K-State Wraps Up National Signing Day Ahead of Pop-Tarts Bowl

Cole Manbeck and Wildcat NIL ambassador Curry Sexton discuss the latest updates on Wildcat NIL. Plus the guys break down the Pop-Tarts Bowl against North Carolina State and react to national signing day for Kansas State football.
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This is casy Sports Network proudly presented by m prize Bank all right we are back on the three M bonus after a couple weeks off back with curry ston former Kansas State wide receiver partner of Wildcat nil here to talk K State football look ahead to the Bowl

Game against North Carolina State and the Pop-Tarts ball in Orlando played on December 28th here to talk a little bit Wildcat nil transfer portal recruiting updates Signing Day we’re recording this on Wednesday December 20th it was national Signing Day today kstate signs 15 member recruiting class they’re still

Hitting the transfer portal pretty hard as they try to fill a few holes after they had around 15 scholarship guys move on many of them Mutual decisions so we’ll talk all of that here on the three M bonus edition and uh also break down the bowl game a little bit but it is

Good to have Curry back um you know I was just joking with curry off air we probably blow up his phone texting him a million times and I we uh are frequently blowing him up texting about recruiting transfer portal all sorts of things so appreciate the heck out of Curry and and

Before we really dive into to Football Talk specifically want to talk about Wildcat nil because H you know Curry you’re too humble to admit this but I I know that you guys you Pearson Ryan and others are working your rear ends off at Wildcat nil and all the work that goes

Into what you are doing nonstop you have regular jobs and you’re doing that on the side and it’s such a huge piece for Kansas State Athletics and the importance of it especially right now this time of year you know you got player retention you got guys entering the portal all over the country

Transferring out and nil is such a huge retention tool when it comes to you know retaining your own players keeping your own roster together this coaches right now in these three four weeks have to re-recruit their own roster they have to recruit ass Signing Day class it is

Absolute chaos and nil is one of those tools that really helps alleviate some of those pressures and and helps take care of your own and so Curry I mean maybe you could just speak to that I’ll I’ll give you the floor and and let you just talk about the importance of nil

And and everything that’s going on nowadays with h the transfer portal and whatnot yeah of course and I think as you know I think from a from a Fan’s perspective I think it you know the perception over the last few weeks has been that nil has has impacted our

Roster and although I although uh that may not completely be the case do think yes it it it has and it and it will more going forward you know I I talked to Coach kimman and some other people on his staff right after the season and one

Of the comments that was made to me was you know typically you finish your regular season and you kind of take a breather and then really Dive Right into to pre-signing day recruiting and and also then shift some vocus to to Bull prep but he said but now the day after

That last regular season game you are full you are fully focused on on retaining your current roster and so I know you know the last few weeks have been really stressful for our football staff because they’re trying to finish off a signing day class they’re trying to get you know recruit portal

Guys and they’re trying to keep key guys on the on the roster and get some of those key super seniors to come back and so it’s been a I know it’s been a whirlwind for them and and and I obviously I have you know I I have a

Part in this but nil is is I I would say is is the singular most important factor right now um we have good facilities we have a great culture we’re a winning football program with the opportunity to be even more successful going forward the one piece that we haven’t yet figured out is

Nil um and I think the last few weeks have have maybe sped up the the the collective um approach as it relates to nil um I can assure you that coach kimman is fully on board with nil now I can assure you that Jee Taylor is very

Much on board with nil now people people people now people now really really understand that the way that you build rosters and keep rosters intact is through nil um and we have to make sure that we’re competitive in that space or we’re not going to be competitive on on

The playing field it was just late last week and I texted you the quote from Chris kman and I’m sure you had already seen it before I texted it to you but he talked about how they were really embracing nil to your point Curry as a

Coaching staff kind of a a 180 uh not that they were completely against nil but now they are fully on board support it promoting it um you know we’ve had Jee Taylor on the Pod several different times as well and he’s always talked you know yeah we’re we’re not against n in

Any way but also keep donating to the Aon fund keep donating those operational dollars they’re important as well but I think everybody now recognizes that nil is an equally important tool and one of the advantages K State has to your point is a lot of those facility Renovations a

Lot of those Revenue generating projects like all of the Suites in Bill Snyder Family Stadium are built and they’re going to produce revenue and there’s not a lot of projects right now that need to be done so donations dollars you know that can go more more so toward nil and

And Wildcat nil in the collective and and taking care of this Kansas State roster in all sports it’s not just men’s basketball it’s not just football look at what this Women’s Basketball team is doing right now you know borderline top 10 team in the country some absolute

Star power on that team the volleyball team did a a lot of great things this year with all the top 25 wins that they had and so you know Wildcat nil plays a part in helping to retain you know those rosters and so encourage everybody to to go donate the coaching staff they’re

Bought in go to cats nil.com check out the membership program you guys also do so many cool different things with businesses um and some of the Partnerships and what the the coffee deal that you guys did the the Project Runway with the Women’s Basketball team recently Curry and then the the

Manhattan Brewing um and n beer I mean anything else you want to hit on just in regards to some of the cool business Partnerships you guys are doing and where fans could maybe buy and support nil outside of just signing up for the membership program yeah I mean I think

There’s a lot of different ways we have W our wild cut and iil debit cards through Western National Bank you can go to Wildcat nil checking.com and sign up for one of those 10 cents of on every swipe comes back to us uh the coffee you just mentioned W nil cof club.com

Wildnil you can go there buy it buy coffee roast and and 20% of the proceeds come back to us um we’ve got stash if you go to stash.com and sign up you can round up on on EveryDay credit card purchases uh to money to come back to us

We have the Manhattan Brewing Company the wall bash easy drinking ale a certain amount of the proceeds from that uh from the sales of that beer are going to come back to us so a lot of ways that we’re trying to tap into to different streams of Revenue other than just

Simply asking for donations um got some other cool stuff coming down you know coming down the the Runway here actually a purple Runway with women’s basketball we actually moved that to February 2nd uh so we didn’t have to negotiate with the holidays and the end of football

Season and so really excited about that and that being a big money raiser for for our Women’s Basketball team um and then we had the the the March 4th event in Kansas City with coach kimman and Coach lipold which is going to be a really really fun event um really big

Time event the first of its kind really so again trying to find ways to tap into different streams of Revenue without just asking for someone to give money and and I will say to add to the earlier points you know you can look at you can

Look at nil versus aharn in terms of chicken or the egg I think a lot of people do you know what is more important and I don’t think there’s a right there’s a right or wrong answer there I will say this though you know we sure we need aern fund to fund

Scholarships to fund operations coaching salaries Etc but we won’t be able to retain good coaches if we don’t have good nil infrastructure that that is that is not not intended to be a you know a fear tactic that is 100% the truth coaches these days are going to

Value nil infrastructure as much as they are support staff recruiting staff graphic designers Etc they they don’t want to be up at night thinking about do we have enough nio money to keep a roster intact or to win on a key you

Know to win on a key guy um and so I I mean that completely if if if you’re looking for a way to support these coaches you can also do that through nil and I and if coach Tang or coach kimman were on here right now I know that they

Would stand behind that comment wholeheartedly so just something to keep in mind you know I know some people look at niil and they say well that’s not really supporting the coaches or these programs that I’ve supported for so long it really is um and so I would just

Encourage people to keep that in mind it’s a it’s an interesting point it’s a great point you know I think about obviously it’s a big deal to Jerome Tang as well I mean he approached you guys about the Wildcat nil golf tournament that Cobert Hills when we went out and

Did the live shows you guys did that awesome setup and did that we knew it was important to him and the coaching staff makes life a lot easier for him I could just give you an example from somewhere else in the country C Mick Cronin UCLA men’s basketball coach he

Has been bickering about the lack of support at nil at UCLA a school like that with all the money and and he is frustrated and I would not be surprised if if UCLA loses mck Cronin you know a guy that took him to the National Championship the final four you know

Just two or three years ago so um you know that’s just an example exle of you know coaches getting frustrated they don’t have the nil infrastructure in place because it alleviates a lot of the stresses that they don’t want to have to necessarily worry and deal deal with

Yeah and and just to underscore you know could the how much coach Tang values nil you know obviously we’re filming this on Wednesday night December 20th and basketball plays tomorrow night in Kansas City the basketball team is in Kansas City they had shoot around this evening coach Tang coach ding coach

Malagi and Coach Carpenter all left shoot around right when it finished and they drove to the plaza to an nil event that we were hosting um at pulsinelli Law Firm down on the Plaza and and they drove straight there to be with that crowd of people that crowd of kstate

Fans to stress the importance of nil um and so this is something that despite how important you know their schedules are during the season they’re still committing time and energy to nil and so if that doesn’t explain how important it is I don’t know what will I also believe

Curry and don’t hold me to this but I believe coach tang and staff met with some nil folks back uh before the Big 12 tournament last year in Kansas City and went out just the night before they played TCU in the Big 12 tournament to

Talk about it to to some key folks so it is clearly of the utmost importance and you know we talk about you wanting to keep good coaches like Chris kimman Jerome tank Jeff midy and others coach Mansfield the volleyball team Etc you know support Wildcat nil go to cats

Nil.com check it out check out the membership program support the businesses that are partnering with Wildcat nil so many cool things and I’m just telling you I don’t know how Curry and the guys get it done like between their day jobs and this you guys are so

Incredibly busy and I don’t help things when I’m texting you 50,000 times a day so uh anyways hey uh speaking of supporting others as well we uh we got to tell you about our friends at HomeField apparel as always get on out to HomeField apparel.com supporters of

Three supporters of kcsn uh check them out over 40K State items on their website at HomeField apparel.com you can score 15% off with the discount code three M23 when you go to check out perfect gear if you’re H looking for last minute Christmas idea or just you

Know looking to stock up for the rest of basketball season upcoming football season next year get your stuff for the bowl game Etc retro logos retro gear they’ve got it all at HomeField apparel.com discount code three M 23 go support them as well we appreciate HomeField apparel we’ll be back from

Break here with c and talk a little bit more Kate football make sure you download our new app find it on the app store or Google Play just search KC Sports Network KY Sports Network all right Curry so Pop Tarts Bowl we’re uh we’re recording this on Wednesday December 20th we’re eight days

Out um you know when the time this releases we’ll probably be four or five days out from kickoff of that game but I you know not specific to the opponent of North Carolina State just to tee things up what what are you most looking forward to and seeing in this bull

Game a lot of things honestly I think you know people I think people have some people are are show a little disfavor with the current the current state of the bull system just because of the opt outs and transfers and things of that nature I I

Tend to look at it you know from from the other side I I think that the fact that you get to basically let your let your young guys audition for the next year I think that makes this more exciting than otherwise might be so I’m excited to see some of our young guys

I’m excited to see aen his first start I think everybody is really looking forward to that I’m excited to see some other young guys step up and be featured you know maybe some Trey Spivey Garrett Oakley in a more prominent role uh Jace Brown obviously I think Joe Jackson is

Going to get some more Run next you know next week so so and then some other key guys on defense as well so really excited about the youth movement that we’re going to see in in in a couple in a week or so um I think you know

Traditionally you go through this bull game your seniors depart your transfers depart and then you have to wait till uh you know till April till spring practice or a spring game whatever it might be to have any idea what the team is looking like this gives you an early preview of

What next year could look like obviously with some more additions to come so excited about that excited to see Connor Riley in this role obviously we know he’s auditioning for the full-time OC position so excited to see what kind of offense he puts on the field uh and then

Ultimately just excited to see you know what just excited to see how we compete you know given that we’ve lost starting quarterback you know starting tight end um you know backup running back uh starting safety I mean we’ve lost some you know we’ve lost some key guys starting defensive end and so I’m

Excited to see some guys step up and take advantage of an opportunity Probably sounds weird Curry I was I was talking to somebody earlier today actually about this and uh I think I told him I might be a little bit more excited about this bowl game than I even

Was watching the Sugar Bowl now the Sugar Bowl was a really cool opportunity because you’re playing Alabama and it’s a new year six Bowl right and I was excited about it but I am even more excited because of the opportunity to watch so many young guys and with their

Futures in this game you know sure you you want to win the game I mean we all want to feel great going out you want to play well but I really want to see some of these young guys Flash and that that’s what I’m excited it’s not just

Avery Johnson like you said it’s Joe Jackson who they’re going to have to rely on heavily in the running back room next year is the number two guy probably behind d DJ giddens unless somebody new Pops in the portal and and they take another running back you know we haven’t

Seen much of Joe Jackson he’s been banged up some this year true freshman Trey spy we know they love him look we’ve already seen enough of Jay Brown we can tell he’s going to be a really good player Garrett Oakley Etc but then also on the defensive side of the

Football you know a Jordan Allen a cheaty Obi aor seeing few more snaps for guys like that maybe a kidel Thomas at corner as will Lee opted out or or transferred to Texas A&M you know so just all those different guys like the opportunity to see them is really

Exciting for me and it’s it’s going to be you know specific to the opponent I’m eager to see them because they’re playing a really good defense you know we look at like this offense is star power and it’s great that you have your whole offensive line back and we we’ll

Talk about that in a minute too but you know just a new offensive coordinator and Conor Riley calling plays against a top 20 defense really a top 15 defense each of the last three years in college football a Dave Doran coach defense they’re traditionally Good Year in and

Year out I’m eager to see how Avery Johnson and this offense does against a good defensive mind and a good defensive unit in North Carolina State absolutely um and a you know a team that we’ve not messed up with before at least not in recent memory um a good football team a

Team that’s ranked in the top 20 I mean there’s a lot of exciting things about this matchup and you’re right their defense has been incredibly strong this year now obviously they’ll be without Peyton Wilson um they they’ve got a couple key guys who won’t be playing in

This game as well but you’re right this is a really exciting matchup I think it’s a I think it’s a pretty even matchup across the board and so it’ll be interesting to see how things have how things have developed since the last games of the year and I think that’s one

Of the exciting things about full season you can throw basically everything that especially in the portal era but you can throw everything out the window as as to what’s happened this season and and you know you you you know have no idea what to expect when that game starts next

Week um and and and so I just hope that that that the cats are ready and that the young guys are ready and that they take advantage of a really good opportunity we just talked about so many of these skill guys potentially getting an opportunity to play more in this bowl

Game but what what do you make of having the entire offensive line not offing out you know KT Cooper you know BB they’re all staying in they’re going to play in this bowl game what’s the significance of that and do you like that obviously like we just talked about the excitement

Of seeing some of these younger guys play but you do have Avery Johnson making his is really is first true start against a really good defense in North Carolina State just how important is it to have that that starting five that’s been up front all year together cooh

Cohesive unit in this bowl game to at least take some of the pressure off of Avery yeah I I think it’s huge and I I think it’s you know I’m I’m just you know stoked for them to uh you know to to have that last run together I know

They’ve I know it’s been a special unit and they’ve all meant a lot to each other into the program so I’m excited that they decided to do this last game together um and and and I think it’s obviously huge for Avery for him to be back there

In his first game with a new play caller to have that solid front up in front of him is going to provide him with a lot of a lot of in insurance or assurances um and you know at the same time I do hope that they throw some of the the

Young guys in there I hope we I hope we get to see a John ptor and I hope we get to see an Andrew line gang you know maybe just to get a little give him a little bit of game action with Avery back there and start to build that

Camaraderie for next year but I don’t think could understand how important it is that they we’re that we’re having that entire unit back for this bll game yeah I I I would completely agree with you I I think I’d mentioned to John and d a while back I’d like to see John

Pastor get a few snaps in this game nothing due to injury just rotate him in Andrew Lang gang and others because they’re going to be so riing on those guys looking ahead to the 2024 season and want to see what the those guys can give you um especially so uh I guess

While we’re on the topic of the bowl game I mean we’ll get to the transfer stuff and and signing day today here in just a minute but do you have a a prediction uh on the uh the bowl Curry I I know are hard to predict I I think K

State uh just to give you some context K State is still favored by two two and a half points in this game it’s so hard because you know pton Wilson’s in all likelihood opting out like you said the Chuck Bic Award winner for National Defensive Player of the Year and college

Football really talented linebacker for NC State probably not going to play in this bowl game K State’s had several guys that have oped it out and Bows are just so unpredictable um but I’m curious what uh what maybe uh you have for a prediction in this one yeah I I think

The cats win by a touchdown and I felt that since since the matchup was announced and obviously a lot has changed but I I feel good about it you know I think I I I think Avery is going to take you know he’s gonna take advantage of the moment I think he’s

Gonna seize the opportunity and and and beyond beyond the loss of will Howard and maybe Ben Sate I don’t think we’ve lost lost a ton I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of drop off from one guy to the next um and so I think we

This is a we’re going to have a strong football team out there next week uh so I I you know I think we were we opened at seven and a half Point favorites and obviously the line shrunk as as you know Senate opted out Ward left Howard left

All the you know we had some key guys lead but I feel really good about it I think the cats win by seven to 10 points what would you like to see for a game plan for Avery Johnson in this game uh more of a drop back passing game

You know not necessarily dropback passing but but first and foremost do not make Avery Johnson a a Colin Klein type quarterback he’s not a Callin Klein type quarterback for one he’s about 40 pounds lighter 50 pounds lighter and he’s got he he’s an he’s an absolute you

Know he’s got a a very very good ability to throw the football so I think yeah absolutely let him drop back and throw the football around the yard you know let him build some camaraderie with the guy all those guys he’s going to have coming back next year Sprint them out

Out you know roll him out whether it’s in bootleg or or or just straight straight roll outs I think get him on the Move let him throw on the Move where there’s an option to run um but I would avoid QB power you know this is a guy

That that you’re trying to build the future around and I think it’s it’s been well reported that ay doesn’t want to be a battering Rim he doesn’t want to be the next the next in the line of kstate quarterbacks with shoulder and knee injuries so let him throw the football

Because he’s very talented and he can get the job done in the air and let let DJ giddens and Joe Jackson and some of these workhorses let them carry the load in terms of you know in terms of running the rock but I’m excited to see Avery

Throw the ball I hope he throws the ball 35 times and really shows off what he can do with his arm because I think just because of how we used him this year I think a lot of people just put him in the same mold as a Daniel Sams or an El

Roberson more of a more of an option quarterback a running quarterback but but he’s not I mean he is a true true dual threat and I hope they let him showcase his arm yeah that’s I think that’s what we’ve all wanted to see all year is give him an opportunity um you

Know take the training wheels off so to speak let him cut it Loose because we know he’s such a incredibly mature guy for his age uh I I think he’s ready to go especially after all this time in the program this these Bowl practices and everything I can’t wait to see him and

Uh Man Curry what a uh what a tumultuous few weeks we went through um you know I I just remember John and I were uh you know you talked about Conor Riley at offensive coordinator for this blll game and in all likelihood probably the favorite to be the permanent ocu John

And I were driving to the Villanova game pulling into the parking lot for men’s basketball on December 5th I think it was the 5th and I just remember John saying did you see this Colin Klein got offered the OC job I wasn’t worried at

All and then I got a text from you like within five minutes was like I think we’re worried about this one and then John got a text from somebody else that were pretty worried about it and the A&M job the roller coaster of emotion you

Know I think the the the sheer Panic was all right Allen’s gone Avery very well may it be gone I mean just the the simple fact that it seems to be that they’ve kept Avery in the fold maybe just touch on the significance of that and the Doomsday scenarios we were going

Through in our head that night and that that 24 hours the significance of keeping Avery at the very least and how you feel about the program moving forward just with at least having him at quarterback yeah I mean it’s it’s massive I mean he’s probably the single

Most important recruit we’ve ever had in school history and and and they they’re clearly building the the future of the program around him and so obviously him staying put was a massive weight off everybody’s shoulders losing Colin Klein is a big loss he’s a you know he’s been

Vital to you know this program for so long but I I think that it that losing Avery Johnson would have been a biger bigger loss and so to keep Avery I think speaks to a where the program is really at or really good shape still still I

Think these guys still very much believe in coach kimman and his program and his culture and I think Avery is a smart kid um he’s not he’s a very grounded kid a very mature kid I think he understands that okay Colin Klein left and sure I had a great relationship there and he

Recruited me but guys I this this whole thing is setting up for me to you know to really take advantage of it and be the guy here um and he saw that and he knew that that rather than taking a chance somewhere else let’s just stay

Where we’re at and stay where we know we’ve got a great opportunity so I think Avery’s excited about it I know his family is excited about it um and I think he’s he’s going to be a perfect face of the program type of kid for years to come and I’m just really

Excited to see how he develops I think we all needed that jolt to good news when he released the rebranding of his number to number two and K State football pushed that out and for everything we went through with the N Juan Tomlin situation Men Basketball the

Drama there Colin Klein leaving it was a uh it was a rough few days says is well aware as the Meltdown texts were coming through heavy to his phone from from people like me so uh yeah I was I never even I never even told you guys until

After the fact but I was Wednesday December 6 was my wife’s induction day and so we are sitting we’re sitting in the hospital and and we start getting Panic calls about basketball at the same time that Colin Klein is is is leaving us for Texas A&M and so so my my my son

Will forever be tied to one of the one of I don’t know if you say one of the worst days but one of the one of the most disappointing or frustrating days in in the history of K State um and and and I and so going through the process process of having a

Child while also dealing with the frustration of losing CK and and the you know all the stuff surrounding nck Juan Tomlin so yeah crazy we we we felt very awful about that after Curry told us like 3 days later oh yeah my son was born on Wednesday the day that we

Probably texted him 5,000 times and uh it was it was uh it it was it was it was my it was my way to to blow off some nerves so it was uh I don’t know whether it was good or bad but it was uh it was

All right uh I felt I felt pretty bad about that but uh we got through it and uh hey we just went through signing day as well Kansas State signed 15 guys in this recruiting class they’ve addressed some key holes couple Joo play players they brought in a few transfers as well

Over the last couple weeks where where maybe would you like to foresee them attack the heaviest now moving forward they’ve still got several scholarship spots they can fill is there a position um that you would like to see them attack the hardest moving forward for next year’s team yeah I think I think

You have I think receiver is key I think first and foremost I mean I think you know you got Jaden Keegan and Jace coming back with with Trey and some other guys in the winning in the wings but I think you have to go get another experienced guy or two some proven guys

Just to give Avery some different options and to build some some depth I think receiver is one I think defensive tackle is a big one obviously we signed Malcolm um and then we’ve you know we we obviously are moving around with you know we got we got Brennan mop back and

And we’ve got jein Banks maybe sliding to the outside so we’re going to be able to mix and match and pieces up front Uso announced today that he’s coming back so we’ve got some key pieces up front but I think you need one more depth guy at

That defensive tackle spot to go with Uso and Damen and Asher um again just need need some additional depth there as we saw this season that that’s that’s a key spot in our defense and if a couple guys go down it can get thin quick um I

Think I think we need cornerback I think we need to go get an experienced guy or two you know obviously we’ve got Keenan and Jacob coming back but beyond that there’s not a lot of experience so I think you need to you know Justice James

Played a little bit this year but we got we got some inexperienced guys that we’re going to have to rely on so we’ like to see a little bit of added depth there there maybe another guy at safety but after the after the additions the

Last two days of of Jordan riy and Dante Thomas we may be okay and then the other one I would say and you mentioned it earlier is just running back um I don’t think we need a lot there but I think we could use one more experienced guy

Because we’re as it stands right now we’re going into next year with DJ and then with three freshman and Devin rice John price and Joe Jackson and so I think we need a you know we need an experienced guy there for no other reason than to bring depth and

Experience it kind of reminds me of the running back position when Deuce was a junior in case they won the Big 12 title DJ was a red Shir freshman uh had a really good year um obviously ran for around 550 yards but that is not an ideal scenario I mean I would much

Rather have three capable Veteran running backs you don’t want to have to rely you know on a true freshman because right now as they stand if they were to play a third running back it would all likely it would be a true freshman um next season between JB price and Devon

Rice out of Bishop Gorman who by the way is a guy that I love uh watching his film they need home run hitters and he is a guy that brings that level of explosiveness to this program so we’ll see if he can be a guy that could play

Next year I completely agree uh you know this I think they need a couple proven veteran wide receivers to come into the fold they don’t have to be Stars I mean it would be it would be great if they could get you know one really really

Good one and then a depth piece as well out of the transfer portal to go along with Keegan hopefully Keegan can be healthy jaay Builds on the year he had this year and Trey spy jadeen Jackson back I think they can be okay there but they have to get more weapons for Avery

Johnson and Supply him with everything that he needs because that’s such an important piece and you know maybe the bow game Curry is a you know if Avery Johnson goes and balls out maybe that’s something that draws the attention of some dudes that are still out there in

The portal that are wide receivers and they’re like I tell you what I I want to go play in this system I want to play with this dude at quarterback yeah and I and and and I absolutely and I think the same can be said for Conor Riley I think

There’s probably some guys waiting out there to see what this offense looks like before they commit um you know as a receiver obviously you’re looking you know you’re you’re looking for an opportunity to go catch balls and and and I’m sure guys are wanting to see okay what kind of offensive coordinator

Is the offensive line coach going to be before I you know before I throw my hat in this ring but but absolutely I think once guys especially receivers once they see what kind of dynamic dynamic passer of the ball that ay is it’s going to help our recruiting immensely I mean

You’re going to have that are just itching to play with Avery Johnson because of his skill set um we’ve seen that we’ve heard that some but so far I don’t know that it’s that it’s made a huge difference in recruiting but I think it will after next after after the

28 it’s G to be an exciting couple weeks that transfer portal window will reopen up I think the Dead period ends on January 11th so we’re going through around the three-week Dead period now where guys can’t take official visits uh we get through the bow games and then

There is an opening before you know the spring semester starts where you can get some more guys in on visits and in all likelihood there’s still going to be guys available that are very talented um that could maybe take visits in that first C couple weekends of when that

Window reopens of recruiting so eager to see that unfold hopefully Avery Johnson this offense balls out in the bowl game did want to ask you real quick though Curry on the defensive side of the football the defensive line was such a big point of emphasis you mentioned

Adding a a nose tackle potentially in that three-man front would be important to do and I completely agree I think they could use a little more depth there but as I do look at that defensive line I in my opinion I feel like looking at that 335 front that this defensive line

Is better suited with who they’ve brought in and who red shirted this year with Jordan Allen Chey and then Travis Bates from Austin P 63 265 Malcolm Al Jones Crowder coming in alorn Crowder coming in at 66 295 that can play a little D tackle if you need in a pinch

But play DN more prototypical size Brendan M’s going to try to put on 10 to 15 pounds get to around 255 it feels to me and let me know if you disagree that this could be an improved defensive line and maybe more prototypical of what you want in that three-man front yeah agreed

I mean I think you’re not gonna have the true speed rusher um at least I mean Brendan m is probably your best true rusher at this point but um and I think Jordan all can be that as well but but absolutely for the defense we’re trying

To play we have in just a month that that room is transformed I mean you went from having three or four undersized guys playing at the end spot on every snap to now Bren ma is probably going to be your smallest guy and you’re G to go

From you know so you’re G to go from a bunch of 63 245 63 you know 230 to 250 you know 250 type guys to you know being able to play an Alcorn Crowder Crowder at 300 pounds on one of the ends aiti who will probably weigh 270 275 next

Year one of the ends You Know Travis Bates you mentioned he’ll probably be 270 275 next year jevin Banks out there probably 275 280 you’re you’re going to have some real Mass out there and with Uso and and Damien and some of these guys in the middle that’s going to be

That’s going to be the kind of front that you have to have in a in a in a in a you know perfectly functioning 335 and as we saw this year we have some really good blitzing linebackers with Austin Moore and Dez Pernell and Jake Clifton

We have some guys who who are great blitzers and that’s that’s the best that is the that is the perfect way for a 335 to function is for the three guys up front to just eat blocks and then to Blitz guys you know Blitz guys from the

Second level and so I think you’ll see it make a huge difference in terms of how we defend the run and how we get after the quarterback even though we may not have guys just winning on the edge yeah the pass rush may not be as Elite

Not that I mean they’ve struggled some with the pass rush this year especially the back half of the season but I think the run defense will be improved because of that mass and I think you’re going to free up those linebackers like you said with that mass and size and physicality

To run around and make plays and they’ve got some dude’s a linebacker I mean the significance of Austin Moore returning uh which he announced on three Mall live last week that you helped set up Curry along with Brendan M which was we’re grateful for and that was an awesome

Deal on Friday to put that good news out there Dez Pernell back Jake Clifton hopefully healthy and recovered from the the knee injury that he had uh a few weeks ago ASA Nome hopefully he’ll be recovered given that injury happened so early in the season we know he’s a star

Waiting to be at you know to shine through uh I likely do they got a linebacker Roma Etc so van why I mean Terry Kirk’s waiting in the week uh got some young you know good young guys in this year’s class I think I think that

Is the that’s the best room on the team right now the best and deepest room on the team right now um and as we saw this year when we’re playing three linebackers on every step we have to have good depth and we will have really really good depth next year and we

Excited about that room I was going to say and we saw the need to have good depth just for an example this year because of unfortunate injuries to Daniel Green Jay Clifton Andy aome three guys that were in your rotation playing hey we will talk more about the 20124

Season and look ahead after the bowl game against NC State Curry and I’ll do one more show probably and then we’ll take uh we’ll take a few months off and uh you know Curry can rest up you know spend some time with the new Bo and uh

Hope we’ll B try to race nil money raise raise some nil money please go to cats nil.com if you have questions reach out to Curry Pearson Etc look we’re going to be doing a basketball version of this show with Pearson matey we’re going to start that actually uh I need to text

Pearson it’s a reminder that we’re going to start that probably the first week of January heading into Big 12 place so we’re gonna do a basketball version of three M bonus with Pearson who’s part of Wildcat nil former K State men’s basketball player as well uh just please

Please go check them out that these guys are doing such incredible work working so hard and it’s so incredibly important to these coaching staffs and to to Kansas State um I I just encourage everybody to do everything you can to support them every dollar does indeed matter um I know there’s a perception

That I can only give $10 a month how is that is that really going to matter if enough people do it if enough of you do it it will matter it will be important and it could play a part in K State retaining a player that helps them with

A big 12 Championship so please go check them out cats nil.com check them out on Twitter at wildcat check out all the great things they’re doing uh reach out to any of us if you have questions we’ll get in touch with the right people so appreciate you Curry we’ll talk after

The bowl game and uh we’ll look ahead recap that and uh look ahead to the 2024 season a little more in depth based off what we saw in the Pop-Tarts Bowl against North Carolina State appreciate all of you for listening to uh to three

M bonus this year and uh look for a Cas day Victory hopefully in the bowl game and we’re here to talk some good news here in about 10 days appreciate you all