Transcribed by Bill Seals
On the player suspensions have any effect on the season opening game:
“It really has zero impact because all of those situations have been handled long ago. Back in January, Kamilo (Tongamo) knew he wouldn’t play the first game. Some young guys are going through it and a couple weeks ago that situation unfolded. The reality for me is they’re teaching moments, we have standards, we set the standard and we go through it. I’m not a big guy that has to prove who I am or what we’re about by going through it. We’re going to hold young people accountable in our program and I’m a big believer in it.”
On his focus of winning in the margins being a counter play to other Big 12 systems have worked:
“Now all of a sudden, in this conference everybody has good running backs coming back. Our game is cyclical and the sport is cyclical. The Big 12 in the past has been one where scoring a lot of points has been the answer to success. You look back 20 years ago when Nebraska and Oklahoma are running the wishbone and running the football. You have to do week in and week out what gives you the chance to be successful. That’s always changing. For us at Iowa State, culturally it’s always going to be our niche to be successful because we’re going to do the little things right. We’re going to have to develop the student-athletes and do a great job of getting the most out of our juniors and seniors. When we game plan, we need to make sure all those little details are critical to our success. We get tested on that starting on Saturday night.”
On how much different of a player he expects Kyle Kempt to be in year two:
“Until those lights come on and we play, you don’t know. But from what I’ve seen of him last season to the spring and the fall, you’re seeing that confidence. It’s like offensive line, defensive line and so on…until those lights come on and we do play I don’t know. Until you play the game under the lights and are out there under the lights in critical moments, having successes and having failures, it’s really hard to reach your full potential.
“Kyle has been able to do all those things and take his craft and look at it against highly competitive opponents. What do I have to do better? How can we be better? Those are things have allowed him to blossom. He has changed his body, which was great. I think he knew he would get beat up a little bit and would need to withstand that. How do I get my body right? Mentally, he went into the offseason as the leader. The day that we announced him being back on our football team, he stepped into these walls and probably had as much or more respect than anybody who walks through these halls on a daily basis by every member of this football program.
“He uses that to his advantage, getting guys in when nobody else is around and throwing, catching and watching video. He has complete ownership. The quarterback is almost like the COO of the program and you’ve got to handle it that way. It’s equally as important as the head coach in a lot of ways. Kyle has owned that every step of the way. I look forward to watching what that product looks like.”
On the three linebackers vying for starting role and how much it helps to have veterans around them:
“Bobby (McMillen) needs to be talked about too. You’re talking about a young man that came off some injuries at the end of last season. He has been a critical special teams player for us and probably our best special teams player the past two years. He deserves the right to be named in this competition.
“He, (Orien Vance) and Mike Rose having that support system around them has been big. Having a three-year starter in Willie Harvey to your left side and Marcel on your right side who is now going to be a two-year starter, then Ray on that defensive front in front of you…you can just go play your game and have guys that can help you.”
On D’Andre Payne returning to a starting role in secondary:
“D’Andre Payne, a little bit like Kyle, when we come here initially two years ago, they are some of the first two guys to come in with us. They have enhanced the culture of our football program in every way, in terms of how he prepares, detail and player ownership. He settled in last year at corner and you saw toward the end of the year him play some good, smart football for us. He is back to his natural position at corner. With he and Brian (Peavy) out there, you’re really fortunate to have two guys that have played a lot of football.”
On the battle currently going on at placekicker:
“This is maybe one of the most important battles we continue to have out there, just because I know how critical that role is for our football program. I am proud of what those guys have done. Instead of maybe their inadequacies hurting us from not making a decision on that, it’s really that all those guys have really had good camps. When I look at them and see the success they’ve had, that’s more so the challenge for us right now.
“I want to see these guys take the pressure of game week and how they take that and how does that feel. Connor Assalley is a young man that walked on to our program two years ago and we were really impressed with him then. He has only grown and had a consistent camp.
“Brayden Narveson has elite talent. He got dinged up this summer a little bit when he went home early in May. He came back and worked through that. It’s delayed his progress, but he’s completely healthy now and has had a good camp.
“Chris (Francis) has got a powerful leg. You know he’s your kickoff guy that you can count on from that end. We’ll make a decision as this season goes. The reality of it is all three of those guys have done a really good job.”
On two young pass catchers making an impact this season:
“Two guys at the receiver position that have had really strong fall camps, on top of the guys I’ve already talked about, are Josh Johnson and Jalen Martin. Both of those guys took advantage of the spring, end of spring and summer months going into this season. They both really want to play and are competitive individuals. They listened to what I thought of them this spring and the areas they need to get better and attacked it this summer. Josh has put so much work ethic into it. Matt Eaton was a huge asset to Josh and took him under his wing. You saw the consistency that both of those guys played with in fall camp. Jalen, I think Hakeem Butler did the same thing with him. They have a chance to help us this fall.”
On if the plan is still for him to be calling offensive plays on Saturday:
“I’ve always called plays on Saturday, so that’s not changing very much to what’s gone on. Between myself and certainly Bryan Gasser and Joe Gordon, those guys probably more so in the direct line of calling plays and guiding the game plan along the right way. Alex (Golesh) and Jeff (Myers) have been with us and know what their communication lines are throughout series and plays. Kyle (Kempt) also probably gets half of them.”
On the importance of an Iowa State offense having a 1,000-yard rusher:
“Numbers are what they are. You’ve got to be able to run the football and have the ability to have a running game to reach your full potential. College football is still about running the football, playing great defense and being good on special teams. As flashy as all these offenses can be at times, the best teams in the country that have chances to win championships all have the ability to do that. Whether you’re defining that by 1,000-yard rusher or by consistency in the run game, those things are defined differently. It’s important to any program.”
On the player suspensions have any effect on the season opening game:
“It really has zero impact because all of those situations have been handled long ago. Back in January, Kamilo (Tongamo) knew he wouldn’t play the first game. Some young guys are going through it and a couple weeks ago that situation unfolded. The reality for me is they’re teaching moments, we have standards, we set the standard and we go through it. I’m not a big guy that has to prove who I am or what we’re about by going through it. We’re going to hold young people accountable in our program and I’m a big believer in it.”
On his focus of winning in the margins being a counter play to other Big 12 systems have worked:
“Now all of a sudden, in this conference everybody has good running backs coming back. Our game is cyclical and the sport is cyclical. The Big 12 in the past has been one where scoring a lot of points has been the answer to success. You look back 20 years ago when Nebraska and Oklahoma are running the wishbone and running the football. You have to do week in and week out what gives you the chance to be successful. That’s always changing. For us at Iowa State, culturally it’s always going to be our niche to be successful because we’re going to do the little things right. We’re going to have to develop the student-athletes and do a great job of getting the most out of our juniors and seniors. When we game plan, we need to make sure all those little details are critical to our success. We get tested on that starting on Saturday night.”
On how much different of a player he expects Kyle Kempt to be in year two:
“Until those lights come on and we play, you don’t know. But from what I’ve seen of him last season to the spring and the fall, you’re seeing that confidence. It’s like offensive line, defensive line and so on…until those lights come on and we do play I don’t know. Until you play the game under the lights and are out there under the lights in critical moments, having successes and having failures, it’s really hard to reach your full potential.
“Kyle has been able to do all those things and take his craft and look at it against highly competitive opponents. What do I have to do better? How can we be better? Those are things have allowed him to blossom. He has changed his body, which was great. I think he knew he would get beat up a little bit and would need to withstand that. How do I get my body right? Mentally, he went into the offseason as the leader. The day that we announced him being back on our football team, he stepped into these walls and probably had as much or more respect than anybody who walks through these halls on a daily basis by every member of this football program.
“He uses that to his advantage, getting guys in when nobody else is around and throwing, catching and watching video. He has complete ownership. The quarterback is almost like the COO of the program and you’ve got to handle it that way. It’s equally as important as the head coach in a lot of ways. Kyle has owned that every step of the way. I look forward to watching what that product looks like.”
On the three linebackers vying for starting role and how much it helps to have veterans around them:
“Bobby (McMillen) needs to be talked about too. You’re talking about a young man that came off some injuries at the end of last season. He has been a critical special teams player for us and probably our best special teams player the past two years. He deserves the right to be named in this competition.
“He, (Orien Vance) and Mike Rose having that support system around them has been big. Having a three-year starter in Willie Harvey to your left side and Marcel on your right side who is now going to be a two-year starter, then Ray on that defensive front in front of you…you can just go play your game and have guys that can help you.”
On D’Andre Payne returning to a starting role in secondary:
“D’Andre Payne, a little bit like Kyle, when we come here initially two years ago, they are some of the first two guys to come in with us. They have enhanced the culture of our football program in every way, in terms of how he prepares, detail and player ownership. He settled in last year at corner and you saw toward the end of the year him play some good, smart football for us. He is back to his natural position at corner. With he and Brian (Peavy) out there, you’re really fortunate to have two guys that have played a lot of football.”
On the battle currently going on at placekicker:
“This is maybe one of the most important battles we continue to have out there, just because I know how critical that role is for our football program. I am proud of what those guys have done. Instead of maybe their inadequacies hurting us from not making a decision on that, it’s really that all those guys have really had good camps. When I look at them and see the success they’ve had, that’s more so the challenge for us right now.
“I want to see these guys take the pressure of game week and how they take that and how does that feel. Connor Assalley is a young man that walked on to our program two years ago and we were really impressed with him then. He has only grown and had a consistent camp.
“Brayden Narveson has elite talent. He got dinged up this summer a little bit when he went home early in May. He came back and worked through that. It’s delayed his progress, but he’s completely healthy now and has had a good camp.
“Chris (Francis) has got a powerful leg. You know he’s your kickoff guy that you can count on from that end. We’ll make a decision as this season goes. The reality of it is all three of those guys have done a really good job.”
On two young pass catchers making an impact this season:
“Two guys at the receiver position that have had really strong fall camps, on top of the guys I’ve already talked about, are Josh Johnson and Jalen Martin. Both of those guys took advantage of the spring, end of spring and summer months going into this season. They both really want to play and are competitive individuals. They listened to what I thought of them this spring and the areas they need to get better and attacked it this summer. Josh has put so much work ethic into it. Matt Eaton was a huge asset to Josh and took him under his wing. You saw the consistency that both of those guys played with in fall camp. Jalen, I think Hakeem Butler did the same thing with him. They have a chance to help us this fall.”
On if the plan is still for him to be calling offensive plays on Saturday:
“I’ve always called plays on Saturday, so that’s not changing very much to what’s gone on. Between myself and certainly Bryan Gasser and Joe Gordon, those guys probably more so in the direct line of calling plays and guiding the game plan along the right way. Alex (Golesh) and Jeff (Myers) have been with us and know what their communication lines are throughout series and plays. Kyle (Kempt) also probably gets half of them.”
On the importance of an Iowa State offense having a 1,000-yard rusher:
“Numbers are what they are. You’ve got to be able to run the football and have the ability to have a running game to reach your full potential. College football is still about running the football, playing great defense and being good on special teams. As flashy as all these offenses can be at times, the best teams in the country that have chances to win championships all have the ability to do that. Whether you’re defining that by 1,000-yard rusher or by consistency in the run game, those things are defined differently. It’s important to any program.”
