Cats look for defensive spark

Senior defensive end Ian Campbell has become the voice of the Kansas State Wildcats football team.
    After the Wildcats concluded the 2007 season with a 5-7 record - losing their last four games and five of their last six - Campbell stressed that he was disappointed in the way the defense played and that, if he had anything to say about it, wouldn't happen again in 2008.
    “The defense is the biggest turnaround for our team,” Campbell said Tuesday morning at the Big 12 Media Day event. “Last year, our offense put plenty of points on the board, but our defense wasn't able to deliver. I get sick of saying it, and I get sick to my stomach remembering how we played last year. I don't really think that's going to be the case this year. I can talk all I want, but it's a matter of actually doing it.”
    Kansas State head coach Ron Prince was happy to hear those words from his defensive captains as they prepared for the spring drills and summer workouts, as well as the progression of the junior college players into the system. The addition of the junior college players keeps the Wildcats from being young and inexperienced in some positions.
    “We're pretty excited about the hard work that's gone into getting the team to this place in 2008,” Prince said. “Many of them have not redshirted. They're all going into their third year. The recruiting philosophy was to really do what Kansas State is best at and what they've always done which is to really have a unique mix of high school players and community college players."
    The Wildcats will be looking to junior quarterback Josh Freeman again to lead the offense, which averaged 35.2 points a game. Freeman threw for 3,353 yards and 18 touchdowns, while throwing 11 interceptions. Freeman won't have his favorite target from last season - Jordy Nelson (1,606 yards receiving, 13 touchdowns).
    “I've always liked the challenge,” Freeman said. “There's nothing that can replace the valuable experience from playing. … I'm a year older and a year wiser, and it's a constantly changing game. As a player, you try to stay ahead of the curve as much as possible.
    “I'm doing everything I can to study film on other quarterbacks and how the best in the business - Peyton Manning and Tom Brady - and try to learn the little nuances of their game and try to figure out why they're so great and apply those to my game to be the best I can be.”
    Prince said Freeman continues to improve with the help of quarterbacks coach Warren Ruggerio; and the junior's contribution to the Wildcats will help with an improved offensive line and the rebuilding of the running game and receiver corps.
    “I think it's just been a matter of trying to put the kind of talent around him at some of the skill positions,” Prince said. “But really, we didn't feel that he was going to realize any of this talent either until he had an offensive line that could protect him and have a complementary running game, or at least a running game that could dictate the terms."
    The running could start with Leon Patton, the leading returning rusher with 409 yards and four touchdowns. Kansas State did recruit three high school backs this past season - Kwamaine Brown, Logan Dold and Jarell Childs - and had Justin Woods and Dee Bell from the 2007 class. But junior college transfer Keithen Valentine, who made an impact on the coaches in the spring, may start.
    “I think it's very legitimate,” Prince said about the possibility of Valentine starting. “Ricky Rahne, our running backs coach, has an open mind. (Valentine) improved in the spring and so did Justin Woods. I was impressed with Justin. We know Dee Bell and Justin are 100-meter champs, so we don't feel like we're really going to concede much speed. It's just going to be experience; and that's where Keithen would really help us out there because he played in the games and played against good competition.”

John Curtis is sports editor at the Augusta Daily Gazette in Augusta, Kansas.