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Gopowercat.com's Tim Fitzgerald joins the show.
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00:00KFH.
00:03And now, digging deeper with the teams you follow, it's another Sports Daily Insider interview on KFH.
00:13All right, welcome back in everybody. It is Sports Daily.
00:16We are glad to be joined right now by our K-State Insider, GoPowerCat.com,
00:21the publisher, the head man, the head honcho, Tim Fitzgerald, back in the swing of things.
00:26Fitz, how are you this morning?
00:27I'm good. I'm good. Week three coming up.
00:30Week three coming up. Is this the week, Tim, that the K-State defense finally gives up a touchdown?
00:36Oh, I don't know. I don't know. Yeah, they've been on a really good run.
00:41They've been dominant. They've dictated the game like K-State defenses of old.
00:48So it's been refreshing for fans to see a defense be this dominant and play this hard.
00:53But, yeah, every week that's going to be a big challenge, and there's a lot that goes into it.
00:58But there's no reason they can't.
01:02Fitz, it was interesting in a recent press conference with Coach Klein when asking about Tulane coming up
01:10and how this has kind of been a big opponent for K-State over the last couple of years.
01:15They're definitely a highlight opponent, especially when they beat K-State in Manhattan a few years ago.
01:21And even though Klein, or maybe it was calling the offensive coordinator then, I don't recall.
01:26But I know, okay, that makes sense on his reaction.
01:29Because when they asked about that, on how much that still burns, he said,
01:35no doubt, in a very convincing way.
01:38Talk about that reaction.
01:40Yeah, it was something else.
01:42That game in 22, and of course, K-State went on to win the Big 12 title,
01:46and Tulane went to the playoff that year.
01:51K-State had the ball and decided to punt with, I don't know, two and a half minutes left
01:55and tried to get the ball back.
01:56They had some timeouts, and they never got the ball back.
01:59The defense didn't get the stops, speaking of defense.
02:03And so his offense never got the ball back to try to win the game,
02:07and they lose 17-10.
02:08And it was our John Grove at GoPyroCat that asked,
02:12does that stick with you, how that game ended?
02:14And he said, no doubt.
02:16And it was a steely stare he gave John.
02:20John, I think, replied on X, I felt fear in a place I had no idea I could feel fear.
02:27It was quite the gaze.
02:29And you've got to see the competitor that, you know, fans don't often see the hyper-competitive
02:36side of Colin Kline because he's such a nice guy.
02:39He's so even-keeled.
02:41But everyone who's been with him in a team environment says he's the most competitive
02:46guy in the room, and it's not even close.
02:48I want to ask about another guy who we hope takes on a lot of that identity of his competitive
02:54head coach, Avery Johnson.
02:56Two weeks in, Fitz.
02:57Let's evaluate it a little bit.
02:59He's completing 67% of his passes.
03:02He's got a good touchdown.
03:04Pretty good touchdown to interception ratio.
03:07I mean, honestly, we can eliminate pretty much.
03:09We can highlight one critical, critical mistake that he's made.
03:14That was the thing that needed to stop.
03:17He's made one of them through two games.
03:19How are you evaluating now the fourth year of Avery Johnson so far?
03:24Yeah.
03:25That throw before halftime was exactly what's troubled him.
03:32Too focused on making the completion, like getting the ball there without realizing the ball's
03:39not going to get there because there's a defender.
03:42But it was great defense, too.
03:44Collins criticized his own play call that they should have been doing something else with
03:48that.
03:49But, yeah, something's got to clean up.
03:52It didn't hurt K-State.
03:53It kind of made it a little worrisome going into halftime when you're thinking you're going
03:57to be up at least 17 to nothing, and maybe more, and all of a sudden you're 17 to seven.
04:04But, you know, it's a team sport, and this time the defense came out and answered with
04:09a three and out, and K-State got the ball back, and one play later they got that touchdown
04:13back out of a 75-yard run.
04:16So this team seems better equipped to help Avery when he makes those mistakes.
04:22Maybe those mistakes won't be as critical, but there's no doubt he's got to cut down
04:27on the magnitude of his turnovers.
04:31It's not only that he has them, but he seems to do them at very inopportune times.
04:37You know, Fitz, it's two games in against, I guess you could say, some lesser opponents.
04:41It's hard to dive into the stats too much about some things just two games in, but I feel like
04:47you know he's going to judge a character.
04:49And one thing, speaking of that interception at halftime, and then it was a delayed halftime
04:54with the rain delay and the storm delay and all that, which at the time I was kind of
04:58worried because I was like, man, that'd be, if I was Avery Johnson, I would hate going
05:03into halftime with that memory so fresh and then having to stay on it in a delayed halftime
05:09and thinking about it even more.
05:11I feel like Avery and just the team overall, it just seems like their bounce back from things
05:18is so much better than last year.
05:20Last year just seemed like those sort of things would really just kind of torment the team
05:24and really just snowball into more bad mistakes.
05:28But at least the way the team responded and Avery responded out of the break and at the
05:33late break, that was good to see that sort of bounce back and just moving on.
05:38Yeah, I agree.
05:39You know, usually you want to win the toss and be able to defer and get the ball in the
05:43second half in case they lost the toss.
05:46So Washington State was getting the ball and I contend that that was probably pretty good.
05:51You know, get the game going again without Avery being on the field.
05:54The defense got a quick three and out.
05:57So that's got to take some pressure off of him.
05:59You know, it's not like Washington State went down the field and scored to make it 17-14.
06:05And then, you know, to run an inside zone play and just boom, it pops and Riley Fields is gone
06:12was probably the best case recovery.
06:14You know, three defensive plays, a punt, and a touchdown.
06:18That's a good way to bounce back from that mistake.
06:21But that won't always happen.
06:23And he's got to solve this.
06:26And K-State's got to be a little bit more careful about what they ask him to do at times.
06:31There's certain patterns, but he just doesn't quite read the defense correctly.
06:36And as Colin said after the game, he's got some eye discipline issues.
06:40He's ignoring things sometimes, it looks like, that the defender could step in and make a play.
06:46Fitz, again, that defense, Wendell Gregory looks like an NFL player, I think, to all of us now.
06:54We're seeing that pop.
06:55Pop, it's so hard when you've played the teams that they've played.
07:01I don't know how good or bad Washington State is, but we know they haven't played what we would perceive
07:06as a good team yet.
07:10Tulane, although Wyatt Thompson told us maybe to expect a little more out of them than their record shows.
07:16But the defense may not get tested for a minute here.
07:19How good can this defense be?
07:21We had James Wessling in yesterday.
07:22He said he thought maybe elite.
07:24Yeah.
07:25Are you subscribing that highly yet to this defense?
07:29Well, you know, there's still some issues here.
07:31Are they good enough at defensive tackle?
07:33It's been a concern.
07:35They've held up against this level of competition, but that's going to change.
07:40Not particularly this week, but in the near future, it'll change and you'll get more dominant offensive lines across from
07:47you.
07:48You know, is Makai Mason healthy at linebacker?
07:51Rick Spanoi played pretty good this week, but Makai's a difference maker out there.
07:57And I think that the back end of this defense has held up pretty well.
08:01I think the corners have played well.
08:03The safeties have played well.
08:04So this could be a really good defense, but I still am not crazy about their defensive tackle depth and
08:11playmaking ability out of that spot.
08:14But, Fitz, will Jalen Lucas stay running back for Tulane?
08:17Maybe kind of help us evaluate defense, especially the front seven a little bit more?
08:22It seems like he's a pretty good back and will kind of be the guy to look out for when
08:26it comes to the green wave.
08:28Yeah.
08:30I think this is a stop-the-run-first type of defense that actually has a pretty good back end
08:36to it.
08:38But escalating tests are exactly what you want in the non-conference schedule.
08:43And he's going to be the best running threat that they've faced.
08:47And, yeah, these little incremental tests are really good because next week you're going to Cincinnati and that'll be the
08:55best team you've probably played.
08:56I don't think this Tulane team is what they have been the first two matchups, but, you know, anytime you've
09:02got a little sense of rivalry,
09:03and I think some of that's popped up with this three-game series has been interesting because the games have
09:09been so competitive and fiery
09:11that maybe they escalate their level of play from what they've seen, and that's why it's talking about.
09:17But they've really struggled at times this year, and we'll just see how they pan out on Saturday in Manhattan.
09:23I want to ask about the biggest question we had coming into the year that thus far, again, has looked
09:29good.
09:29But, again, like the defense, pump the brakes on making proclamations at this point.
09:35But the offensive line fits has – I mean, they really couldn't have done anything better than they've done so
09:42far.
09:43Long term, do you think this unit is good enough in the Big 12?
09:49Yeah, I'm still not sold, but, boy, they've been dominant.
09:52I mean, it's not a matter of they've had some physical tests they'll see in the Big 12 because they
09:59haven't.
10:00But they haven't made errors of assignment either.
10:05They've been efficient.
10:06They've been doing what they need to do.
10:07It's one of those things about this team that makes you wonder how good they can be
10:11because they're not making those errors, whether it's offensive line or secondary or, you know, any of that stuff.
10:17They seem, for the most part, to be where they're supposed to be doing the right thing,
10:22which sounds pretty basic, but it's not always what you get from an offensive line play.
10:28And I've been amazed at how they've shuffled people around
10:31and that line has stayed consistent.
10:35You haven't really noticed any changes.
10:39Fitz, I want to look at the wide receivers.
10:41All offseason, we were all kind of thinking about Jason Tibbs being that number one, no doubt, number one guy.
10:47But it's actually been Josh Manning, 13 catches so far, 130 yards, two touchdowns.
10:52Talk about Manning's development or emergence, at least in these first two games, as being the favorite target for Avery.
10:58Well, yeah.
10:59I mean, on Saturday, I guess, Washington State, they were playing some zone.
11:02They were doing a good job with it.
11:03And every time Avery would move around in the pocket, give a little bit of a look of a run
11:08threat,
11:09that zone would move around a little bit and create openings.
11:13And Josh Manning did an incredible job of finding those openings, like a good receiver,
11:17and settling down and giving Avery a target.
11:20He was targeted 12 times that game for 10 catches.
11:24If you're going to get targeted 12 times and catch 10 of them,
11:27your quarterback's coming back for more, if possible.
11:31And so, yeah, I mean, Avery's seen a lot of drops so far this season,
11:35including from Josh in earlier games.
11:38It was probably good to have that kind of connection and reliability.
11:41Add in the tight ends, which they didn't use a lot against Washington State.
11:45And I think he's going to find some guys that he can really count on to catch the ball when
11:50he needs it.
11:52But that's, I mean, and Avery's shown us over the years, too, Fitz.
11:56Like, he'll, if he, once he locks in, like, he's prone to lock in.
12:01And if Josh Manning's his guy, it could be a really big year.
12:04And, frankly, if it's a receiver to go with the tight ends we know he loves,
12:08that's probably a pretty good development, wouldn't you say?
12:12Oh, yeah.
12:13I think the threat at receiver has been less than what it has been in the past for Kansas State.
12:19I still don't think it's quite there.
12:23But they've got some really nice pieces.
12:25They don't have enough depth at receiver.
12:27They're going to be working on that.
12:30I really think they like this group of receivers.
12:33Now they just have to kind of grow their own identity.
12:36But, yeah, I think he's got a better group out there, there's no doubt.
12:40So, Fitz, I know that Blake Barnett, backup, or Avery's,
12:46been dealing with some injuries.
12:47I wonder if you had any update on that,
12:49especially since it seems like K-State's like to use Blake Barnett
12:55every now and then in some packages here and there.
12:57What are you hearing about his injury status?
13:00Nothing much.
13:00He was on crutches on Saturday.
13:02We're back in the Snyder era where you really don't get any serious updates.
13:08He actually gave us, Colin Kline gave us some information.
13:11You know, he's not sure he'll be ready for this week.
13:14But we don't know the nature of the injury other than it looks like an ankle.
13:19But, yeah, I would imagine they're working with some other people at quarterback
13:24for an emergency third guy.
13:27And, you know, Wichita's Wesley Fair might be that guy
13:30because he was an high school quarterback and incredibly intelligent.
13:36So maybe that's their emergency guy right now.
13:40But, you know, of course, they hope they don't get anywhere near that.
13:43They've got two pretty good quarterbacks.
13:45And I think Jacob Knuth, if he wasn't the lone backup,
13:49might be used in some running situations where power is more required
13:54because he's shown that attribute to be a big, strong runner.
13:59Final thing for me, Fitz, the run game, it is versatile, I would say.
14:07Run-based case.
14:08We talk about all the comparisons to the Bill Snyder Cats all the time.
14:11Boy, a running quarterback, two running backs that get a healthy workload
14:18and a good defense.
14:20Like, this is – it is looking like a Bill Snyder team out there.
14:24Yeah, that's a great point.
14:26He had some great running backs that became featured guys.
14:30But he also, many seasons, didn't have that featured running back
14:34and went with a committee.
14:37I think this is a little different because I think both Rodney Fields
14:40and Joe Jackson have the ability to be the star main running back.
14:44But they give them two different looks totally,
14:47and Jay Harris, the third guy, gives them a different look altogether.
14:51I think Jackson's ability as a receiver is what makes him incredibly valuable
14:57because he becomes a multi-threat guy.
15:00And with Fields, he's a home run waiting to be hit
15:04because he's just so fast and elusive.
15:06It's a great combination.
15:08And they have fixed that running back room in one recruiting cycle.
15:14So, amazing stuff.
15:15Go ahead, Brady.
15:16Go ahead.
15:17I was just going to say we talked about Wendell Gregory,
15:19but real quick, leading the team in tackles right now is Gabe Powers.
15:22Talk about his first two games.
15:24Man, that guy has stepped up.
15:27He likes his defense.
15:28He's allowed to kind of thrive in it.
15:31I think he felt restricted before, and that's set free.
15:37And, boy, that fourth down stop he had came up
15:40and met the Washington State quarterback in the hole was impressive
15:43because he came up with violent intent and delivered.
15:48He has been absolutely a revelation, and I'm going to say it.
15:52He's been better so far this season than Austin Romain was last season,
15:57and that is a big statement.
15:59So, we'll see if that continues.
16:01But the guys that are standing out on the defense,
16:05many of them are portal guys, whether it was brand new or in the past.
16:10And, boy, it took Gabe Powers a year after a transfer from Ohio State,
16:14but he is paying off now.
16:16All right, Fitz, it is an 11 a.m. kick on Saturday.
16:20What do you guys have for us leading up on Go Power Cat?
16:25Well, later this morning, the K-State pregame show drops.
16:28So, we'll have that out to get you prepared,
16:30and tomorrow we'll hone in on all of our pregame coverage,
16:35mostly in written form, as we get you ready for another 11 a.m. kick.
16:39And, of course, next week there's 6 p.m. at Cincinnati.
16:43So, get up and get that coffee started.
16:46You got morning football, and then you can come home
16:48and watch a bunch of really good Big 12 football all day long.
16:51There he is, Tim Fitzgerald.
16:53Go PowerCat.com.
16:54Hope you're feeling good, Fitz.
16:56I'm good.
16:57I know.
16:57K-State fans feeling great right now.
17:00Mm-hmm.
17:01They are.
17:02All right.
17:03Tim Fitzgerald.
17:04See you next week.
17:05You bet.
17:06There goes Fitz.
17:08All right, Brady.
17:10It's good stuff.
17:12Realistic stuff there, I think.
17:14Not overhyped.
17:16Thanks to Fitz for stopping by.
17:18We will also have, coming up in the next hour,
17:21our Betting Insider.
17:21We'll see what he thinks of that line, Pat Boyle.
17:24That's coming up.
17:25What's on tap?
17:26Brought to you by the Wichita Brewing Company.
17:28Now featuring Nashville Hot Chicken Bites,
17:30a shareable appetizer with breaded all white meat Nashville hot chicken
17:34served with homemade buttermilk ranch for dipping.
17:37Wichita Brewing Company pizza and beer made here.
17:40All right.
17:40When we come back, Brady,
17:43when we come back,
17:46what about Tyreek Hill here?
17:48Hmm.
17:49Remember him?
17:51Got a little smoke here yesterday
17:53from an ESPN report on Tyreek Hill.
17:56We've seen one game.
17:57We've seen one game.
17:59We know Tyreek Hill's hurt.
18:02What do we think about the potential?
18:06Tyreek Hill coming back to campus.
18:08It was a hot topic for about a week and a half this offseason.
18:12Right.
18:12And then it just kind of died.
18:14We know Tyreek Hill wants to come back.
18:16We'll explore it when we return.
18:18Mention Pat Boyle.
18:19Your calls,
18:20commentary are welcome.
18:21869-1240.
18:22The KFH hotline is open for you.
18:25You can leave us those comments on all the streams available.
18:29We're coming right back.
18:30A little Tyreek Hill talk next.
18:33Don't.
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