Photo above: Credit K-State Sports

Voice of Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson

By Greg Echlin

Kansas State quarterback Skylar Thompson savored every moment from the afternoon victory last Saturday against TCU.  So much so that while most of the Bill Snyder Family Stadium parking lot was cleared out, long after the Horned Frogs’ final pass attempt as time ran out, there was a group of tailgating family and friends still around to greet him.

“The most (family and friends) I’ve had my whole life here or at a game in general,” said Thompson after the Wildcats ‘ 24-17 win over TCU for their first Big 12 win this season.  He estimates that there were about 30 to 40 on hand, including an aunt who had flown in from California.

But in coach Chris Klieman’s one-game-at-a-time mentality, the Wildcats have a formidable foe this Saturday with the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners set for a morning (11 a.m. CT) kickoff in Manhattan.

On the eve of the game in which Thompson’s 61-yard run up the middle set up the game-winning touchdown, he was surrounded by several of those same family members in a banquet room table at the hotel where the team stays.

“It just put things into perspective for me.  It choked me up,” said Thompson.  “Thinking about a football game, me being here is bringing my family together.  I had to take a deep breath and appreciate it because sometimes I get so focused on my job here playing football.”

The irony is that Thompson took over the quarterbacking position from Alex Delton, who transferred to TCU and made a brief appearance in the game for the Horned Frogs.  They chatted briefly on the field after the game.

“We butted heads before.  We haven’t always agreed on things,” said Thompson who started the Cactus Bowl two seasons ago before Delton took over and became the game’s Offensive MVP with 158 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the Wildcats victory over UCLA.  “You put two quarterbacks in a room competing for a job, it’s not going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time.”

With the game tied, 17-17, Thompson’s 61-yard run topped his 52-yard run at Baylor last year for a career-high.  It was the second play of a 95-yard drive capped by his three-yard touchdown run that gave the Cats the lead for good.  Delton’s career-high was a 68-yard run in the Cactus Bowl.

But Delton watched helplessly from the sideline as Thompson guided K-State to an overdue win after losses at Oklahoma State and at home against Baylor.