Illinois and Coy Beasley from Miami of Ohio.
35:50
So yeah, we've got the what, 6777 commits right now?
35:55
588 commits I believe something like that 678I.
36:01
Can't no, the it's it's interesting because with how are
36:11
you know under climbing you knew what you were going to get.
36:14
Obviously they they dabbled in a little bit more of the four down
36:19
later in the the tenure and they started on that four down front.
36:25
What are we getting with what are we getting from Jordan
36:27
Peterson? What do we expect?
36:30
What are we looking for? If I mean, if we go by what
36:32
they're getting in the transfer portal, we want very hyper
36:37
athletic linebackers that are kind of like almost DBS, almost
36:44
safeties really. I mean, both of Mason and Olafi,
36:48
I mean Olive, that was a freaking corner for God's sakes.
36:52
And he moves around, but he's, I mean, humongous.
36:55
So it's interesting. I'm I'm excited to see the
36:58
direction of where the defense goes.
37:01
But in terms of offense, we know what Colin Klein runs.
37:04
We know what that is. He wants a lot of speed out
37:10
there, wants a lot of speed, which is going to be really,
37:13
really fun if he can kind of unlock Avery Johnson's legs.
37:18
But in terms of who we've brought in so far, right Fields
37:23
is one of my favorite. I mean, he even watching the
37:25
Oklahoma State game back versus K State, he he pops off the
37:30
screen. He's not the biggest guy, but he
37:33
is one of those guys that is very shifty, catches the ball
37:36
excellently. I'm really impressed with them.
37:41
So if we can get a hold, if we can retain Joe Jackson fill up
37:45
in the air, I would imagine I would really like for Joe
37:48
Jackson to be back and they can split that.
37:51
However they have to do it. So it it's going to be fun.
37:54
I thought that's the real big win that I thought because I
37:58
didn't see it coming. I mean, I knew it was like the
38:00
name that had been brought out, but I just didn't expect it to
38:03
happen that fast. So I'm, I'm excited with who
38:06
we've brought in so far, but I'll let Matt talk about that
38:09
defense because I, I just, I'm confused.
38:11
I'm lost. Who?
38:13
What kind of defense are we running?
38:16
Well, I mean, we have to run a defense because of the number of
38:19
people that we've lost. So I, I mean, I take a lot of
38:22
the positions that we brought in as like they're filling
38:26
positions now. And once you figure out what my
38:29
personnel is going to look like, we're going to trend in One
38:32
Direction versus the other. I, I mean, I feel like Jordan
38:37
Peterson maybe has an idea of what he wants to do, but you
38:41
still have to have kind of an idea.
38:43
You know, you still have to have what your team's going to look
38:45
like. You know, who, who are the
38:47
players that you're going to have on the defensive side?
38:49
And, you know, how are we going to take advantage of, of some of
38:52
the guys? I mean, you know, I think of the
38:54
defensive line like that's a huge question mark right now,
38:58
especially with the personnel that they've lost.
39:01
And so, you know, are you going to be in a position where in the
39:04
portal you're successful, you get enough players that you
39:06
think you can run a four down set or, you know, A4 four man
39:10
set? You know, are they going to do
39:12
something with three guys? And then you have, you know,
39:14
some athletic linebackers that are going to, you know, kind of
39:17
be, you know, rushing the quarterback.
39:22
I don't know, it's it what I'm excited to kind of see is so
39:25
some of the players that, you know, they've picked up, you
39:28
know, what they've done at their previous school, But also it's a
39:33
pretty young group that they've brought in thus far.
39:36
I mean, for the most part, I mean, thinking about this list
39:39
here like elephants A going to be a sophomore, right?
39:46
I'm pretty sure. Young.
39:48
Yeah, they're sure a lot of eligibility.
39:50
Makai Mason, who was a very good player at Louisiana Tech, he's
39:53
going to be a junior. Right, two years eligibility.
39:57
Two years eligibility. Kayla Patterson, I believe, is
40:00
going to be a sophomore. Yeah, I think so.
40:03
And Coy Beasley, I think, is going to be a junior.
40:07
I think a lot, I mean, these guys that are committing right
40:11
now, I can see either being a depth piece because we bring in
40:16
a guy like Patterson, like you said, he's got years of
40:20
eligibility, 3 years of eligibility left.
40:22
But we, we brought back Donovan McIntosh and we brought back
40:25
Jason Rich. I mean, these are guys that are
40:28
established. I mean, even K State football is
40:31
tweeting out. We brought back our starting
40:33
corners. I mean, way to, you know, bestow
40:36
the starting positions on him already.
40:37
I mean, my God, no competition at corner apparently.
40:41
But you know, Coy Beasley we brought he was a four-star out
40:46
of high school. He goes to Purdue.
40:48
He's a throwback back to the Mac, but he's very productive.
40:52
I'm you look, you get a little worried about I mean, I'm not
40:56
one of those those truthers about oh, G5G5 this G5 that I
41:01
think production is production. But we had the what was the last
41:05
safety we brought from Miami? What's in the Miami, Ohio guy?
41:09
Jordan Jordan Riley Jordan Riley in Miami, Ohio guy.
41:13
But I I thought he was Ball State.
41:15
I thought he was. Ball State, You're right.
41:16
You're right. Yeah, absolutely.
41:18
Still a Mac. Guy still, but that is a safety
41:20
is a position though that if you think historically or maybe from
41:25
a recent history that has been a position where they've pulled
41:29
from lower ranks and gotten success.
41:32
I mean, starting with Josh, you think about Josh Hayes.
41:36
Technically. I mean, he was a Virginia guy
41:38
though. When we got him he was at
41:40
Virginia. He wasn't in the SU guy, but we
41:42
got him. Also different staff.
41:46
Different staff, I mean, they identify different things.
41:49
That's what this is where I the just of my question come from.
41:53
What are they looking for? You know, it would be nice that
41:57
like, obviously the second season of the staff is going to
41:59
tell a lot, but you know, just to get into the minds of what
42:03
you haven't heard from the coaches.
42:05
It would be nice. You know, they don't have to
42:07
tell us anything, but you know, just for my sanity, like, what
42:11
are they looking for? What kind of bodies are they
42:14
looking for? What, what have they done in the
42:15
past? Because they, you got 4 freaking
42:20
DB coaches out there. What are they?
42:23
I mean, who are they looking for?
42:24
What are they trying to do? So I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm
42:29
curious, but I, I see, I can see the vision with the people that
42:34
they're bringing in because I think a lot of them are going to
42:36
be valuable depth pieces. And what Matt was bringing up
42:39
was the eligibility. And a lot of them still have
42:42
time to grow in the in the program if they're willing to be
42:45
here and learn, learn under the system.
42:48
I mean, and I think it's two, it's like 2 separate like lines
42:52
of thinking. When you look at some of these
42:53
players, you have young guys who come from a power conference
42:56
that didn't see maybe as much time but showed flashes.
43:01
And but then you have guys from, you know, a group of five
43:04
conference, Gardner Webb, the defensive lineman that either
43:11
showed some production at that school, maybe showed some
43:14
extreme production. I mean, Makai Mason was second
43:16
team all Conference USA at linebacker, you know, so so you
43:21
kind of have these two like different routes that it looks
43:25
like they're looking at. But I think for this portal
43:28
season, it's going to be a lot more difficult to discern what
43:30
the plan is because there's so many positions that they I mean,
43:34
it's quite possible we're going to have 30 or 35 guys from the
43:37
portal, which, you know, is a high number.
43:42
But that's what you have to do to kind of rebuild a program.
43:46
And it's going to be taking risks on guys who, you know,
43:49
were four-star athletes that didn't maybe play it out at an
43:54
SEC Big 10 or other Big 12 school versus guys that maybe
43:58
you're a little bit, they're hungry.
44:00
They want to get into power conference football.
44:03
That's, I mean, three weeks from now when we kind of see what the
44:06
list, you know, of these guys is going to be.
44:08
I, I think it's just going to be all over the map.
44:10
And the eight that we've seen right now is very much like a
44:14
all over the map kind of situation.
44:17
Where would you rank the biggest areas of need based on the
44:20
departures that we had? So just position group by
44:23
position group, where are you? Where are you ranking the
44:26
positions as I'm prioritizing this that the other.
44:30
Well, I think they've obviously brought some people.
44:34
I think they brought in two commitments so far on the
44:37
defensive line. But the defensive line for me is
44:39
absolutely needed. I mean, we have outside of
44:43
graduation, we've lost Ryan Davis, Toby GD, I mean, and then
44:50
Damien left. I mean, we're, we're missing
44:54
basically our entire starting defensive line.
44:56
So it's going to be Jordan Allen's going to be huge to
44:59
bring back his he's got that relationship with Buddy Wyatt.
45:02
It'll be interesting to see what they run.
45:04
So I think in a four down front, I, I like where we're heading
45:09
because we're going to have position versatility.
45:13
I think the D line is what what we're going to need the most.
45:17
I think. I think just bringing in the
45:22
right guys this first season to set the foundation is what is
45:26
just so huge. It's just so huge.
45:29
Then to know what we're getting up front, it's going to set the
45:34
defense apart. It really it's what's needed.
45:37
I think it's losing that many guys, six guys off the defensive
45:40
line. It has to be the main focal
45:43
point in my opinion. I'll, I agree with that.
45:48
If I had to select another one, I actually would probably say
45:51
the wide receiver room because I think Jace Brown is a very big
45:55
loss for that room from a talent perspective.
46:00
I think JB Bradley, who graduated, you know, was a guy
46:04
that I wish we saw for 12 games. I know he got hurt for a handful
46:08
of games through the season, but I, I for all of us, we have this
46:12
expectation that the offense is going to be more dynamic this
46:15
year. And whether that's a fair thing
46:18
or not, I mean, is up in the air.
46:21
But I think the biggest room of need is getting more talent
46:26
around Avery Johnson. And it's going to start at the
46:29
wide receiver position. You know, tight ends, you're
46:32
going to have Lincoln Cure, you may have Garrett Oakley there
46:38
rumor of the A&M Swedish tight end that could, you know,
46:42
potentially come here. I the the tight end room I think
46:46
is one that, you know, with the losses there, I they're going to
46:50
have to kind of maybe probably get another body in there.
46:53
I think a good blocking tight end would be really good outside
46:57
of Will Will Ancio and Oakley and Cure.
47:01
But I you have to be really finding speed and the ability to
47:09
catch the football at the wide receiver position.
47:12
And if a guy like Josh Manning ends up coming to fruition, that
47:16
would be a really big, really big move.
47:19
You know, just just getting other guys around there.
47:22
I think Jaron Tibbs is, was a good player this year.
47:26
He had some drops, but he showed some promise.
47:29
I think getting him, you know, another year with Avery's
47:31
important, but they just, they need some, some speed in the
47:36
room and that's I I think a big position group that they're
47:41
going to be looking to to try and fill.
47:43
I think another sneaky position is offensive line.
47:47
You lose Sam, Heck, all Conference Center, you lose both
47:51
the guards. Taylor Poitier finally graduates
47:53
and finally leaves the program after 12 seasons.
47:56
And then you you lose your Devin.
47:59
Devin Vos was, I mean, a sneaky departure.
48:02
He had really picked it up the last four or five weeks of the
48:06
season and was really, doing really, really good things.
48:10
Mind you, you've got both your book and tackle still kind of
48:14
still there in the program. Gus Hawkins still there.
48:17
George Fitzpatrick potentially coming back.
48:20
Will, I would like to see some maybe some position versatility
48:23
with him. Maybe he can kick the guard.
48:26
Maybe Gus Hawkins can kick the guard because finding O lineman
48:31
to me I think is the hardest position to find in the portal.
48:36
You've got really, really good guys and then it's solid guys,
48:40
but they need to prove it at this level.
48:43
I think mostly most of the O lineman that you see being
48:47
mentioned with Kansas State is, you know, group of five guys
48:51
that have to prove it at that next level.
48:54
They're big, they're big bodies, they're ready to be coached and
48:57
all that stuff. So I'm sure it'll be fine, but
49:01
getting the offensive line together because we could say,
49:03
you know, we need to get the tight ends involved and the
49:06
receivers need speed and the running backs, you know, have to
49:09
be more dynamic and be more productive and Avery Johnson
49:14
needs to fulfill his potential. But if the old line's trash it,
49:17
don't. It don't matter.
49:18
Don't. None of it matters.
49:20
So losing, losing 3 of your 5 starters and then having nothing
49:26
behind them and a new offensive line coach, it's all important
49:30
that we get the online solidified.
49:33
So I, I'm, I'm really keeping my eye on that.
49:36
But I think just the amount of bodies that we lost on the
49:38
defensive line is really what's got me at the number one spot.
49:44
I'd probably rank D line O line wide receivers as my 123 of of
49:50
priority and just got I've just got to throw this up here.
49:54
I've got to throw this up here because it's it's got me got me
49:57
thinking and and hoping and praying we get a little love is
50:02
real. Can we get a little love is real
50:04
Tweet K State football? Maybe we won't get Eli
50:08
Drinkowitz, you know, sub tweeting this out of nowhere.
50:13
We did that like 4 years ago. That was pretty funny.
50:16
Safety Also another sneaky position.
50:20
Colby McAllister gone, VJ Payne gone, Gunner Maldonado gone.
50:25
I mean, Wesley Faresbeck, I guess.
50:28
I don't know if that's. Logan Bartley.
50:30
Logan Bartley. Also.
50:33
Logan Bartley. I hope he stays.
50:35
I don't stays too. I don't.
50:37
I wasn't all that impressed with him.
50:39
I mean he physically, he looks the part.
50:41
I think it's a, it's really, I, I mean, I think of in your first
50:46
year having to learn how to be a, a safety in college like I,
50:52
I, I think that's a really tough situation.
50:57
Any position group. So yeah, go ahead.
51:02
I mean, I, I don't know, just to be able to pick up on on and get
51:05
meaningful snaps, you know, in games as a freshman, like a true
51:08
freshman, I I think is shows it shows something.
51:15
Right, yeah, it's similar to the path that VJ Payne took.
51:19
VJ Payne, his true freshman season got thrown out there as
51:22
the day one starter. But you know, Logan Bartley was
51:25
out there versus the Arizona game.
51:26
He completely nuke Trey Spivey. He's he showed flashes of
51:31
physicality. I'd like to see what he can do
51:34
in coverage. What position will he play?
51:36
Cuz is he more of that deep safety?
51:38
He looks like a linebacker. So I don't know, I, I need to
51:42
see more from Logan Bartley for me to on the Logan Bartley trade
51:45
outside of being like a, you know, a cover shoot model or an
51:48
underwear model or something like that.
51:50
But you know, other than that, safety is a sneaky position for
51:54
me. What do you think about some of
51:58
where the departures are landing?
52:00
Chase Brown going to LSU, Malcolm Alcorn, Crowder, some of
52:03
these guys, Chidi and Toby ending up in Indiana.
52:07
They're they're landing at high level programs.
52:10
Quay Moss at Tennessee, Austin. They're good football players.
52:14
They're good football players. We knew that they were good
52:16
football players. We knew they were talented and
52:19
we went six and six, not because they weren't talented, it was
52:24
because they were talented. And then we lost a majority of
52:27
them. We lost Toby, Toby for the
52:29
season. We lost Austin Romain basically
52:32
for the half the season. You know, Chidi was
52:37
underwhelming because I think he had to do stuff that he kept.
52:43
He kept having to switch back and forth.
52:45
And I mean, I love the versatility from Chidi, but it
52:48
it's nice to get in one role and just excel in that role.
52:53
Koi Moss, I mean, he was a good player.
52:58
He had some time in coverage. He was he struggled at the
53:01
beginning of the season, but I think he he developed and he was
53:04
obviously the guy that always had the energy.
53:08
I think that's really was his number one attribute is that he
53:15
was always energetic. He was always bringing it every
53:18
play, no matter what, whether he was in the right position or not
53:21
was, you know, to be, you know, another story.
53:25
And then Jace Brown, obviously the biggest.
53:28
I'm not, I'm not even going to touch Austin Romain's name.
53:30
I'm not going to speak his name because if I speak, I will be in
53:33
trouble. I think I'm going to say it.
53:37
I think we upgraded, but that's that.
53:38
Besides the point, Jace Brown hurts.
53:43
I don't think we can produce. I don't think we can bring
53:45
anybody out of the portal that can match his production.
53:49
If I'm being honest, that one hurts the most.
53:52
Yeah, I like the biggest, I think the the ones that hurt are
53:59
actually Toby and Chitty. And my biggest reason for that
54:05
is Indiana has proven in two years that they are developing
54:14
talent and they are finding talent out of the transfer
54:18
portal. They have their idea of what
54:21
works in that program and it worked.
54:23
It like it obviously is working extremely well.
54:27
They are. They have an eye for talent.
54:29
So for me picking up two guys from our defensive line who we
54:36
have thought for a few seasons now that they've been in the
54:39
program that they were going to be stars for this defense are
54:44
now going to be playing at a team that is probably going to
54:47
win the national championship this year with a coaching staff
54:51
that has an eye and a knack for finding talent out of the
54:53
portal. So for me, like as AK state fan,
54:59
I see those two go there and I'm like, what in the heck like for
55:04
this DI mean, I take Austin Romaine out of the equation.
55:08
Quay Moss going to Tennessee. I agree he was an energy for the
55:13
defense. But again, you have a team that
55:18
obviously sees something more there.
55:21
I think it just shows how under whelming the coaching on the
55:26
defensive side was this year. I just think so.
55:30
I mean, I I really do the fact that these these types of
55:35
schools, Mack, a great example of guy that, you know, was
55:39
struggling to even get on the field, finally gets it together,
55:42
leaves. He's going to SMU.
55:45
But I, you know, yes, this team finished 6th and 6th this year
55:50
and there are a lot of reasons why this team finished 6th and
55:52
6th this year. But I, I, I think from the
55:57
defensive perspective, like the guys that have left are going,
56:03
are going to schools that I think are going to develop them
56:06
and get them to where we thought we were going to get them.
56:10
And that's the disappointing part about it all.
56:13
I mean, I don't know, I Indiana really is the one that I think
56:17
just like absolutely when I hear both those guys are going there,
56:21
you see what curse Igneti's done with that program.
56:24
He finds talent and he saw it in them enough to bring them on.
56:30
You know, it's those that's just, it's a disappointing thing
56:33
to to kind of look at. It's disappointing, but I mean,
56:36
what, what can you do? I mean, Toby was out.
56:40
Toby was out. He could have been a difference
56:41
maker. It's not like we didn't put Toby
56:44
out there to be in the position. The philosophy at Kansas State
56:49
has always been rotate guys. We've always rotated guys.
56:52
We've always put our defensive ends in a rotation.
56:55
So yeah, Toby wasn't out there every single play.
56:59
So of course it's going to look like from the outside that we
57:03
weren't utilizing him to the best of his ability.
57:06
But he was never he before this, before the bowl game last year
57:12
at the right bowl. He was never really that guy in
57:17
the middle of the season that was getting it done.
57:20
He had the few last season. He had the few sacks at the
57:23
beginning of the season that bumped his numbers up.
57:25
Then he disappeared in terms of production.
57:29
He was never good against the run this season.
57:32
He started off hot again, but then gets hurt.
57:34
Like, I mean, I don't put that on the defensive staff.
57:38
Big Mac, he was a shithead from the beginning.
57:42
He was jumping in and out whether he wanted to be at
57:45
Kansas State. You know, he was the eligibility
57:47
stuff. All that stuff happened gets on
57:49
the field. Where you going to play him over
57:51
Damien? I don't think you were going to,
57:54
not necessarily all the time. He was a rotation guy because we
57:57
had Damian, Elulio and then Chiti got plenty of playing
58:01
time, but he was bouncing back and forth between defensive end
58:05
and D tackle and he was just not.
58:06
He was disruptive, but he just never sealed the deal.
58:10
It's a lot of stuff that goes into it.
58:12
I'm I'm sure they will be great. I'm sure they will be great at
58:15
Indiana, but I am not going to put this on the staff because
58:19
they could only make they put the players in positions.
58:22
It's just half of them got hurt and then just they just weren't
58:26
finishing and it was maybe it was AK state thing.
58:29
I don't know. But I get I wish them all the
58:31
luck. Best of luck except for Austin
58:33
Romain, but you know, they're good players.
58:39
We'll see what they can do, but I I think they did what they
58:42
could in the system that we ran. And maybe maybe that is on the
58:45
fault of the defensive staff that they should have played
58:48
those guys more above somebody else.
58:49
But Ryan Davis was pretty damn good.
58:53
He was pretty good. So how you keep him off the
58:55
field? How do you keep you know, how do
58:57
you keep Jordan? Well, Jordan Allen kind of kind
58:59
of a shit can sometimes, but you know, it is what it is.
59:02
So I I I wish they would stay, but I also go get the bag.
59:08
Go get the bag. Except for Austin Romain, I hate
59:11
you. Yeah, yeah.
59:14
With with that, I think we're going to wrap up on football and
59:17
we're going to record a separate basketball and and bowl season
59:22
locks pod talk about the college football playoffs, but that's
59:25
going to do it for us today. Once again, shout out to our
59:28
sponsors, Auntie Maze Parlor and Heartland Beef connection.
59:31
Visit www.auntiemaze.com for a full list of their upcoming
59:36
events. And if you're stopping by, be
59:37
sure to tell them cocaine really sent you.
59:40
Visit heartlandbeef.net and use promo code CW25 for $25 off your
59:47
match fee at Heartland Beef Connection.
59:50
We also have our merch store up at cocainemillie.com.
59:53
Buy some Wildcat Country, Let's ride merch, shirts, hats, you
59:57
name it, we've got it. And finally, we are the K State
1:00:01
representative on the College Huddle, which is the largest
1:00:04
community of fan driven content in the nation.
1:00:06
Check them out at the College huddle.com or follow them on
1:00:10
social media at College Huddle. Last but not least, we are on
1:00:14
social media at Cocaine Willie. You can follow us there at
1:00:18
Cocaine Willie or you can follow us individually.
1:00:20
I'm Trollsby. Chef is at Chef Andre Napier and
1:00:23
Fireball. Matt is at Matt Marcini, Chef.
1:00:28
Kane's a hell of a drug, baby. We are all coke and no joke
1:00:32
Wildcat country. That's.
1:00:36
Freaking what's right.