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KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 23, 2019

Skylar Thompson

Lubbock, Texas

Kansas State - 30, Texas Tech - 27

Q. (No microphone.)
SKYLAR THOMPSON: I carried out my faith and came in the position to make a block for him to get the edge. I'll tell everybody that with all the rules nowadays, the blind-side block, that's why I laid off of him. Because I wanted to, but, no I tried to get my body in there enough to get him around the edge and that was a fun play. It was just trying to make a play for my team. We'll do whatever it takes.

Q. How good did the throw to Chabastin for the touchdown feel?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: It was huge. I was on my back and I thought he threw the ball, so I didn't have any idea of what was going on. It was a pretty good feeling. Doesn't sting as bad whenever you're on the ground and you look up and see one of your guys going for a touchdown. That was a great opportunity for our team. We knew that when we got squeezed heavy personnel formations that they were giving us a good look to get a pose in the deep over and Chabastin did a great job. Felt the DB trailing him to where I could throw the ball over top of him and I stepped into it and made a throw and trusted Chabastin and he did a great job. So proud of him. He stepped up tonight. We needed him to step up and make plays and he did a great job of that. There is nobody that deserves a moment like that more than Chabastin because he puts in the time and the effort and he's a great guy and a great teammate.

Q. What's it like for you to throw the ball deep that much today?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: Yeah, that was a -- you know, I want to say just we got to take shots. We got to take shots. That's something that we have been talking about. Stretching the field and throwing the ball down the field and making, DB's make plays. Like you guys saw today, we had a lot of situations where we got a pass interference because they would lose track of the ball and hold our guys. So that's huge for us. So we made some plays down field today. Overall this is a team effort. We all contributed. The offense, defense, special teams, we all played a part in this win today. And I'm just so proud that we came on the road. This was a tough game. We knew this was going to be a tough game coming into it. Texas Tech is way better than what their record says, and they played hard. We knew they were going to play hard on senior night and it was huge for our team to go on the road and win a big road game.

Q. How do you keep the team together or composed, whatever, when the game is like that, when you're up 10 and then suddenly it's 3, and then it's like that?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: I kept on telling those guys that we're going to play a full four quarters and we can't worry about how high we get up or whatever the situation. They're a high-powered offense and a big play offense, to where they can come right back in it and get right back in it. So I tried to tell our guys, just stay grounded, keep an even keel and we got to go play four quarters, we got to score a touchdown, we get some first downs here, we're going to win this game.

Q. When you walked to the line for that quarterback draw that you had for a first down late in the game, did you know that look was going to result in that kind of a play?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: Honestly, I was, like, this is going to be either really good or really bad, because they're blitzing everybody. I knew if we picked it up it would be good. But they were doing a whole bunch of slants and all that kind of stuff. So I tried to be patient like that, all the play outs where I could find a seam. I knew they were in man coverage to where if I got through the first line I would be good. I got through there and the O-line did a great job of picking up their stunts and I had to knife through it and get there and get a first down there. I knew we had to get that. I was going to do anything we had to to get that.

Q. You're the ninth player in K State history (No microphone.) How good does that feel the journey?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: Well it's been a journey. It's been a journey for sure. I'm very thankful to be here. Being a K State Wildcat is special to me and I take pride in it. And I've never hung my hat on my numbers, how many touchdowns I throw, how many yards I throw for, whatever. All that stuff is not what it's about for me. I want to win. Whatever that may look like, I don't care. And to be considered in that group of players is a great opportunity, but at the same time I got to continue to get better. There's still things that I'm leaving out on the field. That's the great thing about it. That's why I love this game so much. You can always get better. There's always thing to improve on. And I'm going to continue to do that and I'm never going to be satisfied, always going to stay hungry. I'm going to be a great teammate, great leader, and do whatever I can to help this team win.

Q. There's teams in the country where teams lose two games and it becomes four. What's it say about this team that it does not allow two games to turn into three or four losses?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: Well, it shows that we're resilient and that, it says a lot about the type of players we have on this team and coaches, because we lost two games by a total of seven points and that was tough. It was tough. We could have folded, we could have hung or thrown in the towel and not gone to a bowl or whatever. But this team came together harder than ever. We have injuries all across the board and people are stepping up making plays. And we just got to go, we got to fight, we got fight, we have to buckle down here more than ever this last week and we get a little break to get healthy. So we got to strap it up, and fight through it. People are going to have to play injured and whatnot. It makes, make some sacrifices. But it says a lot about our team. We're led by a great coach, Coach Klieman. I tell you, the dude never batted an eye. And he's a great leader. He always reminds us to trust the process. He tells me to trust the process. After last week's game, he just told me to forget about it. Go keep being yourself and I did that. I did that as tough as the last game was on me, throwing that pick at the end of the game, I wanted to come out today and play well. And I felt like did I that today. But like I said, I still left things out on the field and that's a good thing.

Q. Did you guys see anything as an offense to regroup at halftime?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: Not really. We just made some adjustments as far as we were having some success with getting out in the perimeter and with inside zone and stuff like that. So we were just talking about we got to get back to that kind of stuff. Get outside on them. Then we have all of our play action stuff going. And it really wasn't anything crazy that was said. It was just we we're getting there, it was just matter of time until we started to get things popping and making plays, and we just got to, we were saying we got to stay out of the third down because that's what was killing us, because they pressure us a lot, play man coverage. And that's a tough situation for us. So we got to be good on first and second down. And I felt like we did and got in rhythm in things in the second half and that was huge for us.

Q. I remember thinking you were awfully down last year in the Iowa State game. (No microphone.)
SKYLAR THOMPSON: Yeah, well, last year's game was tough. It was tough on a whole bunch of different levels. But Iowa State is always a great game. It's always a great game. And it's a great football team that is really well coached. They got really good players. And it's always the toughest game. And we know we're going to get their best and they're going to get our best. And I got tons of respect for Coach Campbell and Brock Purdy, just watching film throughout the season on defenses. Brock is a great player and I know he's a great person. I got to meet his little brother on a recruiting visit this past spring. So I just got a lot of respect for those guys. I know it's going to be a dog fight. But that's what this is all about, and that's why I love this game so much. And it's going to be huge for us. It's going to be a great day, senior night, lots on the table to go finish the season out strong. We just got to play our cards right and focus on one day at a time and just continue to get better.

Q. You mentioned the adjustments after halftime. We hear a lot in basketball about, like, if the player sees the one shot goes in and maybe kind of helps from there. With you guys, was it like when you got the first touchdown that you felt like maybe the lid came off, because you had the one that hit a couple guys in the hands and you guys were close a couple times?
SKYLAR THOMPSON: Yeah, it definitely kind of let's you take a deep breath, like, you know. And that's a really good reference as far as just feeling like there's a lid on the rim sometimes.

Q. You can use it and say it is your own.
SKYLAR THOMPSON: No, no. But, no, that, that was, you know, big for us. Phil made a great play, sliced through two guys and made a good play. Chabastin, you know, that's the thing, just it's just confidence. It's confidence. You get in the rhythm of things, getting things going and making plays and those things build off each other. It's a ripple affect. It's a snowball affect. So that's huge for us and we just got to continue to get better. I'm so proud of this team, we're fighting through injuries, people are playing hurt. But we're just being resilient and we have some great leaders on this team, great teammates. I love being a part of it. Games like this are my favorite, especially when you come out with a win. So we just got to continue to get better and get ready for next week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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