The five most important things said at K-State football media day

Much was said at Kansas State football media day on Monday.

Here are five of the highlights:

1. Alex Barnes is the talk of preseason camp

Several K-State football players have turned heads in preseason camp this month, but no one has been better than junior running back Alex Barnes.

“Alex has been unbelievable,” K-State offensive coordinator Andre Coleman said. “He had a great summer and has probably been the most impressive guy in camp. He is committed to the process, committed to the team, he has developed as a leader. It won’t be a surprise to me when he (excels) on Saturdays.”

Barnes burst onto the scene as a freshman, averaging 7.9 yards per attempt. But he took a step back as a sophomore, averaging 5.6 yards per attempt.

Some of that can be explained by injury and erratic usage. But that feels like ancient history to Barnes. Now healthy, he seems ready for a bounce-back season.

2. The Wildcats might rely on a committee of defensive ends

As a former defensive end, Blake Seiler knows a thing or two about establishing a pass rush. Here’s one thing K-State’s new defensive coordinator thinks makes a big difference: fresh legs.

To that end, he’s expecting more than two defensive ends to see meaningful action. Fans will see Reggie Walker, Kyle Ball, Bronson Massie, Wyatt Hubert, Chase Johnston, and maybe a few others chasing quarterbacks this season.

K-State only managed 24 sacks last year. Seiler hopes aggressively rotating on the defensive line will lead to more.

“We have kind of stacked up that position because of the league we have played in,” Seiler said. “That is probably the deepest position on our team. We need to keep those rushers fresh. If they look like they need a break, we are going to get the fresh guys out there.”

3. Special teams have improved beyond “horrendous” levels.

As K-State attempts to replace its starting kicker, punter, long snapper, kick returner and punt returner from last season, special teams coordinator Sean Snyder admits that dealing with that much turnover is among the biggest challenges of his coaching career.

Competition remains open at every position, though Isaiah Zuber and Duke Shelley appear to be first in line on returns.

“We could set a depth chart right now, but I don’t know how happy we would be with it,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said. “There is uncertainty at virtually every position.”

Still, Bill Snyder sees improvement. Last week, he thought the Wildcats might have to go for it on every fourth down this season. On Monday, he said they might be good enough to try a few punts.

“None of them are going five yards straight out of bounds,” he said. “I don’t think we are going to have anyone who will be that horrendous.”

4. No rush to name a starting quarterback

Don’t expect Bill Snyder to choose between Alex Delton and Skylar Thompson anytime soon. They remain “dead even” in K-State’s quarterback derby, and none of their coaches seem in a rush to name a starter.

“It’s a good situation to be in,” Coleman said. “Both guys are very capable and both guys are doing a great job.”

Like Snyder, Coleman craves depth and daily competition at practice. The longer Delton and Thompson can push each other, the better. It’s a good bet they both play in the opener.

“Someone will get an edge somewhere over the next month,” QB coach Collin Klein said. “You would like for it to be clear, but however it ends up going we will play the best guy. Coach Snyder will make the decision of how and why.”

5. Play hard, play fast, play tough

That’s the motto Seiler wants K-State’s defense to live by this season.

The Wildcats have been consistently solid against the run in recent years, but Big 12 teams have regularly gashed them through the air. He hopes a new mindset can yield more balanced results.

“We are just trying to get lined up right, do our job, fly around and play good, sound defense here like we always have,” Seiler said. “We would like to improve on the things from last year we were lacking in. We need to be a little bit better on pass defense. We need to be a little better on third down and we need to continue to be solid against the run.”

This story was originally published August 7, 2018 at 4:30 PM.