Kansas State football players return to campus eager for summer workouts to begin
Kansas State receiver Landry Weber can you tell you in great detail how uncomfortable it feels to get tested for the coronavirus.
Every member of the K-State football team who has returned to Manhattan before the start of voluntary workouts underwent a COVID-19 nasal swab test earlier this week, and none of them raved about the experience. Having their blood drawn for an antibody test was much simpler.
The process left some players with watery eyes instead of stone-cold faces.
“It was brutal,” Weber said. “I think everyone on the team would agree with me on that.”
But he would gladly do it again for the opportunity to be around his teammates for the first time since March and to begin preparing in earnest for the upcoming season, which for the Wildcats is looking more and more like it will begin on time against Buffalo on Sept. 5.
“It’s nice to get back to a little bit of normalcy,” said Weber, a junior from Lenexa. “It felt weird to be separated from the team for so long, because you are never usually separated from each other for more than a week. That’s what I am looking forward to most, being in a team setting again.”
Getting tested for the coronavirus was the first step for every K-State football player as they work toward building off their first season under Chris Klieman while they are on campus this summer.
So far, the Wildcats haven’t reported encountering any issues. On Thursday, the school announced that 90 of its football players underwent testing for the coronavirus and all of those results came back negative.
That is good news for K-State players, who began receiving their test results Wednesday. Everyone who tested negative was expected to then undergo a routine physical exam. In-person team meetings should begin for them soon after. Workouts will begin Monday, with the team expected to lift and run in smaller groups than usual.
For newcomers like Chris Vaughn and Nate Matlack, that will represent their first real team activity since they reported to campus earlier this week. For returning players like Weber, it will be time to get back to work.
“I’m really looking forward to being in the training facility again with access to all the resources that come with it,” Weber said. “Being away for two months makes you realize how good our weight room is and that you take them for granted.”
Several K-State players got creative during their time away in quarantine and found ways to stay in shape without all the bells and whistles they usually enjoy on campus.
Running back Harry Trotter ran in sand pits and pushed cars around parking lots. Linebacker Justin Hughes did more with his home weight set and backyard than he thought possible. And Weber spent countless hours honing his footwork and catching passes from his dad, Stan, who happened to play quarterback at K-State in 1980s.
But none of that can compare to the environment of an entire team working out together in the same complex.
“You can get a great workout in at home, but it’s impossible to reach the same level of intensity you have with strength coaches and teammates around,” Weber said. “That is really beneficial, having someone there to push you and make you work harder. You can only get those things at the complex.”
Still, the last few months weren’t all bad.
If there is a silver lining to college sports’ two-and-a-half-month shutdown, it’s that athletes had extra time to focus on themselves and improve their craft.
“That was a big positive for me,” Weber said. “Instead of doing seven-on-seven or something like that I watched film and worked on fundamentals and technique. Receivers don’t usually have time to work exclusively on those things and focus on yourself. I felt like by the end of quarantine I really improved as a receiver.”
Weber caught seven passes for 117 yards and will look to improve on those numbers as he works with quarterback Skylar Thompson this summer.
He says he hasn’t spent much time with his K-State teammates since returning to campus, but he has caught a few passes from both Thompson and backup quarterback Nick Ast, his roommate, and they seem as sharp as ever.
He thinks that is the case for most of his teammates as summer workouts resume.
“The perception is that we might not have progressed much during quarantine, but I think people worked out really hard,” Weber said. “I don’t think it will hurt us at all. We won’t miss a beat.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Kansas State football players return to campus eager for summer workouts to begin."