From The Couch – K-State Football 2023 Season Preseason Buzz
We are a week away from K-State football opening the 2023 football season at Bill Snyder Family Stadium against Southeast Missouri State. Can K-State repeat as Big 12 Champions? That is a tall order, as I laid out in my column this week. The schedule K-State was handed and no true round robin schedule appears to hurt the Wildcats more than some of the other contenders for the title. Regardless, I’m thrilled that the season is almost here and am excited to see what Chris Klieman’s team can do this fall. Here is the latest buzz around the program….
JM: Chris Klieman seems more comfortable with his 2023 team than he has in any of his previous seasons in Manhattan. Does that mean the Wildcats are in position to build off of what they did last year? Is a college football playoff appearance in the cards? That might depend on the performance of starting quarterback Will Howard, who is mentally and physically a much different person than he was last season. In a good way.
JM: The first thing I noticed when I watched this clip? How much bigger Howard has gotten. He’s got some guns on him now. He looks more like a man than a kid, and he is self aware of how much he has matured.
JM: I was a critic of Will Howard up until last season. I couldn’t believe it when Klieman said that Howard was the best backup quarterback in the country. I thought it was a joke. Both Howard and Klieman proved me wrong.
JM: If cornerback Jacob Parrish and wide receiver RJ Garcia are the two most impressive players at training camp, a lot of my concerns about this team may be put to rest. Cornerback and wide receiver are two positions I am worried about going into this season. The others are the defensive line/defensive end positions. It’s good to hear that Parrish and Garcia are turning heads.
JM: If Treshaun Ward lives up to the hype, we may not miss Deuce Vaughn. I can’t believe I just typed that.
JM: He can make some “pretty dirty cuts,” huh? If Will Howard can’t wait to see him against competition, you’re damn skippy that I can’t, either.
JM: The self awareness of Will Howard is striking to me. This guy is poised and seems ready to do some great things this season.
JM: Green and Seumalo are two key players for K-State. Seumalo is replacing Eli Huggins at nose tackle and I’ve heard he had been performing well in practice. The defense needs both of these guys healthy.
JM: Jimmy John’s? Really? I like Jimmy John’s, but I think Cooper needs to expand his horizons and try some other places in town. What would you suggest to him?
JM: This prediction is from a couple of Oklahoma journalists, but it’s one of the only predictions I’ve seen that have K-State winning the Big 12. Most I’ve seen are picking Texas.
JM: Deuce Vaughn is doing well for the Cowboys this preseason. He may very well make the final roster. Here are a couple more Deuce Vaughn Cowboy highlights…
JM: Hope to see you at The Bill on September 2nd!
