Why Chris Klieman expects major improvement from Kansas State Wildcats on defense
It’s hard for even the most optimistic of fans to use words like “nasty” or “mean” or “physical” to describe Kansas State’s defense after the way things ended for the Wildcats last season.
Surrendering 45 points at Iowa State, 32 points at Baylor and then 69 points against Texas to close out the year is the kind of thing that leaves scar tissue.
But Eli Huggins has a message for all the skeptics who are expecting more of the same when the Wildcats return to the field against Stanford on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. And it definitely includes words like “nasty” and “mean” and “physical.”
“We are that old school K-State defense now, which we have been trying to build these last couple years — just nasty,” Huggins said. “We want to be a mean defense and run to the ball. We are super physical. That is what we are hoping to be.”
He is not the only person who thinks that way. There is legitimate hope building in Manhattan that things will be better on defense this season. The Wildcats have overhauled their roster on that side of the ball with the addition of impact transfers and the return of previously injured contributors.
K-State’s first depth chart of 2021 looks drastically different from its final depth chart of 2020. Charlotte transfer Timmy Horne is now a starter and team captain at defensive tackle. Iowa transfer Julius Brents is now a starter and potential game-changer at cornerback. Louisville transfer Russ Yeast is now a starter at free safety. Hard-hitting defensive back T.J. Smith has returned to the two deep.
Linebacker remains a question mark outside of Daniel Green, but there seems to be more depth at every position.
“Hopefully we’re quite a bit (better),” K-State football coach Chris Klieman said. “We have new faces and a renewed focus. We had a really good offseason. I know we’re bigger, we’re stronger, we’re more athletic. We’re deeper. That doesn’t mean we’re automatically going to play better. It still has to come down to executing and we talk about that all the time ... but we like what we see right now.”
Perhaps K-State’s defense is ready to take a step forward.
Things couldn’t get much worse than last season when the Wildcats ranked near the bottom of the Big 12 in most statistical categories. Rushing defense? Ninth at 4.7 yards per carry. Passing defense? Last at 7.6 yards per attempt. Scoring defense? Eighth at 32.2 points per game.
Some of those struggles can be explained by COVID-19. Others by a new defensive coordinator. Still more by a dearth of talent.
That’s why Klieman hit the transfer portal hard during the offseason and brought in six Division I transfers on that side of the ball. Three earned starting spots eight months after they arrived on campus. The other three are all expected to play as reserves.
Klieman wanted K-State’s defense to look brand new this year.
“We just need to be better,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s a different personality, different mindset, whatever. We just need to be better on defense.”
The Wildcats will be tested immediately against a big and physical Stanford offense that has a history of effectively running the ball against most opponents.
Klieman hopes to keep the Cardinal in check with a big lineup of his own that features an extra linebacker and hockey-style rotations on the defensive line. On Tuesday, he suggested the Wildcats will use 10 different players up front.
“Our defense is going to be really good,” Yeast said. “We have everything we need at every spot. We have playmakers at every level. I am really excited about what we have going on the defensive line. We are going to be playing fast and flying around.”
“We have made great strides,” added junior corner Ekow Boye-Doe. “We’re looking forward to showcasing them on Saturday.”
If all goes well, maybe fans will may start using the same words as Huggins to describe K-State’s new look defense.
“We have just got a bunch of hard-nosed guys,” Huggins said. “There isn’t anybody out there right now who wants it to be about them. We’ve just got a bunch of dudes who work together and play hard. I think you will see that on the field.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Why Chris Klieman expects major improvement from Kansas State Wildcats on defense."