Time to jump into this week’s Press Briefing, to give a quick synopsis of the most important things to come out of the weekly media availability. Injuries were probably the most notable topic, also a handful of Wildcats with ties to the state of Texas shared their excitement to get back to the Lone Star State for the first time this season.
Injured players should be good to go
Chris Klieman made a pretty clear and positive update, any player that got dinged up against Iowa State is on pace to play against TCU. That is the benefit of the bye week coming when it did for K-State. In the middle of the season and after a hard-fought defensive struggle, that saw Khalid Duke go down after the third play of the game and required Deuce Vaughn to miss the remainder of the game.
For Duke, Klieman mentioned that he should be on the practice field today.
Vaughn spoke to the media himself on Tuesday and in his words said, “feeling good coming off the bye week, of course, mid-season and get some nicks and bruises, but that’s what football is.”
He quickly jumped into his excitement for the final six games and was ready to get down to face TCU this weekend.
In addition to news from the Iowa State game, it was noted that Andrew Leingang traveled for the game and was in uniform but did not play, Klieman continued to discuss that situation as “good to have him back.” I would expect to see Leingang get some snaps if the pace of the game allows in Fort Worth.
Returning to Texas
Vaughn is one of sixteen Texas natives on the K-State roster, including Christian Duffie, Drake Cheatum and Kobe Savage who also spoke on Tuesday.
For the running back, Vaughn, he was more focused on breaking down the importance of the game against TCU. Cheatum did acknowledge his excitement for friends and family to be able to see him close to home.
“Being from the Dallas area there is going to be a lot of people there for me, it’s going to be exciting to play in Dallas, in Texas again, so I’m excited about it.”
Savage said his dad told him they will have two sections full of friends and family in Amon G. Carter Stadium, and also that he looked forward to the game because when he was younger “TCU was [his]dream school…it’s a very important game for me.”
He later added that he has a “Pringles can” sized chip on his shoulder and it is “really personal.” Savage was under-recruited coming out of the state before transferring to K-State from Tyler Junior College.
Breaking down TCU
With the weekend off from playing games, the Wildcats had some extra time to check out what TCU was doing. Including quarterback Adrian Martinez who said he watched the TCU-Oklahoma State game live on Saturday.
“They’re a tough group that plays with a lot of speed, running a new defense this year, the 3-3-5, and have gotten better throughout the year…we know we have an incredible challenge they are a good solid unit.”
Chris Klieman also praised their new defensive strategy, and also the way Max Duggan is playing right now. The biggest concern from Klieman happened to be TCU’s talented wideout, Quentin Johnston.
“The last few weeks he’s been off the charts, one of the best receivers in college football. But he’s always been a player. He shows up every year when we play them because we’ve played him a few times. How are we going to control this guy? And you can’t shut him down. He’s too talented.
“Catching the ball on under routes or quick stop routes or smoke routes and making somebody miss and breaking two or three tackles and what seemingly could be a five or six-yard gain has been turning into big plays for him. That’s where we have to do a tremendous job on the perimeter of getting off blocks as well as tackling.”
