Still can get in a little bit of trouble here and there, but what are some things that you have done off of the field, whether it's with family or players or friends, that you have learned certain skill sets or training methods that you are now bringing to the football team?

Yeah, I think we had a very intentional leadership program with our player representatives that I think was a really, really good thing.

We've done a handful of team activities, whether it be a late-day steak feed or different things, right, to kind of help build that camaraderie.

But I would also say...

I think one of the secrets to that is what we do in the facility for football.

Because at the end of the day, deep down, every one of those guys are highly competitive.

They want to win.

But why is it so special to you?

Tell, tell me about Avery Johnson.

Yeah.

I, I think, uh, first of all, it, it, it's just an absolute privilege to, uh ...

I mean, I, I was part of the recruiting process, coached him for a year here.

Being able to be reunited with someone that, uh, was very dear to me and very, very close to is, um, is, is special and, and doesn't always happen.

So extremely grateful for that.

Uh, I, I think Avery does not get enough credit for how competitive he is, how hard he prepares mentally, uh, in the film room, and how he is a grinder from a football standpoint.

... is there like a orientation whenever, that everybody day one comes into?

Tell, tell me about Avery Johnson.

Yeah.

I, I think, uh, first of all, it, it's, it's just an absolute privilege to, uh...

I mean, I, I was part of the recruiting process, coached him for a year here.

Being able to be reunited with someone that, uh, was very dear to me and very, very close to is, um, is, is special and, and doesn't always happen.

So extremely grateful for that.

Uh, I, I think Avery does not get enough credit for how competitive he is, how hard he prepares mentally, uh, in the film room, and how he is a grinder from a football standpoint.

... is there, like, a orientation whenever, that everybody day one comes into?

All right, so in terms of you as the guy now in Manhattan where you played Heisman finalist, just what does that mean to you?

Tremendous honor.

I don't know if it's truly even set in, to be honest with you.

I think one of the biggest things for me and something that I'm very, very proud of our program is everything that has been done for a very, very long time has been so much bigger and beyond the game of football.

And you go from Coach Snyder to Coach Kleiman and, hey, Willie, what's up? We doing good? You all right? All right.

Anybody give you any trouble? All right.

Okay.

Do you approach the game and approach the season with a certain number of design quarterback runs, or is there kind of a threshold where you're like, we need to start taking those shots off of him?

It's not all brand new to you, but are we in a good place right now with college football compared to when you played?

Well, I think there's probably even two different windows to look at.

I mean, when I played, it was a completely different era, a completely different landscape.

I think even in the last five years, things have changed so much more.

I think the margins to compete and be able to find – edges has increased.

I think with all the variabilities in the roster, I think it creates a lot of opportunity, quite honestly.

And I think more of an avenue to compete and build and help position yourself to have a competitive advantage.

What do you think your team – your stamp is going to be

Yeah, it was

like 14-7, right? We had 170 yards of offense, probably even less than that.

And it's like, well, but we won.

And so I think at the end of the day, quarterback perception is tied to team success.

And I think that's just the reality of the world.

So that, I think, is the big picture thing that I would say to anybody in this sport.

For Avery, I think I want him to be in attack mode and cut it loose from the jump.

You feel like you're getting the NIL RepShare support that you need right now?

What was it like for you observing Avery and K-State from afar the two years that you were now in College Station and now kind of getting to come back and probably put into an idea of here's how we get the jump up to where K-State is supposed to be?

Well, I think I had a chance to watch a couple games.

Hard watching from afar.

They're just so invested and care so much about this place and the people that were a part of it.

So obviously always hard to watch when you're not in it, for starters.

I think...

It's every year is different.

So what do you think it is that has gotten so many kids to say, I want to play at K-State for these

How much

time we got? Yeah.

No, I think starting with just the conference itself, I think it's an incredibly exciting league.

You know, when you look at the – record amount of draft picks.

You look at the margin of victory, the number of one score games.

It's a wide open league.

It's the margins are thin and an exciting level of play for sure.

So what are some of the things you learned about the offensive line in spring ball?

thank you all for being here thank you for all that you do for the greatest sport in the world it's great to be back in the big 12. i grew up a big 12 kid and being able to be part of this conference as a fan as a player as a coach and and now being part of helping move our game and our conference forward is absolutely tremendous to be a part of uh i thank the lord every day that i get to come to work at a place that has impacted my life tremendously and and our program at kansas state my two predecessors have been so much it's been so much bigger than just the game of football and yes we're going to do football well but the impact of that we want to have and that they have had on young men and setting the trajectory for the rest of their life at an incredible angle.

Being able to teach them the lessons and give them the opportunity to compete is something that I don't take for granted.

This is home for me.

It's a dream come true.

And so grateful for our administration, our players and all the effort that has been put in in the last six months as we build this thing and move it forward and have four of our players with us here today and just how they have led our football team and bought into what we are doing and what we are building is absolutely tremendous.

It's incredibly exciting for the future of Kansas State football and I'm excited for the season to get started.

Can you talk about the value that Avery Johnson brings to the offense?

Well, Avery and I's relationship goes back a long way.

In terms of building team one for you here at the state, how much of a help has it been to have a really solid pool of attorney for this team that you can build on with your staff as you bring it in and kind of integrate everything?

I think it's definitely been a positive to have some level of familiarity of the situation of the roster coming in.

A lot of those relationships were still very, very strong from when I was here two years ago.

But again, every year is new, and I think how hard we are all working, staff and players, to be able to build the relationships and the continuity and the identity of this team.

It's been fun watching that all come together and as we work through that process together.

Tell me about just the priority that is and what do you want to see? What are you guys looking for with that versatility, I guess, in the secondary?

Yeah, I've been really proud of all of our position coaches and how hard they've recruited their room.

I think we have very good talent at each of those positions, but I think it's about getting the guys that are the right fit.