Learn more about recruitment, maintaining the FAMILY, and roster management with this Q & A style interview!
Q: What are your responsibilities as the Director of Roster Management?
A: I help oversee our recruiting department alongside Taylor Braet. Our group includes Hannah List, Maddi Gage, Dimitri Donald, Riley Gallpin, and a group of recruiting interns. They all do such a good job. So it’s just checking schedules, and checking our boards with the help of department staff. It’s really a collaborative effort with our group of recruiting staff.
Q: What are some of the different things your department does?
A: First, it is identifying our prospects. Once we can identify players we are interested in, my department will begin to build a profile on them in our database. Information on their profile may include game and practice film, track and combine results, social media accounts, and more. I would call us the “checks and balances” of it all. We really help coaches get better insight into the players they are recruiting.
Q: How do you work to ensure a positive atmosphere and maintain the “FAMILY” of K-State Football when recruiting players?
A: We’ve developed a 21-question sheet to ask recruits when they’re being called. Essentially, we’re trying to get down to the nitty-gritty of, ‘Is this kid a fit for us?’ One example of a question we may ask is, “How do you handle a loss?” This allows us to learn more about a player’s commitment to a team, work ethic, etc. We also talk with parents on visits. How a recruit’s parents speak about their child’s team can also tell us a lot about them.
Q: You’ve lived in Kansas before, what’s the best part about being back in the state and living in Manhattan?
A: We love Manhattan, there’s a lot of stuff for us that we like to do around the area, like hiking and being outdoors. So it’s been really, really good, and it’s good to be back.
My first boss at Bethel College was a guy who played here, actually, Mike Moore. And so I heard a lot of Kansas State stories. And obviously playing at Nebraska, I competed against Kansas State too. So, it’s been good.
And you know, it feels like family here, and it kind of is for me. I coached against Coach Riley for seven years. I coached against Coach Kleinman for 10, coached with Coach Stanard, and he actually coached me. So just knowing a lot of the guys on the staff for a long time, it’s been a great opportunity to work with them. And you know, you just feel like you’re part of the family. And that’s, that’s what’s special about this place, right?
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