Let’s talk some football! But first, where can I get a polo shirt like the one that Chris Klieman wore during his recent press conference? Looks pretty good!

Anyway, let’s dig right into some of the key storylines for K-State football this spring….

“We had our first practice this morning. You could tell that we didn’t play that long ago. I think that’s one of the benefits of playing late like we did in January.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: Klieman sounded pretty positive about the team’s first spring practice. He mentioned some injuries to key players, but he made it sound like they didn’t skip a beat.

“Today we were a little rusty as you would assume…”…Kade Warner, 3/8/22

JM: This is an example of why you should always get a second opinion!

“We won’t have a traditional Spring Game. We will have a few scrimmages but not for very many plays because we’re down so many defensive linemen for the spring.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: Darn, no spring game again this year.

“I met Thad (Ward) a number of times through (running backs coach) Brian Anderson. He and BA have been longtime friends and just had learned a lot about Thad. He’d been in a lot of really good places. I visited with a few coaches that he worked under that spoke very, very highly of him as far as, not only his knowledge of the game and his knowledge of receiver play but building relationships and getting the most out of his receivers. So, it’s been just a couple of weeks, but I like where it’s heading right now.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: The talk around K-State circles is that Ward could help bring in recruits Joshua Manning and Avery Johnson. Manning is a four-star receiver from Lee’s Summit and Johnson is a four-star dual-threat quarterback from Maize, Kansas. Both are in the class of 2023. They’re both being recruited by a lot of the “big boys,” so I’m not sure how likely it is that they seriously consider coming to K-State. Johnson’s Mom went to Arkansas and they are recruiting both Manning and Johnson. No matter how this turns out, it’s nice to see K-State is going after these high-profile players and recruiting against some of the better college football programs. Klieman needs some talent like this to come to Manhattan to continue progressing K-State football.

“Will (Howard) is even bigger and stronger. Will is 245 (pounds) probably, and just needs to continue to take repetitions. He’ll run with the ones this spring.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: No surprise here. I still think this is Adrian Martinez’s job to lose.

“Jaren (Lewis) is that much more experienced and better. Jake Rubley we’re excited about. We need to really push Jake this spring to give him some opportunities, see how his growth and development has been.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: I’ve been curious about Jake Rubley. We didn’t hear much about him last season despite being a four-star recruit with a lot of buzz around him. It will be interesting to see where he lands on the depth chart this fall.

“Adrian (Martinez) is learning. He’s out there doing all the things that he can. He can’t throw right now this spring, but he’s doing some of the footwork mechanics and run-game things, then visiting with Coach (Collin) Klein. Adrian’s just trying to get up to speed where everybody else is at learning the offense.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: We’re not going to get a glimpse of what this offense is going to look like until Martinez takes his first snap at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on September 3rd against South Dakota.

“Yeah, both. He’s (Khalid Duke) going to play similar to what we did last year. He’ll play some defensive end, true defensive end, and then he’ll play some outside linebacker for us. It’s probably disappointing that we don’t get him all spring to find out, because he needs to be pushed more as a linebacker than he does as a defensive lineman. He’s played d-line his whole time here, so he’s really adept at that and really talented. He’s one of the best, I think, one of the best pass rushers we have in the Big 12. Now we just have to keep pushing him and keep having him learn as best he can getting the limited snaps he has as a linebacker.“…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: Interesting that they want to make Duke’s primary position linebacker. I was expecting him to be the permanent defensive end opposite Felix Aniduke-Uzomah.

“Well, we’ve made the wholesale change to put Jax Dineen at running back. I think that’s probably the big thing. He’ll play some fullback, but if you guys noticed in the bowl game, he played some true running back for us.”...Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: Another interesting change. Hey, it worked for Joe Hall. I like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhqrXKDexXM

“He’ll get a full May, June and July to be around the guys and develop that camaraderie with receivers and tight ends.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: Adrian Martinez will be ready to throw in May. That should give him plenty of time to get up to speed by the time fall practice starts.

“He’s (Landry Weber) got a greater calling. I’m excited because I’m going to be able to say that I’ve coached the guy that’s gone to the priesthood and been a priest. Maybe I can take care of some of my sins later on, and I call Landry, and he can come in and help me out.”…Chris Klieman, 3/8/22

JM: You’ll have to get in line behind me, coach!

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