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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCEOctober 31, 2017Kliff KingsburyLubbock, Texas Q. Kliff, when you look at this Kansas State defense, what is the strength of their defense? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think it's just how hard they play as a unit. As a group, Coach Hayes has always done a phenomenal job schematically, with technique, with fundamentals. They make you earn every inch you get. That's been the challenge. They turn people over. They're one of the top in the country in turnover margin. They're where they're supposed to be, they're playing hard and pursuing the football. As a group, that's what stands out to you. Q. As you watch them play, are they similar types of quarterbacks? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, they both run the offense efficiently. Both good runners, both can make the passes. But not much seems to change whoever they put in there. Last week when they got their third-team quarterback, they still ran the offense efficiently. That's a credit to their coaching staff and to those guys being ready. Whoever they put behind center seems to be able to make plays for them. Q. Is their quarterback run game (Indiscernible) does it still look similar? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, it does. It does. They do a good job each week having a new wrinkle on that, scheming you up, trying to get an extra hat in the run game by having that guy keep it. They've been effective again this year at it. Q. As far as their defense, Coach, anything that's kind of stood out to you in terms of their defensive line and their linebackers from last year? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, their D-line plays hard. Geary, No. 60, seems like he's been there for eight years. He's given us headaches since he's been there. High motor, very strong down in there. They invite you to run the ball with numbers in the box, but they do a good job of being stout and not allowing you to do it. Q. Over the last weeks, how does it seem like Anderson has really developed? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think just growing up and being a true freshman, getting thrown in there, you're always going to have growing pains. But I think he's more comfortable. He understands our system. Understands the techniques and fundamentals to play at this level. You can't just overpower people every snap. All of that is coming along, but he's definitely made big strides. Q. (Indiscernible)? KLIFF KINGSBURY: We'll see. Kind of going through the week to see how that all goes. It will be an end-of-the-week decision. Q. (Indiscernible)? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I thought he handled himself well. It's not an easy transition. He's been on that right side a bunch. So coming out of your cuts, getting out of your breaks. Catching the ball over a different shoulder is a bit of an adjustment, but I thought he handled himself well, he played hard and had some nice plays. Q. What about (Indiscernible) on the other side? He had three or four catches. Other than big plays, he seemed to be more involved in the offense? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, we're trying to get him going. We feel like he's progressed nicely. Felt like that was a good week to try to get him more involved. We'll continue to push him out there more and try to get him as many touches as we can. Q. Seemed like the Kansas City football has bursts, so to speak, for a good portion of the game early. Then early he wasn't really throwing to him two or three times in a row. Made a couple passes again at the end. Was that kind of by design or more how it happened? KLIFF KINGSBURY: More how it happened. More the looks we were getting. When he got some single coverage, we tried to take advantage of it. Q. Besides being obviously the physical skills that you want, what else have you seen in him over the last year that you feel like he's an asset? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think maturity has come a long way since he's first gotten here, and then just his love of the game. He's a guy that shows up every day smiling, whether he's playing, getting the football, not getting the football. He's into it, he's happy, he's working at his craft. That goes a long way with his coaches when you have a guy like that. Regardless if the ball's coming his way or not, he's working hard, he's into it, and he's trying to get better. Q. How did you all go about the maturity issue? Because I remember last year, six weeks into the season you're talking about how he needed to grow up, so to speak. How did you all go about that? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, just as you grow up, you grow up. But Coach Jones has done a nice job with him, being a mentor and talking through some things. I think T.J.'s a guy when he wasn't playing, he was red-shirting. That was tough for him. It was probably the first time since he was about 4 years old that he was a starter and wasn't playing. So he had to go through that, but he's really come a long way. Q. Was there anything he showed you on Saturday that he's taken over to get the majority of the carries? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think he did a nice job. We'd like to have that one-two punch so you don't wear one guy out. But I thought he ran tough. That's a physical defense he is playing against. He finished runs. We have a lot of faith that he can get the job done. Q. Seems like one of the times when your offense is struggling, Nic's throwing out to the right on a pass attempt. He ends up throwing it away or getting caught. Is he doing that too much? Is he stepping up in the pocket? Is that something you're working on with him rolling out to the right? What is the process? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think it's just continuing to get comfortable. The more games he plays, the better he's going to get. There are times where we'd like him to stay in there more but he's getting out and trying to make a play. So there is that happy medium, knowing the battle is over. We can't take some of those sacks that we're taking, no question. We've got to stay out of those second and third and longs, and we'll continue to work on that, and harp on that. I expect him to play his best these last four weeks. Q. Realizing that Pat is a special talent, does your offense run better script-wise with a more mobile quarterback? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I think if you have a dynamic athlete like Pat, particularly on third downs, I think we led the country when he was a starter on third downs. It helps to have a guy get in with his feet or his arm. So, I think, you know, if you have a guy that can do it all, that's what you want. Those guys are hard to find. Nate does a good job extending plays, moving around. But if you have one that can really run and throw consistently, yeah, that's a tough combination. Q. With the success you've had with Dylan on one side and T.J. on the other side, is that something that you feel like implementing could be something that could help you all with the future in the way it sprouts the defense and the run game? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I hope so. Those two guys, we know what we're going to get every week consistently. At practice, in the games, they're going to block their tails off and be where they ought to be and go up and attempt to make plays when the ball is in the air. That's something that we trust as coaches, and I know our quarterback trusts that. Q. (Indiscernible) Nelson suited up. Was that just to cover an emergency situation? KLIFF KINGSBURY: It was, and kind of a reward for his work. He's another guy that's really come a long way since he's been here and growing up and getting bigger and stronger and practicing better, and his done a nice job on scout team. We really wanted to just reward him with that trip. Q. Assuming you're not looking to play him? KLIFF KINGSBURY: No, not unless something drastic happened. Q. What is McCann's status? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Hopefully we can get him back this week. We should know something by Thursday, but I'm hoping he can play. Q. What about Stockton and Reed? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Reed is a no, and Justin will be later in the week as well. Q. When you have a guy that comes back in the second half, how do you keep him warm and ready to go when he's just kind of sitting on the sidelines? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, that's going to be a lot of up to him because he won't be on the sideline. He'll be inside and have to stay locked in and focused and keep himself warm and into it. For us as coaches, it's more our concern during the week of practice, he won't get as many practice reps. He's a team captain. He's got to be vocal. He's got to help some of those younger players that are going to be replacing him and stay locked in and focused the entire week. So that's been our emphasis and focus with him all week. Hey, we need you to be locked in, focused and help these young guys. Q. With the way he's played the last few games, do you feel like Justus is someone who can step up in that situation? Like you said, you're not going to have Jah'Shawn that first half? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, we'll see. We hope so. We've all been excited about Justus's progress from the beginning of the year until now. It will probably be more of a committee deal until we get Jah'Shawn back. Q. Is Hatfield expected to practice and possibly play? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Possibly, possibly. I would say it's 50-50 at this point. We're hoping that the week goes well and we can get him back. That would be, obviously, a big boost for our special teams. Q. (Indiscernible) at practice? KLIFF KINGSBURY: We'll see today. We didn't practice yesterday, so we'll see today how he feels and take it from there. But we do hope that he can practice this week. Q. Does Nic excel better when you're on rhythm? When it's not necessarily two, three, or four, he kind of knows where he's going as soon as he gets up to the line? KLIFF KINGSBURY: I'm not sure he excels. He's a very talented, accurate thrower of the football. Like I've said all long. He's now started eight games in his college football career. That comfort level of consistently being in those situations, being in those moments, being in adverse situations and still being able to keep your technique, your fundamentals, your mechanics together when the live bullets are flying is not perfect. That's something we'll continue to get better at as the season goes on. Q. With him being in that rhythm, can that be counterintuitive to helping your defense out when they get a third and long drive and 15 seconds fall off the clock? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, nobody wants to do that. No question. So you try to mix in some run plays and do different things to make sure that doesn't happen, but that's not always the case. Q. What are your expectations for Clayton because he's had so much downtime? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, he's been a solid, accurate kicker for us for a few years. I expect him to operate at a high level. We'll try to, you know, take any other kick besides extra points and field goals off of his leg, which should keep him fresh. But we expect him to kick well if he plays. Q. Last couple weeks (Indiscernible) going a hundred yards. Looks like he may be in the best stretch this season. How is he being affected? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, he's one of those strong runners, similar to Montgomery and Iowa State. Hard to bring to the ground, physical, so you've got to gang tackle. He's really hitting his stride and playing at a high level. Q. From an offense like that, it seems from afar so much like you're running it up the middle and it's all about patience. But what makes stopping something like that so difficult? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think more than anything, they're so well coached and schematically they get into the right play. Whatever front you're in, whatever defense you're in, they're going to check to the sideline and make sure they're in the right play to attack it. And that's a challenge as a defense, because that means you've got to win your one-on-one battles, because they're going to have a guy for a guy. You've got to defeat your blocker and get the guy down. Q. Giving your ones and twos the most irritation and aggravation? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, one that jumps out is Adrian Frye. Who is a corner back for us. He does a nice job practices hard, loves the game. So that's who I get to see most of the time when I'm with the offense. He's done a good job and has a bright future. Q. Going into this game in the past schedule with the Big 12, there is a combined 14 losses in those groups. Kansas having seven of them. You have the second half of the league coming up where TCU's one of the dominant teams on the record. Does that help the guys know they can still play for something (Indiscernible) knowing they have coming up? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, I think more than anything, it's more about us and them knowing how good we can be regardless of opponent. I've said all along, I feel like we've had great stretches, but haven't played complete games. That's something we've focused on this season, and our guys are excited to put that together. We know every week with this league it's challenging to see it across the league. There is a lot of parity this year, and we're just really focused on us. Q. Have you found a reason why you've had a hard time completing games? KLIFF KINGSBURY: No, still working through that. Still trying to figure that, kind of the million-dollar question why we can have these stretches where we're dominant and then play poorly at times. So that's been a folk us and will continue to be a focus this last stretch. Q. We have asked several times before, but Derrick Willies, what is your expectation in the last month or last six weeks he's got? KLIFF KINGSBURY: Yeah, we'll see. We're just kind of taking it day to day. Very talented, we've just got to get some things worked out and see if we can maximize that talent to close out the season. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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