by EMAW Online
CHRIS KLIEMAN
On the heat during the game…“You know I didn’t think it was that hot out there. I talked to Coach Trumain [Carroll], there’s just never a bad day toplay football when you get an opportunity to play. We’ve had so many more hot practices with the humidity and stuffthat we did. We did things a little bit differently in warm ups. But it’s a far cry from what it was in middle Augustwhen we were practicing.”
On evaluating the players in practice versus gameplay…“Yeah, there’s nothing better than game reps, because there’s 52,000 people here and the lights are at theirbrightest, and everybody’s eyes are on you. I think we played 77 players, which is awesome for us to be able totomorrow spend the whole day really looking at those basically and really looking at those graphs to see are wegetting enough reps? Those kids have worked so hard all camp and deserve to play.”
On getting to have Avery Johnson play…“The situation played out to give Avery some solid centers, where we could evaluate him. Give him the opportunity torun the offense, where it wasn’t just a drive or it was going to be a handful of drives. I feel he was under control, hewas in command, and he’s really fast. I think you guys can tell that he’s a great speed, and I think he threw the ball ina couple of really good spots today. To James Brown and to Tre Spivey, so I thought he did some really good thingsthat we can evaluate and see how he did. But I was so happy with Avery, so pleased for him to be able to gethands-on in his first game and was more than happy to hear the ovation when he came in.”
WILL HOWARD
On hearing a pass play called…“Yeah, it was pretty cool. We had that play in the game plan, and I was sitting there when he called it. I was like, ‘Oh man, here we go.’ It feels good as a quarterback because it’s like he can feel the aggressiveness from Coach [Colin] Klein And, it makes you feel good because you’re like foot on the pedal and let’s go do the same.”
On being a tight end for the Chiefs…“Hey, I’m good at quarterback. I’m good.”
On running more plays than last year…“We’re doing what we have to do to score points and win so that was something that we thought was a winner forus. And you know, it was the right play call for the right time. We went out there and couldn’t do it against any pressure or anything. I looked to the sideline, said ‘run it,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, shoot. Let’s go. Let’s do it.’”
TRESHAUN WARD
On today’s performance…“Oh, I mean, I took this game as far as knowing the plays and playing pretty fast you know, throughout this wholeseason I’ve been trying to get the playbook down to two a night. After today’s game I was pretty confident in myselfso that was pretty much getting those jitters out..”
On the offensive line…“Not even only for me, they did a great job. When DJ [Giddens] was in as well pack protection and you know, we’veseen some gaping holes today so, pass protection and runs. It was what I expected and they did a good job today.”
On his first touchdown as a Wildcat…“I definitely thought I had it early in the game but they didn’t review it. That was definitely a good moment for me.Getting that first one [in the]Bill, so that was pretty cool too.”
On the K-state atomsphere…“Yeah, definitely seeing it when I was running out like I didn’t know it was going to be that many people. I’m glad forthe fans to come support us and bring it every game.”
R.J. GARCIA
On playing after his progression from last season…“I thought that was a big confidence boost for me. I knew what I could do in previous years, like go out and play. Mycoaches believe in me, they put a great game plan in, and all of us executed and I happened to be the person thatgot to celebrate then. So that’s pretty cool.”
On his favorite part of the offense…“Just how exciting it is. We’re all really really close friends. When Jadon Jackson scored, that was probably myhighlight of the game, just what he’s been through here, what he went through at Ole Miss, just to see him kind ofhave some success, that was big for me. Coming back and playing with Phil [Phillip Brooks] for his sixth year, wealways have a great time together out there. Playing with Will [Howard], he’s a good guy and the whole O-line, they’re a bunch of knuckleheads. It’s just a good time out there and we all have fun together.”
On what Will Howard did best today…“Just being Will, honestly. That’s what he does every time he plays, every practice. He just leads us very well. You justfeel comfortable with him out there. He gives you a sense of comfort, you know this guy is gonna get the job done.Even if I may not run the best route, he’s gonna put it in a place that I can catch it. So it’s just nice to have a guy likethat that you can always rely on.”
On the team’s excitement for Avery Johnson to play…“We call Avery the ‘golden boy of Kansas.’ Just to hear the crowd chant his name, he got to run around and get in the endzone. I was definitely excited for him, especially when he got to spin it to Tre Spivey and a few of the young guys.It was a cool moment because I remember when I was the young guy and Malik [Knowles] and Kade [Warner] cameout and they were trying to hype me up when I went in the game. It’s kind of a weird moment because I was a little bit older than them now, but it definitely feels cool.”
AVERY JOHNSON
On his first career action…“It was exciting, I mean just kind of going out there for the first time and getting to play football again. I feel like I haven’t played football in a long time but I prepared all week. CK [Colin Klein], Will [Howard] and [Jake] Rubley, those guys all help me throughout practice all week. So I felt like when I got on the field, it was just, going reverting backand just playing football and doing what I’ve been doing my whole life.”
On his touchdown run…“Well, we had called a play coming off the sideline, and we didn’t get the look we liked the first time so we just lined up again in the same play. I pulled it but they had field pressure kind of just made a guy miss and that from that point, I was just walking into the endzone.”
On his first game…“I just have a lot of guys around me that like to make plays. Offensive line did a great job protecting, it allowed me to push the ball down the field and got to hook up with Tre Spivey and James Brown and young guys like that and just kind of show what we’ve been doing spring ball and fall camp and just kind of what we’ve been practicing kind of putting it on display for the world to see.”
On being nervous for the game…“I’m not really a big like nervous type of guy but I will say like I had butterflies and but I don’t feel like it was just nervousness. I just get excited to play football. Guys like Gilly [Hayden Gillum] and Will [Howard], those guys who just told me to relax, have fun and just play football. That’s why I just tried to go out there and do.”
NATE MATLACK
On getting back in front of fans at Bill Snyder Family Stadium…“It was awesome. I mean, the fans are great. They stayed all night, and they were loud all night. We have some of the best fans in the country so it was good to get back.”
On how comfortable he is with the platoon system defensively…“I’m really comfortable. That’s how Coach [Buddy] Wyatt rolls. He likes to roll guys and keep us fresh. We had a lot of young guys step in too. It was awesome seeing Chiddi [Obiazor] play and seeing Donnie get out there and make plays. Even some guys in the DB room like Jack Fabris going out and making plays. It was cool to see.”
On all three defensive linemen getting clean sacks…“It was awesome. It’s cool to see as a defensive line to see all the guys getting sacks. Our goal each week is to get as many sacks as possible. So that’s really the goal to have as many sacks as possible.”
KOBE SAVAGE
On the gameday environment…“It was amazing. Being able to run back out of that tunnel with everybody, seeing the smoke clear, and the 50,000 fans out there wearing purple and white, it was spectacular. Just knowing what I’ve been through and being able to come back and do it all with my teammates was really special.”
On completing the first game of the season …“It was really good just getting that first game under my belt, getting a feel of the game, adjusting to the play calls, and running a different scheme of defense this year. It helped me boost my confidence and boost my confidence inmy teammates.”
On grading the unit…“Today, I’d say a B plus. I feel like there’s always gonna be room for improvement. I thought we played pretty fast, but Ifeel like there’s a lot more mistakes that we could clean up.”
On playing with new teammates…“Jack Fabris, Wesley Fair, Asa Newsom, Austin Romaine, guys like that are very flashed. You can see Jack Fabris coming down and hit, Wesley Claire picking up where I left off. It’s really exciting to see the future of K-State football.”
