K-State Q&A: New COVID-19 concerns, the best all-time Big 12 football players and BBQ
Football players across the Big 12 resumed voluntary workouts this week, and it’s already fair to wonder if that was a bad idea.
You have probably heard, or preferably read, by now that eight student-athletes at Kansas State have tested positive for coronavirus. But the Wildcats are from the only athletic department dealing with such an issue. Nearly two dozen Texas players are currently in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19 or coming in contact with a teammate who had. At Baylor, the number of reported positive tests is three. Three student-athletes. Texas Tech has reported an unspecified number of positive cases in both its football and men’s basketball teams. Iowa State and Oklahoma State encountered problems before workouts even began.
One school that didn’t have to deal with any unfortunate headlines this week was Oklahoma, because Sooners coach Lincoln Riley asked his team to stay away from Norman until July for cautionary reasons.
Time will tell if that strategy will ultimately help Oklahoma players avoid the virus and prepare for the upcoming football season. After all, none of the positive tests have actually prevented teams from beginning workouts. But Riley’s plan seems like a sage approach at the moment.
I decided to include this information at the top of this week’s mailbag not to criticize anyone for trying to re-start football. An argument can be made that it’s better for a small number of student-athletes to deal with the coronavirus now so schools can better handle and prevent potential outbreaks when the season begins.
But I do want to point out how far-fetched the idea is that athletic departments are going to be able to protect their football players in some sort of protective bubble. This week has already shown us that doing that will be difficult, if not impossible.
Perhaps it will be within reach for the NBA or MLB, which are filled with professional athletes who will be paid handsomely to follow strict quarantine guidelines while living in a hotel. But it’s a more difficult ask for college athletes, who want to do other things than workout in small groups and play video games with their roommates.
Student-athletes in all sports are going to want to interact with their classmates, teammates and friends. They are going to go to parties and restaurants and bars.
Players are inevitably going to test positive for the coronavirus once the season begins, and it’s impossible to know how teams will handle that. As easy as it is to tell a fourth-string walk-on punter to stay away from the team for two games, I imagine it will be equally difficult to tell the star quarterback he has to miss action because he tested positive for COVID-19 without showing any systems.
Inviting entire student bodies back to college towns is another scary notion. Areas that were previously somewhat isolated from the coronavirus will probably experience spikes in positive cases as students interact ... and attend football games together.
Here’s to hoping this week was nothing more than a rocky start back to football and we can watch a full season uninterrupted in 2020. But there are challenges ahead.
And with that, it’s time to start answering your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
It’s crazy to read that the Big 12 has been around for 25 years. I am old enough to remember when the Big 12 formed in 1996.
Growing up in Austin, I vaguely remember going to some Texas games against old SWC competition like Arkansas and Rice. But those teams were replaced with K-State and Nebraska when I was in middle school. So I feel like the Big 12 is all I have known.
Of course, the teams within the league have changed quite a few times over the years, so there has always been something new.
As much as I would love to give you a complete breakdown of the best Big 12 players from K-State and beyond, it’s too intimidating of a task when you start factoring in punters and left guards and defensive tackles. But I will give you a best-hits list.
Here are my best Big 12 football players of all time:
Quarterback: Vince Young.
There are other worthy nominees. Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield, Sam Bradford, Michael Bishop and Robert Griffin III have played in the Big 12. But Young was an unstoppable force in college football.
Running back: Adrian Peterson.
Honorable mention to Troy Davis and Darren Sproles and Ricky Williams and many others. But the winner is pretty clear on this one.
Receiver: Michael Crabtree.
Remember when this happened ....
Defensive lineman: Ndamukong Suh.
I voted him first on my ballot when he was a senior.
Safety/corner: Roy Williams.
One more time. Remember when this happened ...
Coach: Bob Stoops.
A case could be made for Tom Osborne, but his best years at Nebraska all came in the old Big Eight. Mack Brown, Bill Snyder and Gary Patterson have also been excellent, but this award belongs to Stoops. He won 10 conference championships at Oklahoma. The other names on this list won a combined total of five.
Here are my best K-State players of the Big 12 era:
Quarterback: Michael Bishop.
Collin Klein won and Ell Roberson won Big 12 championships, but Bishop was still the better all-around QB.
Running back: Darren Sproles.
It would have been fun to see what Daniel Thomas could have done on some better teams. John Hubert was also underrated. Bryce Brown remains an all-time what if?
Receiver: Jordy Nelson.
This is a tough call. Kevin Lockett, Tyler Lockett, Quincy Morgan and others were really good, too. But it’s Nelson who owns the single-season record for receiving yards with 1,606.
Returner: David Allen.
K-State has produced so many electric return men that it deserves the nickname of Special Teams U. Allen was the best of the bunch with seven career touchdown returns.
Defensive lineman: Darren Howard.
It’s hard to go against the school record-holder in sacks, even if other players like Jordan Willis and Ian Campbell were close.
Linebacker: Arthur Brown.
Josh Buhl is probably the more popular pick, as he made an astounding 184 tackles in 2003. But Brown gets the nod because I think he was K-State’s best player during Snyder’s second stint as coach and was the driving defensive force behind those really good teams of 2011 and 2012.
Safety/Corner: Terence Newman.
Does anyone else come close?
Kicker/Punter: Martin Gramatica.
How hilarious is it that he nailed a 65-yard field goal to give the Wildcats a 59-7 lead at halftime?
I’m not sure I have a single band or artist that I would put head and shoulders above the rest of musical history.
There was a time when all I listened to was Metallica, Rage Against the Machine and Korn.
There was also a time when I listened mostly to bro country artists like Luke Bryan and Florida Georgia Line.
Alternative bands like Linkin Park and Jimmy Eat World and Daft Punk were also once high up on my playlists.
Some rap and pop artists have come and gone, but the only one of those songs that seems to have stood the test of time with me is Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus. I will always listen to that when it comes on the radio.
Right now, my go-to artists are The Weekend, Sam Hunt and Justin Beiber.
But if I’m being honest, I mostly listen to kids artists like Parry Gripp and Imagine Dragons as I have four kids demanding control of the music. So I guess my answer is anyone as long as it’s not Raffi.
I’m just going to come right and say it: Buddy Wyatt’s instructional home-barbecue video is the best thing K-State athletics has put on social media all year.
Give it a look before we get to the question.
Wyatt, who coaches K-State’s defensive ends, has a legit BBQ setup at his Manhattan home. The best pit masters in the world smoke their meat strictly with wood, and Wyatt uses two distinct kinds — hickory and cherry.
I personally tend to stick with one kind of wood during each of my smokes, usually oak or pecan or hickory. So I was intrigued to see the way he mixed them.
Then he shows you his smoker, and it’s huge. That thing is big enough for a restaurant to use. He must invite lots of friends over whenever he smokes meat.
Wyatt provides some excellent tips on how to produce delicious barbecue at home, and you can’t argue with the final result of brisket and ribs. I was also impressed by his pan-size sides and homemade barbecue sauce.
My only question is at what temperature does he prefer to smoke his meat? He said he was halfway through a brisket at six hours, so he is undoubtedly going low and slow.
Whenever I barbecue in my backyard, I do so on a different type of smoker. I use a Kamado Joe (or red egg) and mix wood with charcoal. It’s easy to use and a nice upgrade from the Weber smoker I learned on that looked just like R2D2. I smoked a brisket on it last month that, in my opinion, was restaurant quality.
Maybe I will put out a video of my own at some point. One place we would differ is on sides. I’m big on fries and cole slaw and don’t use much sauce.
Anyway, to answer your question, his home-cooked meals could definitely help recruiting. Once players are on campus, position coaches are allowed to host their players and feed them meals on occasion.
Not saying the thought of free BBQ is the best reason in the world to choose K-State over another school, but it can’t hurt.
Also: scoreboard! K-State has landed three new recruits since that video went live.