How Did Kansas State's Chris Klieman React To Players Left Off Preseason All-Big 12 Team?
With players as accomplished as senior linebacker Austin Moore and junior running back DJ Giddens coupled with the positive expectations, it was curious Kansas State didn’t have a single player on the preseason Big 12 All-Conference team.
Of course, it was noticed and a topic for conversation. K-State coach Chris Klieman was asked about it Tuesday at the Big 12 Media Days at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
As with most coaches, Klieman doesn’t pay attention to preseason polls and all-conference list.
“Everybody sees it, but it's not something that we talk about an awful lot,” Klieman said in a question-and-answer session that was televised on ESPNU. “I hope it shows people the overall depth and value of our roster and how important our role players are and how important our players are as far as if you're a successful team, individual honors at the end of the season are going to come.”
When a team is picked to finish second in a 16-team conference but doesn’t have a single player considered as one of the top players at his position, it definitely means the sum is greater than the parts.
Still, most players like to be recognized for their accomplishments. It’s human nature, especially competitive athletes playing at the highest level of college football.
“I'm sure that our players, if you asked them, they probably saw both polls, and I don't know if they're excited, disappointed, but I know they were aware that there was nobody from K-State on one of those teams, but you still have to perform, and we've got a lot of work to do before we get to the end of August,” Klieman said.
The most important all-conference teams come at the end of the season when the media and coaches have 12 games to judge players.
David Boyce is a contributing writer to K-State On SI. He can be reached at davidboyce95@gmail.com.
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DAVID BOYCE