Chris Klieman spoke with Austin Siegel of K-State Sports Extra on August 26 about a summer balancing COVID-19 with college football and looking ahead to the 2020 season.
The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
I'm sure you're getting more questions than ever that have nothing to do with football. When you planned out your days this summer, how did you build time into your schedule to focus on practice and preparation while also staying well-versed on COVID-19 precautions?
CK: There hasn't been one day this offseason where I'm not thinking about COVID. Sometimes, I'll get a couple of hours in the morning where I'm focused on film with the offense or defense. But somewhere along the line, something about COVID has come up.
A trainer calls me because we have too many kids in a meeting room, how can we adjust? Maybe it's something with locker rooms, meals, it's everything. And it's going to continue to be that way the entire season, so we as coaches have gotten a little bit more used to it.
I know you're a big believer in stacking good days on good days and that seems especially prescient in a season like this. How do you think the guys have done taking things one day at a time in fall camp?
CK: I think they've done a nice job. It was hard when we got to August 7, we had a few practices and then the Big Ten and Pac-12 ended their season, so they were thinking "What's going to happen to us?" When we finally locked in that we were going to play football and that there was a September 12 start date, they saw that "OK, this is really going to happen."
The fact that we came in on August 7 and we're no longer playing on September 5, I think it's gotten long for them, but they also know that we missed spring ball, we missed the entire summer and we need the work. I still think it's the best time those kids have, when they're out there at practice and not worrying about anything else.
This is a team where JUCO guys and former walk-ons could play a big role. In a season where that Big 12 atmosphere might not be there every Saturday, do you feel confident relying on guys who are used to putting in the work no matter what the environment is on game day?
CK: Without question - We're still built as a developmental program and kids that come into our program, walk-ons and especially kids from Kansas that have an opportunity to play for the state school and have an impact. So, we talk all the time that if we're going to have the game on the line, let's have kids that would give anything for the program out there on the field.
On a roster where quite a few players were recruited by Coach Snyder, are there any common character traits among those guys that have influenced how you go out and recruit?
CK: I think it's a two-fold answer on that. The day I took the job, they were now our players as a staff. It didn't matter who recruited them, they became a part of our family. As coaches, we've challenged those kids, we've loved those kids and I think they would tell you that.
We as a staff have certain things that we're looking for. I don't know what was looked for previously, I just know what we as a staff earmark at each position. I'm excited because I thought we had a really good 2020 class that's just come in here and we're off to a good start for next year's class. Every year, you've just got to find the guys that fit your culture, not only from a football standpoint, but with character and integrity. Those are the two main things that are going to help us win.
I want to talk a little about your relationship with some of the other head coaches here at K-State. I know you're still technically the new guy, but have you been able to discuss any of the challenge you're facing this year with K-State head coaches across all sports?
CK: Everybody's focused on how we can keep the guys and gals safe. Everything from "Are you able to have everybody at a meal?" to "Are you able to have everybody in your locker room?" All of us are learning more about contact tracing. If we've asked each other once, we've asked each other a thousand times. We all know what it is now, but talking to each other about how long those student-athletes are out when those 14-day guideline can be difficult for kids.
Sometimes it's "Hey, I didn't do anything wrong, I feel fine," but the guidelines say you're out for 14 days. We tell the student-athletes, "This is for your safety and we have to follow the guidelines that everybody puts forward." You need to keep your team's bubble pretty small.
I read a recent Top 25 college football ranking in The Athletic that included Kansas State and I would like to share one part with you:
Chris Klieman just strikes me as a coach who could handle something as daunting as coaching during a pandemic with the steely calm of a fisherman on a Sunday morning.
I know you're a golfer, I don't know if you're a fisherman, but how do you project that confidence and that sense of calm in a season like this where so many things are changing?
CK: I hope that when things aren't going well, they don't see me hit the panic button. Whether it's the offense not doing well, the defense not doing well, the game not going well, a practice not going well, I have to hold this team accountable. So, I hope they see somebody who's not going to panic and who's going to be patient. I think that's why we were successful last year after we lost a couple games in a row. We really believed that we were getting better.
I think our staff is the same way. This is still big picture. We're trying to develop a culture that will be similar to what Coach Snyder had, it's just different because it's a new group of coaches and players. Hopefully, we can sustain that for a long period of time.
This feels like a season where no matter happens on the field, people are going to talk about it for a long time. Whether it's all the Zoom calls or Josh Youngblood staying at your house, what are you going to remember about this group and in this moment for K-State football?
CK: If we get the opportunity to play this season, I hope that after all the anxiety, all the frustrating times, all the Zoom calls, all the time apart, all the lack of team meetings and all the things that weren't what our kids were used to, what will be normal is teeing it up and playing on September 12.
The fact that they get to do what they love to do, and that's compete on a Saturday, that will be the most rewarding thing, to say "We're playing." And this isn't meant to be negative, but other people aren't playing. I don't know what the situation is for anybody else, but the fact that our kids could play, while staying healthy and safe, that will be really cool.
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