Rapid recap: A new look for Kansas State

ADDRESSING NEBRASKA JOB

After Nebraska made the decision to fire Scott Frost, Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman was unsurprisingly a name that emerged as a popular candidate for the Cornhuskers’ vacancy from national reporters from The Athletic, On3, ESPN, CBS and others.

When asked about being associated with the opening, Klieman first shared his condolences for Frost, who he considers a friend and noted that he hated to see that for him and the others affected by Nebraska’s decision.

At the same time, the K-State boss expressed his love for Kansas State, the school and the community and how much he enjoyed being the coach. Not only that, he said it came down to one thing. Gene Taylor. That is the athletic director for the Wildcats.

“Gene is my guy.”

HEALTH UPDATE

K-State has been without linebackers Shawn Robinson and Will Honas for the first two games of the season. While neither are expected on the field when K-State hosts Tulane, they are moving closer and improving. There is no timetable as of now, however.

MORE LOVE FOR MOTT AND MOORE

One of the breakout players for the Wildcats through two games has been defensive end Brendan Mott. The former walk-on has two tackles for loss this season and made a really impressive play tracking down speedy Missouri receiver Luther Burden from behind in last week’s contest.

Klieman saw his emergence as possible in the Spring when he was one of only three defensive linemen healthy enough to practice, along with Cody Stufflebean and Titus Tuiasosopo. He has added more strength and become more explosive, and that has earned him a scholarship for his hard work.

Linebacker Austin Moore is nicknamed “The Machine” by his teammates, though the tag was created by his first defensive coordinator, Scottie Hazelton. He has become a critical player for Kansas State on the defensive side, and Klieman noted how well he has been playing as well.

His head coach shared that he wished he had 15 Austin Moores on his team, and they feel like they are close to having 15 Austin Moores.

FIRST LOOK AT TULANE

Tulane will arrive in Manhattan on Saturday with a 2-0 record for the season. They’ve out-scored their opponents 94-10 on the year.

The Green Wave have an experienced quarterback in Michael Pratt who has started the last two seasons and has five touchdown passes in their first two games. Klieman had a lot of praise for Pratt as a quarterback and has a lot of respect for head coach Willie Fritz.

Offensively, Tulane runs a lot of run/pass option plays and plenty of receivers and tight ends who can win matchups. Nine different Green Wave players have at least two catches on the season. Defensively, they run multiple fronts and will bring a lot of pressure. They are averaging 5.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks per game.

UNIFORMS

For those who have not seen, the Wildcats will be sporting a new look on Saturday. Klieman credits head equipment manager Al Cerbe for the change and left him in charge of the unveiling and the operation. Since the release, they have received a massive amount of hype from national pundits.

These retro Kansas State helmets are 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/VXQIXZKN6x

— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) September 13, 2022