Kansas State University Athletics
K-State Coordinators Discuss Texas Tech Contest
Oct 30, 2025 | Football
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State offensive coordinator Matt Wells and defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman met with members of the media on Thursday at the Vanier Family Football Complex to preview Saturday's home game against Texas Tech. Links to video and audio of both press conferences are above, and a transcript of select quotes are below.
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MATT WELLS, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On the Texas Tech defensive line…
"They're pretty good. Those guys, they got girth inside. They're strong, wide two-gap bodies, and those guys off the edge can really disrupt a passing game. They're long, they're athletic. Those four are the best we've seen – not even close. I think the three behind them make them go. Those three guys, I have a ton of respect for those guys – for Ben (Roberts), Jacob (Rodriguez) and John (Curry), No. 6, the Sam (linebacker) – those guys can play football, man. They're smart, they're athletic. You see them make all the checks. They turn around to the secondary, they turn to the d-line. This D coordinator and this defensive staff have done a really good job. The scheme is very, very good. They're very, very sound. I'm sure they are, but they're hardly ever out of position. Then, they freakin' run to the football. You see the technique. I could go on and on. You see him punching out the ball, that's coached. That's coached. They're strained. It's really good coaching, and they do a really good job. This will be the best defense we've seen."
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On looking for answers against a stout defense…
"Just like every week, you're looking for the right answer. Is it a scheme? Is it an angle? Is it a match up? Personnel? All of those things. But, no different than any other week. I just think you're a lot more conscious of some guys that can disrupt your game real quick because they got them."
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On taking deep-ball shots to Jayce Brown…
"That's what he does well. He does it really well. He can get out and run, and he makes good decisions. He's becoming more and more of a competitive-catch guy. I don't know if I could have said that last year, which I think helps us. I think his quarterback is throwing the ball better down the field than he was last year. I don't think, I know that. Avery (Johnson) has improved. That was a big thing in the offseason, and it's come to fruition this year. So, not just with Jayce, but with other guys. I think the down the field passing game has been good. I don't think you can go to the well too much more. It's no different than getting the ball to (Garrett) Oakley or JB (Jerand Bradley) or (Jaron) Tibbs or any of those guys."
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On the deep pass touchdown to Jayce Brown in the third quarter at Kansas…
"It was just a little bit more of kind of having a hunch in P and 10 and what the guy was giving us. He was changing up the Rolodex a little bit. I was not really taking a gamble, but I was taking a guess that we may get that coverage."
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On if there are emotions of playing against Texas Tech…
"Yeah, there is, but that's four years ago. That was a chapter in our live, which was good unless you live by the scoreboard. I'm not going to try to live by the scoreboard or the final result or the final outcome. Was it hard? Yeah. Were there good times? Yeah, there really was. There is great people there. I know the state of the program, and those that know, know. I know the state of the program when we walked in there, where it was and where it wasn't. I also know when we walked out where it was. We're proud of that, from recruiting to the development to the discipline and the things that I think was instilled there. 2019 was a tough year, and then right through COVID. But, I'm proud of that time. It was great for my family. I have a daughter that graduated from there. Both girls graduated from high school (in Lubbock). It was awesome for Wyatt to play travel ball and everything. So, there's emotions because you lived there, you've got friends there. I'm still in stinkin' group texts with neighborhood guys and golfing buddies and those kinds of guys. To say that there's not a human element, no, you're not living man. But, I'm not defined by that either."
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JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On the performance of linebacker Desmond Purnell over the last two games…
"It's a problem that I've seen with guys, and it generally happens in the beginning of the year. I think sometimes guys think, 'I'm a senior,' or 'I'm an above-average player,' so they put all this pressure on themselves to perform and do things when really they just need to do their jobs and do what is slated for them to do. It doesn't mean that if there's 68 plays in a game it doesn't mean you make all 68, but you better make the nine that really matter to you. That's what he's been doing. There's been times in his career – because he is a really good player, and he should feel like he can do a lot of things – but there's been times in his career where he puts maybe a little bit too much on himself and tries to do things that he doesn't need to try to do. What he's been effective at lately, he's just been calm and doing his job and communicating on his side and helping the people around him. Yeah, I agree with you, he's been phenomenal. He's been outstanding."
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On the defensive growth through the season…
"I think it's getting used to the new scheme. I do. Maybe some of the terminology and that stuff is the same, but the angles are different, the motion adjustments are different. There are things that just cause a little bit of hesitation with guys. They're not major things, not things that if you sat them down in a room like this and talked about that they wouldn't understand, but it's happening fast. It's a different matter altogether. So, I think that kind of caught us a little bit early, in the Arizona game for sure. I think that guys are starting to understand maybe what we're doing a little bit better."
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On how much he thinks turnovers are due to luck…
"I used to think that way when we weren't getting them. One message that I have for those guys all the time is we have to create turnovers. That's exactly right – you're not going to get fumbles if you're not punching at the ball. Maybe once in a while when it's raining and the ball slips out of a guy's hand and you get lucky. If you're not punching at the football, you're not going to get strips. If you're not catching the football, you're not going to get picks. So, that's part of it. The other part of it is, going back kind of to the previous (question) with understanding of the scheme, I think there was probably some times earlier in the year where we maybe did too much with our defensive line, and we didn't cut those guys loose as much as we needed to with talented guys in there. We were mushing them up too much, so to speak. I think just the pressure on quarterbacks is a big deal. You look at that last interception that we had in the game against Kansas, you could look at that in two different ways. What happened was they threw a little check down over the middle, the ball came out kind of hot, the receiver got it in his fingertips just barely, and it fell into Gunner Maldonado's (hands), and Gunner made a heck of a catch to make it. But, if you break it down, we had a lot of pressure in that kid's face, which made the ball come out a little bit hotter. Asa Newsom made a great break on the wide out, so he kind of made some contact with him when he was going up to catch it, which affected it. There was a lot of cause and effect in that play, more than just luck. So, I think that there's something to the to the aggressive nature of what we're doing that helps."
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On if playing a ranked team after a rivalry game gets the players' attention better…
"Coach Kleiman hit it square in the face on Monday when we had a team meeting. He said, 'Guys, we played Kansas last year, and that was emotional. It's always going to be playing those guys. We went the week following to Houston and probably played our worst game that we played around here, maybe ever.' He's right. It's kind of got to do with the maturity of the guys, too. I think we have a mature group of guys that are pretty focused on what they're doing day to day. So, we've seen no drop off in the prep this week."
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On Texas Tech's offensive line …
"They've got some experience, albeit maybe not at that school, but they're good at what they do. They're not just trying to get a whole bunch of movement all the time. They do a really good job of keeping people out of gaps. I think they do a good job of staying on people. I think they're good in the pass pro. So, with the ball getting out of his hands as quick as it does, sometimes they don't get as much heat on him as some other teams might have. So, I think they put together the right guys."
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MATT WELLS, OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On the Texas Tech defensive line…
"They're pretty good. Those guys, they got girth inside. They're strong, wide two-gap bodies, and those guys off the edge can really disrupt a passing game. They're long, they're athletic. Those four are the best we've seen – not even close. I think the three behind them make them go. Those three guys, I have a ton of respect for those guys – for Ben (Roberts), Jacob (Rodriguez) and John (Curry), No. 6, the Sam (linebacker) – those guys can play football, man. They're smart, they're athletic. You see them make all the checks. They turn around to the secondary, they turn to the d-line. This D coordinator and this defensive staff have done a really good job. The scheme is very, very good. They're very, very sound. I'm sure they are, but they're hardly ever out of position. Then, they freakin' run to the football. You see the technique. I could go on and on. You see him punching out the ball, that's coached. That's coached. They're strained. It's really good coaching, and they do a really good job. This will be the best defense we've seen."
Â
On looking for answers against a stout defense…
"Just like every week, you're looking for the right answer. Is it a scheme? Is it an angle? Is it a match up? Personnel? All of those things. But, no different than any other week. I just think you're a lot more conscious of some guys that can disrupt your game real quick because they got them."
Â
On taking deep-ball shots to Jayce Brown…
"That's what he does well. He does it really well. He can get out and run, and he makes good decisions. He's becoming more and more of a competitive-catch guy. I don't know if I could have said that last year, which I think helps us. I think his quarterback is throwing the ball better down the field than he was last year. I don't think, I know that. Avery (Johnson) has improved. That was a big thing in the offseason, and it's come to fruition this year. So, not just with Jayce, but with other guys. I think the down the field passing game has been good. I don't think you can go to the well too much more. It's no different than getting the ball to (Garrett) Oakley or JB (Jerand Bradley) or (Jaron) Tibbs or any of those guys."
Â
On the deep pass touchdown to Jayce Brown in the third quarter at Kansas…
"It was just a little bit more of kind of having a hunch in P and 10 and what the guy was giving us. He was changing up the Rolodex a little bit. I was not really taking a gamble, but I was taking a guess that we may get that coverage."
Â
On if there are emotions of playing against Texas Tech…
"Yeah, there is, but that's four years ago. That was a chapter in our live, which was good unless you live by the scoreboard. I'm not going to try to live by the scoreboard or the final result or the final outcome. Was it hard? Yeah. Were there good times? Yeah, there really was. There is great people there. I know the state of the program, and those that know, know. I know the state of the program when we walked in there, where it was and where it wasn't. I also know when we walked out where it was. We're proud of that, from recruiting to the development to the discipline and the things that I think was instilled there. 2019 was a tough year, and then right through COVID. But, I'm proud of that time. It was great for my family. I have a daughter that graduated from there. Both girls graduated from high school (in Lubbock). It was awesome for Wyatt to play travel ball and everything. So, there's emotions because you lived there, you've got friends there. I'm still in stinkin' group texts with neighborhood guys and golfing buddies and those kinds of guys. To say that there's not a human element, no, you're not living man. But, I'm not defined by that either."
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JOE KLANDERMAN, DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
On the performance of linebacker Desmond Purnell over the last two games…
"It's a problem that I've seen with guys, and it generally happens in the beginning of the year. I think sometimes guys think, 'I'm a senior,' or 'I'm an above-average player,' so they put all this pressure on themselves to perform and do things when really they just need to do their jobs and do what is slated for them to do. It doesn't mean that if there's 68 plays in a game it doesn't mean you make all 68, but you better make the nine that really matter to you. That's what he's been doing. There's been times in his career – because he is a really good player, and he should feel like he can do a lot of things – but there's been times in his career where he puts maybe a little bit too much on himself and tries to do things that he doesn't need to try to do. What he's been effective at lately, he's just been calm and doing his job and communicating on his side and helping the people around him. Yeah, I agree with you, he's been phenomenal. He's been outstanding."
Â
On the defensive growth through the season…
"I think it's getting used to the new scheme. I do. Maybe some of the terminology and that stuff is the same, but the angles are different, the motion adjustments are different. There are things that just cause a little bit of hesitation with guys. They're not major things, not things that if you sat them down in a room like this and talked about that they wouldn't understand, but it's happening fast. It's a different matter altogether. So, I think that kind of caught us a little bit early, in the Arizona game for sure. I think that guys are starting to understand maybe what we're doing a little bit better."
Â
On how much he thinks turnovers are due to luck…
"I used to think that way when we weren't getting them. One message that I have for those guys all the time is we have to create turnovers. That's exactly right – you're not going to get fumbles if you're not punching at the ball. Maybe once in a while when it's raining and the ball slips out of a guy's hand and you get lucky. If you're not punching at the football, you're not going to get strips. If you're not catching the football, you're not going to get picks. So, that's part of it. The other part of it is, going back kind of to the previous (question) with understanding of the scheme, I think there was probably some times earlier in the year where we maybe did too much with our defensive line, and we didn't cut those guys loose as much as we needed to with talented guys in there. We were mushing them up too much, so to speak. I think just the pressure on quarterbacks is a big deal. You look at that last interception that we had in the game against Kansas, you could look at that in two different ways. What happened was they threw a little check down over the middle, the ball came out kind of hot, the receiver got it in his fingertips just barely, and it fell into Gunner Maldonado's (hands), and Gunner made a heck of a catch to make it. But, if you break it down, we had a lot of pressure in that kid's face, which made the ball come out a little bit hotter. Asa Newsom made a great break on the wide out, so he kind of made some contact with him when he was going up to catch it, which affected it. There was a lot of cause and effect in that play, more than just luck. So, I think that there's something to the to the aggressive nature of what we're doing that helps."
Â
On if playing a ranked team after a rivalry game gets the players' attention better…
"Coach Kleiman hit it square in the face on Monday when we had a team meeting. He said, 'Guys, we played Kansas last year, and that was emotional. It's always going to be playing those guys. We went the week following to Houston and probably played our worst game that we played around here, maybe ever.' He's right. It's kind of got to do with the maturity of the guys, too. I think we have a mature group of guys that are pretty focused on what they're doing day to day. So, we've seen no drop off in the prep this week."
Â
On Texas Tech's offensive line …
"They've got some experience, albeit maybe not at that school, but they're good at what they do. They're not just trying to get a whole bunch of movement all the time. They do a really good job of keeping people out of gaps. I think they do a good job of staying on people. I think they're good in the pass pro. So, with the ball getting out of his hands as quick as it does, sometimes they don't get as much heat on him as some other teams might have. So, I think they put together the right guys."
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Football, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Football, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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