MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State assistant head coach Van Malone, along with linebackers coach Steve Stanard, Buddy Wyatt and Mike Tuiasosopo, met with members of the media on Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex to update the Wildcats’ progress during preseason camp. Links to video and audio of Malone’s press conference – in addition to breakout interviews with the other three – are above, while a transcript of Malone’s opening statement is below.
VAN MALONE, ASSISTANT HEAD COACH
Opening Statement…
“First of all, I’d like to say thank you guys for your support and your coverage of our team. I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve been a lot of different places, and the media is not always friendly. You guys don’t look friendly (laughing), but you are. You are really friendly, and we as a staff and our players, we really do appreciate that.
“Going on to year five, it’s cool – and I’m sure Coach (Klieman) talked about it – but we and I have had an opportunity to see the good and the bad of building what we’re trying to build. So, it’s real cool to be in a situation where we understand that our core values – those values of discipline, commitment, toughness and selflessness – that they continue to show up on the practice field, in the locker room, throughout the summer and times when we’re not playing football, they show up for our team. So, that’s a special moment for us as coaches. Yep, we’re going to do the best we can to teach you how to run, to block, to tackle, but those things off the field, when those things show up, that’s even more special for a coach. I’m excited about that to see where we’ve grown from, to see the leadership on our team continue to flourish, continue to grow with players who, yes, have been around here for six and seven – and in the case of guys like Deuce (Daniel) Green, been around for 12 to 14 years – that was a joke. I said you guys got mean faces, but you can laugh at jokes sometimes. So, it’s cool to be able to experience that.”