MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman and select players met with members of the media on Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex as Wildcats prepare for their 2021 season opener against Stanford in the Allstate Kickoff Classic.
Klieman previewed Stanford and detailed their offensive style. "You watch the film, they're going to do what they do, whether it's multiple tight ends to a tight end with a fullback to extra linemen, whatever it may be. I think that's still an identity that they have," said Klieman. "So, we have to a great job of trying to find some different looks and different things to try to slow those guys down because they're going to try to rush the football. I know that they have really good skill kids, and their quarterbacks can spin it around as well, but if you can't stop the run , it's going to be a long day for you."
The Wildcats will look to match the Cardinal offense with several new additions to the defensive side of the ball. Klieman highlighted the areas the defense had improved thanks to those new members of the team.
"Hopefully quite a bit with new faces. Kind of a renewed focus. A really good offseason. I know we're bigger, we're stronger, we're more athletic. Being deeper, doesn't mean that we're automatically going to play better. It still has to come down to executing. We talk all the time about limiting explosive plays, and you do that by playing with great technique and do that by tackling really well. That's still an emphasis for us, and we have to tackle really well," he said. "There's going to be a lot of new faces out there. We like what we see right now in fall camp with the improvements we've made on defense, but we'll find out the first three weeks of the season in the non-conference. We move guys around because some guys are playing multiple positions, so we need to continue to move guys around and find the best fit for everybody before we get into conference play. These next three weeks are really critical for us."
Offensively, the Wildcats will once again lean on All-American running back Deuce Vaughn to lead the way, and Klieman says Vaughn is more confident than ever.
“He was a real confident freshman as it was, but just the amount of reps, the amount of pictures that he's seen, the amount of carries he's had, as well as his reception stuff. You can tell he feels so comfortable within the offense and has learned a lot of the nuances of our offense as well as the pictures that a defense is showing him," said Klieman. "So, we're thrilled that this as an integral part of our offense, and obviously we need to find ways of getting him the football.”
Saturday's contest against Stanford will mark the first time K-State has opened the season against a power five opponents since KSU lost on the road at Stanford in 2016, but Chris Klieman noted just how big of a challenge his team is up against.
“Big and physical, across the board. It doesn't matter if it's the offensive line and tight ends, fullback, woo wide receivers for that matter to defensively. Really athletic physical guys that don't stay blocked and so from a personnel standpoint. It'll be a big challenge for us," he said.
The Wildcats and Cardinal kick off at 11 a.m., on Saturday inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the game will be shown nationally on FS1.