Oct. 23, 2001

Quoting Head Coach Bill Snyder

On Joe Rheem:
"Well I knew that we were going to give him every opportunity to get on the field if his week of practice was appropriate and he gave us reason to believe he could do what we needed to have done."

On playing KU, a rival school:
"I would like to think, no matter who you were going to line up, that there would be a tremendous amount of motivation to become better, to have success. I think that's why we play the game, I think that's why youngsters play the game, and I think under any circumstances that they would be motivated to do so. I would hope that it would be that way. Does that make it true or not? Not necessarily, I think what you say, John, makes sense that if there is a need for additional motivation beyond what they have, maybe this traditional rival game could provide that."

On Joe Hall:
"He has worked hard and he has improved his work habits, I mean that was really what kept him off the field as much as anything. What I did appreciate about Joe, and I said it to him prior to the ball game, was that he was motivated for that ballgame. He was motivated to play, and I thought he was as much of a team guy as I've seen him before. He was excited, and he shared that with his teammates.

"Joe made an offer at one point in time which I appreciated, I didn't accept it, but I appreciated it. When we were running short of offensive lineman he said, 'let me go, I'll play. I'll play an offensive lineman.' He wouldn't know how to line up as a left guard or anything else, but he made the offer, and I appreciated that. I've had issues with Joe and he's always known that, and I've always shared that with him. He did those things in practice and on the game field that made me feel positive about him in that respect."

"I put him on the field because he earned the right to be there. I've never questioned Joe's talent."

On getting the ball to Aaron Lockett:
"I think it doesn't relate to Aaron, it relates to we have to be able to pass protect better, we have to be able to be a little more accurate in our throwing, and our receiver selection probably has to become a little bit more defined. Does that mean that we couldn't do some things to get Aaron the ball a little bit more? Yes we can, but those other things will have to precede that as much as anything. There are times when I can relate back to the last ball game, and there were opportunities to get the ball to Aaron, and we didn't get to him in the receiver selection process. We need our selection process to become a little bit better, and that comes with the quarterback, and that comes with experience."

On the quarterback situation:
"We've normally been fortunate to have youngsters with a great deal of experience. Everybody has to start at some point in time, so somebody had to get on the field for the first time. Jonathan Beasley had to get on the field for the first time, Michael Bishop, Matt Miller, Chad May, whoever it happens to be, everybody had their first time. I wouldn't use it as a crutch and say if we had an experienced quarterback that we would be better, there are just a lot of things that need to take place. They need to develop as fast as they possibly can. But, other aspects of the game, the offense has to hold up in order to give them a chance to perform at their best level as well. They're making the effort to get better, and we can only get so much experience."

"When we practice today, Marc will be our No. 1 quarterback. There's a possibility, but I'm not sure that he (Ell Roberson) will practice. In all likelihood, I would say he probably would not this afternoon, or at least not go through everything."

On the offensive play selection according to quarterback:
"I don't think it's defined by what is Marc's style opposed to what is Ell's style. In other words, we would attempt to do the same things regardless of which one happens to be in the ball game."

How the success of Kansas and Kansas State programs affect in-state recruiting:
"I'm sure it has made a difference, but recruiting is such an individualized thing. I think it certainly impacts some youngsters. I think other youngsters might be impacted the other way. I can relate to that when we first came here. There were youngsters that came to our program when they would have had opportunities to go to other places that had been more successful, but chose to come here, primarily because they thought they could play a little bit quicker. I think it works both ways, and as far as an impact is concerned, I recognize that it has worked both ways."

On Kansas' offense:
"Offensively, their use of the quarterback, Mario Kinsey, has made them a dangerous offense. He can pull the ball down and scramble with it, he can run some option and he can run some of the quarterback run game. He can make some of the sprint-out passes and action passes, and he can create some problems because of his mobility. I think that they've really done some nice things scheme-wise with Duncan. I was really impressed two or three weeks ago when I watched him against Texas Tech, and I think that was the week that he was the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week. I think they have some skill in those positions, and I think they have some very, very confident wide receivers. From that stand point, I think that they could spread the field on you, and make it difficult to defend the passing game with four wide outs, and at the same time, it puts even more pressure on you knowing what Kinsey can do."

On Kansas' defense:
"Defensively, they've been a little different against each team that they have lined up and played against. I think they play awfully hard, and a defense has to be able to do that to succeed, and I recognize that. We've played against Dyer now for I don't know how many years, but he is certainly a very, very fine player, and he solidifies their front quite well. A lot has been said about their corners and you see them jump up and press you man to man and they do a very nice job of it. They have a couple of talented guys on the edge who do a nice job covering and that allows them to be a little bit more definitive against the run."

Kansas State Players
Ben Leber
Senior Linebacker
On being able to play better against Texas A&M:
"Obviously we could have; we did give up some points. You look at yardage and statistics and I think we played very well. I think we could have played better, but I'll take 108 or 109 yards offensively any game."

On what he thinks of the term "lynch mob":
"I think it's the attitude of how our defense plays. The first thing that pops into my head is, it's sad to say, but it has not been the defense of the past. I don't think that we have been experiencing the "lynch mob" attitude lately. However, Saturday that was one of points of emphasis, was to do more of that style of attitude and play. I think that we did come close to that, and hopefully we can come closer to that this next Saturday."

Jon McGraw
Senior Free Safety
On not being able to play last game:
"Yes, that was incredibly frustrating, especially with how well the defense played. It's something that you want to be a part of every game, you don't want to miss experiences like that. It was the best thing for me and the team for me to sit out that game."

On seeing the return of the "lynch mob" during the game:
"That was one of our big focuses from last week in practice for going into the game, that we really need to get that mentality and attitude back. By the way we tackle and cover and in the other areas to be able to bring back that mentality."

On playing KU Saturday:
"We're very excited going into this ballgame. It's a great history of rivalry between these two teams, and we are excited about that going to play a very much improved KU football team from last year."

On what KU's offense has to offer:
"They have a number of weapons, just like most teams in the Big 12 do. Positions such as the receiver position, running back and quarterback. The quarterback has shown that he is a very good athlete. He has the ability to pull the ball down and run with it, which you know, has given us problems this season. Plus they spread the ball out, like a number of Big 12 teams do. That will be a challenge for us."

DeMarcus Faggins
Senior Defensive Back
On his performance Saturday:
"I am very disappointed in how I performed Saturday. It's more mental than physical. I guess I just wasn't prepared for the game."

On practice the week before the Texas A&M game:
"It wasn't too much different. I was just kind of relaxed in practice, thinking that this was going to be easy for me since I had been doing it for a while. Now I know I can't do that again. I have to go out there and play like I want to perform in the game."

DeRon Tyler
Senior Defensive Back
On not starting this year:
"I wouldn't say it's really disappointing. I guess he (Faggins) worked harder than I did over the summer and they are going to play the best player. We play a lot of defensive backs all the time, so I am still contributing."

Aaron Lockett
Senior Wide Receiver
On team's state of mind:
"We're just trying to put ourselves in a position where we can definitely get a victory. Not only a victory at home, but definitely a victory in our conference. And right now, we're just looking for a victory."

On players losing their confidence from the streak:
"No not yet, I don't think that we're losing our confidence. It's just a lot of things not going our way right now, but we definitely have to take the opportunities we get in order to make the plays and get the points onto the board. We definitely have to take advantage of that because our chances are limited right now."

On the KU-K-State rivalry:
"We have always approached this game as an important game in the state of Kansas, but the fact that we have lost four games definitely makes it more interesting. Not only for the fans, but definitely for the two teams. I think that we are going to go out there Saturday with the aspect of trying to get our first Big 12 win."

Jon Doty
Freshman Offensive Lineman
On playing his first game against Texas A&M:
"The nerves were there a bit, but I had no time to think about it. Two guys went down before me so I went in there and did the best I could."

On his future as a lineman:
"I definitely have to gain weight to have an affect out on the field. I think that that the only thing that is holding me back is that I have to gain weight to be able to have an opportunity to show my abilities. That is my main goal right now, to put some weight on."

On what there is to learn communicating on the field:
"It's kind of hard because I am a young guy and some of the older guys are very vocal and the communication skills are there, so I have to take my leadership and start doing it right now when I am young. One thing that we have to do is to communicate to each other and let everyone know who has what man, and that's something I have to do."

Marc Dunn
Junior Quarterback
On the team's performance Saturday:
"The thing I liked most about that game was the actual emotion between the fans and the team in the fourth quarter. That is something you can't really identify on film. But if you want to come from a film standpoint, we started playing Kansas State football. Our defense played tremendous pretty much the whole day, and that is something that stuck out in my mind. Offensively, we started moving the ball. We started moving the ball like we can."

On the fourth quarter against A&M:
"I think it is something we can build on. Right now, we are looking for all the positive things we can get with the record we've got. If we can maintain that poise and that emotion, that execution offensively and that toughness, we are going to be a good team to reckon with.

Joe Rheem
Freshman Kicker
On his range:
"Right now, 50 yards is within my range. But outside of that, I would have to hit the ball pretty good.

On the kicking game affecting the whole kicking unit:
"Yeah, it affects all of us because we are all so close-knit. We're together every day. We all want each other to succeed and it's hard watching one of us not doing well."

On being the No. 1 kicker:
"I am going out there thinking I am the No. 1 guy. If I am in there for the full game, I won't be nervous any more."

Rock Cartwright
Senior Fullback
On the season from this point on:
"We decided that this is the start of a new season. In order for us to get to a bowl game, we have to get the next four out of five. We are going to try and get the next five to get things back on track and get us back to Kansas State football.

Josh Scobey
Senior Running back
On his role:
"My role is to be a leader. Go out and carry the ball for this team and make plays. My game is to go out and carry the ball 20 or 25 times. That is where I get my best yards is after 20 yards. That is all part of the game plan and that is what we have to go by. I have to go out and make plays with the carries I get."

Nick Warren
Senior Tight End
On the KU-K-State rivalry:
"This is a huge game for me. It's a game that I am always excited to play every year. I grew up six miles from Kansas, so the fact that we've played well against these guys the last four years is something I take pride in."