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Gopowercat.com's Tim Fitzgerald checks in.
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00:00Sports Daily Insider interview on KFH.
00:04And we welcome in our K-State Insider, Tim Fitzgerald.
00:07Glad to have you in, Fitz.
00:09It'll be the last time in this slot, a little change next week.
00:13Brady will be here full-time starting next week.
00:16Fitz will move your appearance about an hour later.
00:20But welcome back in.
00:22Glad to still have you, no matter when it is here on Sports Daily.
00:26I appreciate the added sleep,
00:28although I got to wake up early nowadays anyhow.
00:30Yeah, waking up early.
00:32You get old and you got to pee.
00:35So what are you going to do?
00:37You don't know how true all of that is for me.
00:41Listen, we're ready.
00:43Go PowerCat.com is ready.
00:44When is K-State Camp open, Fitz?
00:46Is it next week?
00:47I think so.
00:48Honestly, I've been so self-involved with my treatments.
00:51I don't know that day.
00:52We were talking about it yesterday.
00:54We haven't been given, because we were talking about KU and K-State,
00:57like those fine details.
00:59We're not seeing them just yet.
01:01It kind of seamlessly transitions from the summer, though.
01:05I don't know how much different Colin Clyde's official camp is going to look
01:08from the work that they've already done.
01:10But if we took Tim Fitzgerald or maybe the collective at Go PowerCats,
01:17top couple of things that we want slash need to see, what are they?
01:25Because I don't even know how many questions we have at this point about K-State.
01:29We kind of know a lot.
01:30So what are we looking for this late summer?
01:34Yeah, you just brought up my topic of, I believe it's tomorrow's daily delivery.
01:40But yeah, there's a list of things I'm looking for.
01:43And I think the first thing I'll look for is how are the lines performing?
01:48Because they didn't really have a complete picture of their offensive line in the spring
01:52because of injuries.
01:54And so they just spent a lot of time focusing on trying to get guys who are multi-positional.
02:01And then now they're going to weave back in some of those missing tackles
02:05and other ingredients that they didn't have in the spring.
02:08So that's a huge question mark for this team.
02:10And defensively on the line, they had some big departures,
02:15whether through the portal or graduation,
02:17that there are significant losses that they have to fill.
02:20They feel like they did, but you never know until you get into the game.
02:26So those are, you know, two things in one that I really am interested in.
02:32And also I'm just, I'm kind of interested in what has Avery's progression,
02:39Avery Johnson's progression actually been?
02:41And will this offense be more suited for him?
02:46Um, because it's become pretty clear now from his comments that he wasn't fully comfortable
02:53with the way he was used or asked what he was asked to do the last few years.
02:58And, uh, he's very happy to have Colin back.
03:00And I think with that said, it's pretty amazing that Avery stuck around.
03:03Um, he does love playing in Manhattan, Kansas and front of family and friends.
03:10And, um, he got his head coach to be exactly who he needed.
03:14So those are just starting off a couple of things.
03:16I'm really interested in.
03:18It's talking about that coach, Colin Klein, uh, back in Colin Klein's days,
03:22that was back in the, uh, definitely the special teams,
03:25you days with Tyler Lockett on special teams and courses wide receiver, uh,
03:30with, with Klein, knowing that and knowing that environment,
03:33knowing the importance of special teams to, uh, K-State's season and,
03:38and the way it can be such an X factor in games.
03:40How's his approach been on the special teams side of things as far as coaching
03:44and, uh, working with coordinators and, you know, how, how are we looking at us?
03:49What, what can we expect on the kicking game and just a special team side of things
03:52this year with the new leadership?
03:54Um, added emphasis, you know, all coaches think they spend time on special teams
03:59and some coaches probably think they spend too much time on special teams.
04:03Um, I, my interview for fighting ever fighting or Friday podcast that'll run up till the start
04:10of football season is with Ty Zimmerman.
04:13We talked about this.
04:15It, uh, Ty, of course, was a special teams stud and all around stud for Kansas state as a safety
04:21played with Colin that their practices were literally one third of it was special teams.
04:28They, they, they, as a collective team spent a third of their practice on special teams.
04:33And he remembers doing downing drills, like meticulous downing drills to try to pin the
04:40ball as close to the goal line.
04:42He says, the amount of time we spent on it for something that happens, maybe like four times
04:46a year was shocking, but we were good at it.
04:48And those times that happened, we've pinned the deep, the opposing offense down.
04:53So I think he'll return to that.
04:54I think you were going to see him put a lot of emphasis on special teams with Stan Weber.
04:58They both know the value of it, not just in a kind of vague perspective, but specifically
05:04to how K-State wins games.
05:07Um, and that one extra play in special teams often decides a game because a lot of games
05:12come down, particularly in the big 12 to one play.
05:15So I'm, I'm really eager about that.
05:16And kind of, you know, kind of how they've historically won game.
05:19I think any K-State fans are going to be excited.
05:22Tim Fitzgerald, go powercat.com.
05:24To hear, Oh, special teams is an emphasis.
05:27It's not even like a cliche with K-State.
05:31It's quite literally one of the things that made Bill Snyder great and successful.
05:38Oftentimes when they weren't maybe as talented as their opposition, but that kind of takes
05:43me into the next thing I want to ask about, which is the, the recruiting of Colin Klein's
05:51great superpower.
05:52Our, I think maybe you disagree with this when he was a coach at K-State was his ability
05:58to recruit players at maybe a different level than they'd ever seen before.
06:03Are we seeing that now?
06:06Like, is that continued with him as the head coach?
06:09Oh yeah.
06:09I mean, it's elevated.
06:11He brought in a bunch of dogs, the guys that want to get out and recruit and to get after
06:16it.
06:17And this will be K-State's highest rated recruiting class in a very long time.
06:22Um, and it's just a brief glimpse of where they're going because it's their, their first
06:29class.
06:29I mean, they hadn't even built relationships yet, um, at Kansas state with a lot of the
06:34recruits and they still accomplish something fairly remarkable right now.
06:38It's the second best class in the, in the conference.
06:41It's going to drop down probably because they're pretty much done, which is very unheard of for
06:46Kansas state to be done before summer's even completed with recruiting.
06:52Um, now there'll be some probably decommits that end up needing to be filled, but for
06:57now they're, they're full.
06:59That's remarkable.
07:00Um, and that's, that's a huge change for this program and it gave them an early start on
07:06the next class because they're still behind in that class compared to other established
07:11programs.
07:12You know, Fitz, with that excitement, that kind of makes me think about just overall
07:16expectations with, uh, coach Klein coming in.
07:19I felt like one thing that really hurt last year's team and, and this is not a ding on
07:24a coach climate at all.
07:25I think just, just things kind of just fell off the rails there was because there was
07:30those expectations going into the season.
07:33Then, you know, Iowa state game overseas, uh, game happens and things just really kind
07:38of unraveled in a way that I felt like was just out of everybody's control.
07:43Just the way it happened going into this season with the expectations of that class with coach
07:48Klein being in Avery being back, uh, how's Colin Klein handling the expectations going
07:54into this season?
07:55And I guess kind of keeping everybody as even keel as possible.
07:59Yeah, that's a great question because, um, I don't know to the extent of the way you frame
08:06that at what this team is like, because they all said the right things going to Dublin and
08:13even after losing to Iowa state in Dublin.
08:16And then we get to media day and Avery said, yeah, it derailed us.
08:20It, we, we thought we were going to go unbeaten and we didn't from game one.
08:25And it just knocks us off the tracks and we gathered ourselves at mid season, but you can
08:32see what putting too much emphasis on one game can do to a program and guys, that's something
08:38Bill Snyder never would let his team do.
08:42Um, yeah, he put emphasis on playing Nebraska or Kansas or, um, but he never let them decide
08:50the fate of their season based on that game.
08:51Um, and unfortunately that's kind of what happened last year.
08:55They lose that opener in a way that, you know, they didn't feel like they played well.
09:00And, you know, all the weirdness with Dylan Edwards started and the distractions piled up
09:05and it kind of fell apart.
09:08Um, Bill Snyder rarely saw his teams do that, you know, and, um, that's something if Colin
09:15Klein can, can plug that hole in the system, Chris Klein left him a really good program, left
09:21him really good players.
09:23Um, and there should be a ability to accomplish some stuff this season.
09:27We hope so.
09:29Tim Fitzgerald joining us.
09:30So if everything goes right, we continue to ask the question.
09:34Now that we know what we know about Texas tech, now that we know, uh, Brennan Sorsby is not
09:39going to be their quarterback.
09:41Can K state win this conference?
09:43Yeah.
09:45Yeah.
09:45Yeah, they can.
09:46I mean, and it's not just because I'm, you know, being a homer here, go look at the schedule.
09:55Go look at that thing.
09:56Man, we are not paying enough attention to the schedule.
10:00I am not paying enough attention to the schedule.
10:04This is the most, uh, welcoming schedule I've ever seen for a new head coach.
10:11Um, it is unbelievably generous.
10:15You don't play tech in the regular season.
10:17You don't play BYU or Utah in the regular season.
10:21You just skip three really good teams.
10:24You do play TCU.
10:26Um, but I'm still, I'm never sold on Sunday Dykes.
10:31I just never know what he's going to actually turn out with his, you know, quote unquote
10:34talent or lack thereof.
10:36Um, you do play what's perceived as the three worst teams in the conference all on the road.
10:43Now you've got three opportunities to win road games, which is always the most important
10:47aspect of winning the big 12.
10:49Or in this case, getting to the championship game, which is, you know, the next step in
10:54winning the big 12.
10:55I would expect tech to be there because they have a similar schedule.
10:58They don't play K state BYU or Utah.
11:02It's kind of weird.
11:03Um, so without a quarterback, you know, established quarterback that they bought, um, they have
11:12some questions about them.
11:13Uh, but I still think they can overcome with just their talent.
11:16Uh, this, this schedule and I think it'll come down to K state and tech and it's just
11:20one game.
11:21One game can go whatever way you want.
11:23And we'll know a lot more about those teams.
11:26If that does happen, they played 12 games and we'll have a greater sense of their identities
11:31at that point.
11:33It is such a great situation.
11:35But it's because you, you, you mentioned that even though, uh, we over the, everybody
11:39else is going to frame with Colin Klein.
11:41This is a new head coach, but for K state, I mean, not really, there's a lot of familiarity.
11:46It's, it's with that schedule and with a client's familiarity, it's kind of a rare to have to
11:53feel this much calm with the program going into a season with so much being new.
12:01That's a great point, Brady.
12:02You know, uh, we've noticed a lot of similarities with Bill Snyder.
12:06There's Kleiman and Elko in there.
12:08You can see it too, but Snyder is the overriding, um, aspects of his coaching personality of
12:15Colin Klein's coaching personality.
12:18And, um, I just don't think I totally forgot the question.
12:24This is where I'm at with my memory.
12:26Give me the topic.
12:27Oh, oh, just talking about just how odd it is for so much, uh, new things, you know,
12:32I'm quote unquote, new in this much calm going into this off season compared to last season.
12:38Yeah.
12:39I, I think he's, uh, managed the psyche of this team and he's, he's kind of just laid the
12:47groundwork of preparation.
12:51Um, just really thorough.
12:53Um, and everything he's doing with this team reminds me of so much of Bill Snyder and that
13:00includes guys, you're going to ask me questions in about three weeks about what's going on
13:03at camp.
13:04And I'll give you the same answer I did for every year.
13:07I covered this team under Bill Snyder.
13:09Well, I'm not real sure.
13:11I mean, the, the submarine has gone under the water and I don't know what's going on
13:15inside the hole.
13:16That's kind of what K-State football was.
13:18And I expect that with Colin Klein.
13:20Um, but because of that, it insulates the team in some ways.
13:25And I think I'm, I'm really, I'm optimistic, but guys, I'm just more fascinated to see how
13:31this plays out and how much similarity do we see with, with those Snyder teams.
13:37I can't wait for college football.
13:39That's all.
13:39Tim Fitzgerald, go powercat.com before we let you go.
13:42Yes or no.
13:43By the end of today, we will have a bill in front of legislators to vote on in this, uh,
13:50college sports save, whatever it's called act.
13:53Well, this is where I'm at with the worth of Congress.
13:59I'll say no, um, because they're getting ready to go on vacation and that's really all they
14:06care about.
14:07They don't care about us.
14:08I don't care about college sports.
14:10They care about headlines and, and getting off work.
14:13There is a, there is a optic optics problem for Congress.
14:18If they don't agree.
14:19Tim Fitzgerald, go powercat.com.
14:21Camp starts soon.
14:22We'll be ready for it.
14:23Fitz.
14:24We'll hit our new time slot starting next week.
14:27Here we go.
14:28All right.
14:29We'll come back.
14:30We'll get a little more sports daily.
14:31Don't go away.
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