K-State Q&A: Adrian Martinez, an up-and-coming linebacker and bold Big 12 predictions
It’s hard to take a college football coach too seriously when he stands in front of reporters at preseason camp and proclaims that a certain player on his team is looking great this time of year.
For example, Kansas State assistant head coach Van Malone tried to single out a few players that have caught his eye on the practice field this month and he responded by rattling off 18 names. Eighteen!
Either the Wildcats have a super team in the making or Malone was being a tad bit generous with his shout outs.
That being said, there was one name out of those 18 that caught my attention — Austin Moore. The junior linebacker from Louisburg made 18 tackles in mostly a backup role for the Wildcats last season, but his future usage has been a mystery since Will Honas and Shawn Robinson joined the team as transfers during the offseason.
How much playing time will he see? Well, it sounds like he is going to see lots of action.
Not only did Malone praise his recent work at linebacker, his position coach sounded over the moon about him.
“Austin has had a great camp,” Steve Stanard said. “A year ago, against Stanford, he ran down on a kickoff and he was outside the block and got pushed out of bounds. We were like, he’s not ready. He has come so far. I would say he is probably having the best camp of all the linebackers. He is a really smart football player and he has really developed instinctively from where he was at a year ago ... He has really, really put himself in a position that he deserves. He really stepped up.”
Signs point to Moore starting at outside linebacker next to Daniel Green and splitting time with Honas at his position.
At the beginning of this month I would have favored Honas, because of his size and his experience at Nebraska. But Honas has been limited with tired knees lately and Moore seems poised for more action.
That’s one name you can take seriously in mid August.
Now, let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
As far as I know, this season will be the first time Chris Klieman has endorsed anything close to an up-tempo offense.
Collin Klein was part of a no-huddle attack when he briefly worked at Northern Iowa and sold Klieman on the idea of using the same strategy at times with the Wildcats.
One thing both Klieman and Klein have said repeatedly this offseason is that they aren’t going to have the offense going pedal-to-the-metal with a 21-point lead. The Wildcats will still go slow at times. But much less so than in the past.
Klieman didn’t need a fast offense when he coached at North Dakota State. The Bison were usually the nation’s best FCS team and won plenty of national championships. Slowing games down and making them as short as possible was a priority. That way, opposing teams didn’t have time to mount a comeback against them.
The situation is different at K-State. The Wildcats aren’t favored to win every week like North Dakota was. Speeding up the game and giving your team more opportunities to score makes much more sense in the Big 12.
I have heard the most buzz about D.J. Giddens. The redshirt freshman from Junction City seems to have the most talent of any K-State running back outside of Deuce Vaughn, and he is starting to understand college defenses well enough to put his skills to good use.
Giddens actually looked really good last year during preseason camp, but his knowledge of the playbook was far too limited for him to be used in games.
It sounds like that has changed and he is ready to see significant action this season.
If I’m wrong about his progress, and he needs a little more time in the film room before the coaching staff trusts him, the next best options are Jordan Schippers and Anthony Frias.
Schippers is the safest play. He has more experience than anyone else at the position and isn’t going to do anything wrong. Be he doesn’t have as much upside as Giddens.
All three of the players I mentioned above have a different running style than Vaughn. They are each bigger and more suited for goal-line work.
But don’t forget about Jax Dineen. K-State likes to give him a few carries each season and even experimented with him as a full-time running back in the spring.
At 5-foot-10 and 244 pounds, he’s a hard player to bring down.
I can envision a scenario in which K-State wins 10 games this season with Adrian Martinez leading the offense.
Skylar Thompson never won more than eight games in a year during his time with the Wildcats. So I suppose K-State’s ceiling has been raised.
But I think that has more to do with the strength of the team in general more than just its quarterback. As we are seeing this NFL preseason, Thompson is a very talented player. It’s possible injuries and a methodical approach on offense limited his productivity as a college passer.
I’m not sure Martinez is an upgrade over Thompson. He certainly could be. Martinez is a superior runner and a better overall athlete. But he was also turnover prone at Nebraska and never figured out how to win close games.
I can also picture enough things going wrong for K-State to win six games. His success is not a given.
If he puts it all together in Manhattan and a change of scenery brings out the best in him, he could make K-State’s receivers look very good.
But Thompson had the offense humming against LSU at the Texas Bowl last January. He won’t be an easy quarterback to replace.
Ten sounds like a good number to me.
Adrian Martinez tossed 30 interceptions in 39 games during his time at Nebraska. He also lost a handful of fumbles, with some coming at the worst possible moment in close games. Though I don’t know exactly how many times he put the ball on the ground (why doesn’t Sports Reference track fumbles?) he averaged pretty close to one turnover per game.
That statistic is bound to drop now that he is playing for Collin Klein and Chris Klieman at Kansas State.
Few teams value a lack of turnovers more.
Klein only threw 15 interceptions during his entire K-State football career. Skylar Thompson only tossed 16 interceptions with Klein as his QB coach, and Thompson was in college for three decades.
If anyone can help Martinez eliminate turnovers it’s Klein.
While I have my doubts Martinez can lower his mistake rate all the way down to one every three games like Klein and Thompson, it’s not unreasonable to expect a few clean games.
Breakfast: The Chef. There’s only one problem with this place: the huge line of people usually waiting to eat inside. But if you can get a table it’s the best morning spot in Manhattan. Early Edition is a solid backup option if the wait is out of control. Coco Bolo’s used to have an incredible weekend brunch, but that restaurant is sadly no longer with us.
Lunch: Taco Lucha and So Long Saloon are always great destinations. Start with the raspberry black bean dip and then order your favorite taco or burger. Pro tip: Ask for a Pirate Nancy instead of the original. If you’re in the mood for an authentic Manhattan slice, AJ’s Pizzeria is the place to be. Guilty Biscuit is also a good spot with a unique menu.
Dinner: Bourbon and Baker, Tallgrass Tap House, El Patron, Colbert’s and Mr. K’s. If someone else truly is buying, the Wine Dive is a fun option.
But if these new “freshmen” are anything like my kids you will probably end up mostly at Chick-Fil-A, Chili’s, Old Chicago or Texas Roadhouse.
The beautiful thing about tailgating is that it’s a lot like pizza.
Even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.
If you show up to the parking lot at Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a cooler filled with light beer and grill hamburgers or hot dogs, odds are good you’re going to have some fun before the game starts.
But if you’re trying to impress your friends, there are a few options you could take.
My ideal food lineup: Any combination of brisket, pork ribs, pulled pork and sausage that you smoked at home in preparation of the big game. Those will separate your tailgate from anyone using a charcoal grill. Sides are easy. Chips, potato salad, cole slaw, beans. Anything you want.
My ideal beverages: It’s probably a smart idea to start the season off with seltzer or summer beers. You only want easy drinkers when it’s still 90 degrees outside. But once fall weather rolls in, you better have some Oktoberfest and pumpkin-flavored beer to share. Bourbon becomes a good choice for the cold games.
For games, go with cornhole. Or bring a football and just play some catch. You can’t go wrong with those options.
Too bad there’s not a media tailgate in Manhattan.
There is much to like about the fall.
It has the best seasonal beers (Oktoberfest and Pumpkin), it has the best sport (football) and it has the best nerdy sports hobby (fantasy football) of them all. The weather is also usually pretty good.
But I am more of a summer guy.
Warm weather trumps all!
I like taking my kids to the swimming pool, running a few miles outside in the morning and having weekends off because there’s no college basketball or football games to attend. Summer is also vacation season for yours truly.
For those reasons, summer tops my list of seasons, followed by fall, spring and that other time of year I would rather not mention.
This is the most unique question I’ve seen a while. Well done!
My argument for being a fan of K-State would be that it’s no fun to pick a traditional power like Alabama or Ohio State. As a brand-new college football fan you should be looking for a team that has less national notoriety, but still has enough talent to play exciting football, sneak up on people and deliver some big wins.
K-State fits that mold perfectly.
If you like the color purple or small running backs, the Wildcats are also for you.
1. Felix Anudike-Uzomah sacks.
2. Whataburgers consumed by me.
3. Sammy Wheeler touchdown catches.
4. Julius Brents interceptions.
5. Will Howard touchdown passes.
Well, I ranked Texas at No. 25 on my ballot for the preseason AP Top 25 and at least a dozen people called me a “bozo” or an “idiot” or a “traitor” on Twitter.
I’m not sure why predicting a team to be decent when it has Quinn Ewers, Bijan Robinson and several other elite recruits on its roster is controversial, but I guess it is.
Nevertheless, here is an even wilder thought: What if the Kansas Jayhawks don’t finish last?
If they can split their opening four games against Tennessee Tech, West Virginia, Houston and Duke I think there’s a chance it could happen. Not a good chance. I’m not advising anyone to wager money on this. But a chance is better than nothing.
KU gets Iowa State and TCU at home at the start of October. The Cyclones are retooling, if not rebuilding, after the Brock Purdy/Breece Hall era. TCU isn’t anything special, and the Horned Frogs have struggled in Lawrence before. At West Virginia could even be a toss-up game as the Mountaineers try to break in transfer quarterback JT Daniels.
The rest of the schedule is brutal, unless you think Kansas is going to beat Texas again in November. But the Jayhawks have some quality running backs, a returning starter at quarterback, a competent coach and some winnable games early.
A ninth-place finish could be within reach.
This story was originally published August 19, 2022 at 10:11 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Adrian Martinez, an up-and-coming linebacker and bold Big 12 predictions."