By Jackson Schneider
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Kansas State Assistant Head Coach and Cornerbacks Coach Van Malone met with members of the media Tuesday morning to discuss the Wildcats and their progress throughout fall camp.
"It looks like we're almost back to normal, but it's kind of been cool to go through this process 2019, 2020, and now to be able to do it this fall camp. It's been cool for our players, for our coaches, to be able to come back to some sense of normalcy. I think our support staff, our training staff, they've done a great job with our players so far in fall camp, even with us dealing with the COVID protocols," said Malone. "It's definitely not the same as we dealt with last year, but there still are challenges. So, I really am excited, from the place I sit, to be able to work with our staff in a way that they've done. We've had a lot of fun, our players have, in fall camp so far. Been a lot of hard work, hard work for coaches as well. I don't know what number this is for me in terms of fall camps, but it's been a grueling camp.'
Coach Malone praised several young players for their efforts and how some have begun carving out larger roles than in the past, such as sophomore Aamaris Brown, whose role in the Nickelback position has become more clear over fall camp.
"Well, the thing is, he does a good job in man coverage and in the situations that we play in, the situations that you can have that nickel position. Aamaris is a great fit. As athletic as he is, he can play multiple positions in the secondary. He's a guy that when you watch him play, he makes plays. He's athletic. He plays with a lot of energy at all times. I'm excited for him. Definitely, he's a younger player. I'm excited for him to continue to grow.," said Malone. "And like I said, the fact is his athleticism allows him to be able to play multiple positions. So, yes, he'll line up at nickel, but he'll play other positions as well. Then he'll help us tremendously on special teams because of his speed, because of his toughness, because of his ability to be able to play in multiple positions."
Malone even fielded the unavoidable question of Big 12 realignment, with Oklahoma and Texas leaving for the SEC, and where exactly that leaves K-State in the picture. Malone, lighthearted as ever, answered: "First of all, that's about eight levels above my paygrade, no, actually 10 levels."
Malone also assured the media that his team wasn't worried about that at the moment. "Our players on our current team, that's not a factor in their lives. That's not a distraction for them. They are locked in and focused on their jobs and the things that they can control."
For the full audio of Coach Van Malone's meeting with the media, listen to the link below: