Texas A & M offensive coordinator Collin Klein talked after his last game before taking over at Kansas State
Kansas State coach Collin Klein is done with his duties at Texas A & M after losing to the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff. Here's what he had to say after the game:
Q. You guys weren't able to run the ball consistently, at least I imagine as much as you'd like to. What do you think led to the struggles and being able to establish the run game?
COLLIN KLEIN: Credit Miami. I thought they did a really, really nice job of taking away a lot of easy opportunities, squeezing space, getting off blocks, making tackles. Because we were not able to get the wheels turning in some of those areas, we were in third and long way too much.
We knew that going in, they're too good of a defensive front to play the game in that field zone. Again, credit to them
Q. Seven sacks, just what were they presenting to you guys that was such a challenge from a pass rush standpoint?
COLLIN KLEIN: I think there's some things schematically, but for the most part, they create ways to get those guys in oneon-one situations. Again, it's -- we knew it was going to be a long day if we were going to play in that many third and long to go situations, right? Credit to them.
Q. Collin, as you and Marcel part ways this off-season, you took a big jump from last year to this year. What's his upside moving forward?
COLLIN KLEIN: Well, Marcel is dear to me. I couldn't be more proud of, first of all, the whole unit, but how he has grown into leading that unit. These two guys are two of the best competitors that I've ever been around. It was a joy and an honor coming to work with them. I told them after the first spring practice, our first spring scrimmage, that we were here two years ago. I told him that he's got a chance to be as good as anybody that has come through this program. I think the sky's the limit for him. I think his character and foundation is outstanding. It's extremely bittersweet.
Q. Collin and Marcel, you had a lot of good drives in the first half that you didn't finish. You had the false start before the fourth down try and the fumble on the broken play and the blocked field goal. Did you feel like you're trapped in a rut a little bit and the frustration kind of builds?
COLLIN KLEIN: Absolutely. It's kind of the story of this one. From a turnover standpoint and no points in the red zone, that's the way to get beat. It's hard when you're spinning your wheels because everybody's grinding at it and trying to get it done and then we weren't able to do that. So that was tough.
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of KStateRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com