K-State QB Jesse Ertz sets tone for OU week with motivational speech

If Kansas State football players were feeling down about a 3-3 record when they gathered for practice on Monday, it didn’t show.

K-State coach Bill Snyder said it was one of the best practices of the year, full of energy, focus and leadership.

He has Jesse Ertz to thank for that.

“I thought Jesse said something good yesterday right before practice,” sophomore receiver Dalton Schoen said. “He said, ‘Before the season, we were a nationally ranked team -- a team to be feared, a team with a ton of talent. We are still that team. We have lost a couple games, and I think we let that get us down way too much. We just have to get back to that. We are capable of doing some great things.’”

The Wildcats took those words to heart as they began preparing for their next game against No. 9 Oklahoma. They will likely need their best effort of the season to knock off the Sooners. Behind senior quarterback Baker Mayfield, they are averaging 42 points and 575.5 yards. Those numbers rank third nationally in total offense. That’s 87 spots better than K-State, which is averaging 31.7 points and 373.8 yards.

It remains unclear if Ertz, a senior quarterback, will start the game or watch from the sideline while he continues to recover from a knee injury.

“It kind of depends on Jesse and his health,” Snyder said. “I want to believe that he is going to be able to, but I don’t know that yet. We haven’t defined that. It’s not clear.”

Sophomore Alex Delton made his first college start last week during a 26-6 loss to TCU and produced mixed results, completing 11 of 29 passes for 146 yards on top of 39 rushing yards. He is once again expected to lead K-State’s offense if Ertz is unable to play.

Either way, Ertz will try his best to provide leadership, as he did Monday.

“Jesse got us going yesterday before practice,” linebacker Jayd Kirby said. “It was a good little speech he gave. It kind of set the tone for the week.”

The Wildcats needed a pick-me up. Things haven’t gone the way they expected this season. The team began the year ranked 20th and climbed to 18th after lopsided victories over Central Arkansas and Charlotte. Players were thinking big.

Now, following losses to Vanderbilt, Texas and TCU, they are trying to hit the reset button.

“We got up as seniors before the team and said we wanted to win a national title,” kicker Matthew McCrane said of the team’s preseason goals. “I think we had a chance to do that, we just blew it. All these close games we have had, we should have won. That is what is frustrating, more than anything.”

The good news: some preseason goals remain within reach, such as bowl eligbility.

“That is our goal, to go out with a bang,” McCrane said. “We want to win and go out with a bowl. If we don’t, that is an extreme letdown.”

K-State has been here before. This is the third straight season it has started 3-3. In 2015, it won its final three games to reach the Liberty Bowl. Last year, it reeled off six wins in seven tries and finished 9-4.

Players are hoping for similar results this time around. Ertz helped them take the first step.

“We are a confident team,” Schoen said. “We know what we are capable of. We just have to go out there and perform.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 4:02 PM with the headline "K-State QB Jesse Ertz sets tone for OU week with motivational speech."