Fiesta Bowl Countdown: Kyle Klein impressing coaches during bowl practices

Jan. 1, 201310:32 a.m.

Throughout his time at Kansas State, Kyle Klein has been known best as Collin’s younger brother.

That may always be the case, but Klein will be able to make a name for himself starting next year. Older brother will be gone, pursuing a career in the NFL. Klein will be a sophomore receiver, pursuing a starting spot.

With only Chris Harper and Zach McFall leaving the program, he will face strong competition. But he will be in the mix for playing time behind Tyler Lockett and Tramaine Thompson along with Curry Sexton, Torell Miller, and Deante Burton.

Klein saw playing time this season, but didn’t receive many targets. He didn’t catch a single pass.

At the least, that will change next season. Klein was still adjusting to the position this season. Since joining the K-State program, he has spent time at defensive end, tight end and receiver. He played practically every position, including quarterback, for his high school football team and prides himself on being versatile. Still, he needed time to fully grasp K-State’s offense as a receiver.

Now that he feels more comfortable, his coaches are expecting big things.

“He is having a great bowl prep,” co-offensive coordinator Dana Dimel said. “He is really starting to make some strides. I’m paying a lot of attention to what the young guys are doing. Kyle has made a lot of nice plays. He’s just like Collin. He is learning how to play his position. He is getting a lot better. He brings length to that position. We want to throw the ball downfield and he allows us to do that.”
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Fiesta Bowl Countdown: From now on, Nigel Malone isn’t taking chances at the goal line

Dec. 30, 20129:36 a.m.

If Nigel Malone has the chance to score a touchdown against Oregon, he says he won’t drop the football until he runs through the back of the end zone and an official asks him for it.

Even then, he might be hesitant to part with the pigskin.

That’s the kind of caution he vows to show the rest of his career after the humiliating play he made against Texas. If you don’t recall the gaffe, here’s what happened: He intercepted a pass near the sideline in the first quarter and saw nothing but open field between him and the end zone. But as he approached the goal line, he became overconfident and dropped the ball an inch short of paydirt. Officials originally awarded him a touchdown, but took it away after a lengthy review.

“I’m pretty sure I crossed it. The line was behind me before I let the ball go. But it is what it is,” said Malone, a senior cornerback. “I know next time I won’t make it close. I’m going to give it to the ref. I might bring it back to the sideline.”
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Fiesta Bowl Countdown: K-State’s defense will stick with fundamentals against Oregon

Dec. 29, 20125:10 p.m.

With Oregon only losing one game this season, it’s easy to sit back and say Kansas State should devise a defensive gameplan similar to the one Stanford used during a 17-14 victory in Eugene.

The Cardinal out-gained the Ducks that night and held Oregon well below its average scoring output. Heck, it scored at least 42 points in each of its other 11 games. Stanford must have been onto something, right?

Perhaps, but K-State coaches aren’t thinking that way.

“That would be a game that a lot of people would say, ‘You could feed off of that,’” coach Bill Snyder said. “But all teams are different. Our defense is different from Stanford’s defense and vice-versa. You have to be careful. You can’t say, ‘They did it, so we can do it.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

So what will K-State’s defensive strategy be against Oregon? Snyder runs far too tight a ship to come out and diagram his plans with the media. But after talking to Snyder and defensive coordinator Tom Hayes, it is clear they won’t be using any brand new schemes or formations.

“We are not going to gimmick and do a bunch of crazy things,” Hayes said. “Several of these teams that have gotten in trouble against Oregon gimmicked and got caught out of gaps – woosh, 50, 70 right over the top – misreads, misexecution if you will. Hopefully we stay away from that.”
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Fiesta Bowl Countdown: Oregon’s offense reminds K-State of Baylor

Dec. 21, 201210:33 a.m.

Kansas State safety Jarard Milo was asked to compare Oregon to a team he faced this season in the Big 12.

It didn’t take him long to answer.

“When we look at their film we kind of see Baylor,” Milo said. “We also see of the other teams we faced. They have a very fast-paced offense. They have good players, too, but when we look at them we see some of the other teams we have gone against.”

Preparing for a juggernaut offense is nothing new for the Wildcats. That’s part of life in the Big 12. Earlier this season, West Virginia looked so unstoppable behind Geno Smith that Bill Snyder joked his gameplan centered on him being kidnapped. Texas Tech throws the ball as well as anyone. Oklahoma State churned out yards despite three quarterbacks this year. And Baylor became an offensive force behind Nick Florence and Lache Seastrunk.

K-State fared well against most of that competition. It made West Virginia look bad, dominated Texas Tech and only needed Collin Klein for 35 minutes against Oklahoma State. But Baylor got the best of the Wildcats.

The Bears wasted no time between plays, rushing to the line and snapping the ball every few seconds (just like Oregon), and took advantage of Ty Zimmerman’s injury. Baylor threw deep, ran effectively and handed the Wildcats their only loss.

That could mean bad news for K-State in the Fiesta Bowl, but Milo thinks the defense learned a lot from that game.

“They have a good offense, but we aren’t going to get nervous about it,” Milo said. “A lot of the things they do are similar to some of the other teams we’ve already seen. With their spread offense, we are used to that.”
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K-State snags point guard Jevon Thomas

Dec. 20, 20123:37 p.m.

When Jevon Thomas committed to St. John’s and Dayton, the 5-foot-11 point guard gave into outside pressure. He made those choices based on what everyone around him told him to do, and came to regret both decisions.

So when he re-opened his commitment for the second time and moved away from New York to enroll at a Wisconsin prep school, St. Johns Northwest Military Academy in Wisconsin, he vowed to pick his college basketball destination with his heart.

That’s what led him to verbally commit to K-State on Thursday.

“This decision, I made on my own and I’m real proud of it,” Thomas said by phone. “The others, I was young. I never really got a good feel when they were recruiting me. But this time it was just me. I didn’t listen to nobody.”

Thomas, a three-star prospect who relies on speed and court vision to make plays, feels comfortable with K-State’s coaching staff. Assistant Chester Frazier handled his recruitment, but he also likes Bruce Weber’s motion offense.

He considers himself “a motion guy” and sees himself fitting in well to K-State’s offense.

“I like to push the ball,” Thomas said. “I can basically make plays with a mixture of skills. I can defend both guard spots, too.”

Thomas committed to K-State without stepping foot on campus. His official visit won’t come until Jan. 4. But he is looking forward to it. He already likes the fan base and has watched most of K-State’s games this season. He likes what he has seen. When he’s done with a year of prep school, he hopes to help the Wildcats immediately.

“They are a great rebounding team and they play great defense. They just need more speed and playmakers,” Thomas said. “They are a playmaker or two away from a Big 12 championship. They have good freshman guards coming in. I hope to be one of them.”

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Fiesta Bowl Countdown: Extra practices allow Daniel Sams to focus beyond Oregon

Dec. 20, 201210:16 a.m.

This time of year is always important for young players on the Kansas State football team.

Whether they are backups or members of the scout team, bowl practices are their time to shine. With a month between the end of the regular season and the bowl game, coach Bill Snyder likes to give young players on his roster extra reps. Though his top priority is preparing for Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, he also wants to prepare for the 2013 season by putting inexperienced players in new situations.

Those who take advantage of the exposure have a leg up in spring practices and a better chance of starting in the fall. Remember, at this time two years ago veteran players raved about Arthur Brown and B.J. Finney. They have been starters ever since.

“Taking advantage of being on the scout team definitely helped me leapfrog into the position I am in now,” Finney said. “I know a lot of guys are working extremely hard there now and they are going to do great for us.”

Daniel Sams wants to make a similar jump next year. The redshirt freshman quarterback is Collin Klein’s main backup, and he wants to be the starter next season. So he is practicing with a purpose.

“I’m getting a lot of plays that Collin usually runs,” Sams said. “It’s been like that. A lot of blitz pickups, checking into the right protection. We are getting ready to get the young guys involved.”
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Fiesta Bowl Countdown: When it comes to football uniforms, Oregon is a trendsetter

Dec. 18, 20122:47 p.m.

Before the Oregon Ducks take the field next month at the Fiesta Bowl, they will need to figure out what they’re going to wear.

That’s never an easy task for a football team with close ties to Nike and Phil Knight. The Ducks have hundreds of different uniform options to choose from, and they go out of their way to make sure they don’t wear the same thing twice.

One week they come out with neon yellow numbers, the next their shoulder pads will feature wings or spikes. Sometimes they wear all white. Other times they wear black and green, yellow and green or throw in some gray. Point is: They never look the same.

Lots of teams (Oklahoma State, Baylor, Maryland) try to do the same with their uniforms. What they wear from week to week is considered news. Plenty more (TCU, Boise State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Notre Dame) break out special uniforms for special games.

New and loud uniforms are practically common place in college football, but that wasn’t always the case. Oregon started it all. Oregon was the trendsetter.
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Fiesta Bowl Countdown: Chris Harper, then and now

Dec. 14, 20129:56 a.m.

If Chris Harper wasn’t the best quote on the Kansas State football team, I would expect him to use the most popular line from high school year books — “What a long, strange trip it’s been” — to describe his college football career.

Because, well, it would be true. Coming out of Northwest High in Wichita, he committed to K-State until James Franklin left for Maryland. Then he de-committed and signed with Oregon. Then he played quarterback for the Ducks, then he played receiver for the Ducks and became the first Oregon player in eight years to run, pass and catch a touchdown in the same season.

Then he decided he was homesick. Then he liked the fact that Bill Snyder was coming out of retirement. Then he transferred to K-State, saying he was going to play quarterback. Then he switched to receiver full time during his transfer year on the scout team. Now he is the Wildcats’ top receiver.

Other than wearing the No. 3 at both schools, there weren’t many similarities.

See, that’s one long and strange trip.
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A few minutes with … Daniel Sams

Oct. 26, 20122:05 p.m.

Daniel Sams has only seen action in five games as Kansas State’s backup quarterback this season, but he has made the most of his time on the field.

The 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman from Slidell, La. has rushed for 198 yards and three touchdowns, and he has successfully used his speed to help maintain big leads in the fourth quarter. Last week, he finally got to pass for the first time and went 1-for-2 for 10 yards.

Sams is already a fan favorite in Manhattan, and will get the chance to compete for the starting spot next season when Collin Klein runs out of eligibility. Earlier this week, he talked about life as a backup quarterback.

What is your day-to-day routine as you prepare for each game?

It’s just basically preparing like I’m the starter. It’s the same thing Collin does. I watch film, take notes. You never know when an ankle is going to get hurt.

So you go into each game expecting to take the first snap?

If I don’t, I would feel like I wouldn’t be ready if something did happen. It’s the hardest thing in the world to do, prepare like you’re going to be the starter and end up not playing, but I just try to keep focused and prepare as if I’m going to play.

Have you learned a lot from Collin?

Sometimes I sit with him more than I do coach (Del) Miller, our quarterbacks coach. He breaks it down into simpler terms. Coming from high school, where I ran a spread offense, to now, being in a pro-style offense, it takes more time to break it down and he helps me with that.

How have you improved since arriving at K-State?

I’ve always been an athlete. I’ve always made plays, but I feel like I’ve improved more as a leader and being that guy in the huddle who can get people to listen to me. In high school I didn’t even have that. Being around Collin has turned me into more of a leader. I’m more poised now.
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Heisman Watch: Can anyone catch Collin Klein?

Oct. 25, 201211:26 a.m.


Take a look around the Internet and it’s pretty easy to find Collin Klein getting Heisman Trophy love right now.

He is the front-runner in every serious media poll. He leads some by enormous margins.

By throwing for 300-plus yards and scoring seven touchdowns against former front-runner Geno Smith and West Virginia in front of a national TV audience, Klein took command of the race last week.

“Collin Klein has a pretty big lead,” said Fox Sports college football writer Cory McCartney, who served as the Heisman expert at Sports Illustrated until switching to his new gig. “He just dominated in a huge national spotlight game against the guy who had the lead. It is his to lose.”

The only question now is, what will it take for anyone to catch him?

Most experts have tabbed Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o as the current runner-up, with Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller, Oregon running back Kenjon Barner, USC quarterback Matt Barkley, Texas Tech quarterback Seth Doege and Smith also being mentioned as candidates.

If K-State loses any of its remaining games, the race will certainly tighten up. But if the Wildcats stay undefeated, everyone else has considerable ground to make up, and over-the-moon stats to produce, if they want to win the award.

“I hate saying it, because there is a lot of football left to play, but it is going to take a lot for someone to catch him,” McCartney said. “I think K-State can suffer at least one loss and he can still win. The only thing that will lose him a little bit of his lead is if they lose and he performs badly.”
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