Snyder recovering ‘fine’ from throat cancer
FRISCO, TEXAS — Kansas State football coach Bill Snyder wouldn’t elaborate too much on his recovery from throat cancer but said he was recovering well.
Snyder announced in February that he was diagnosed with the disease.
“I’m going fine,” Snyder said. “I mean, the recovery is still ongoing, quite obviously, but I’m going fine, getting around fine, don’t have any issues right now other than trying to prepare for the season.”
Snyder, 77, was able to attend the Wildcats’ spring practice while undergoing treatment.
WVU coach says Riley ‘not a very fun guy’
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen heaped praise on first-year Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley.
Except in one area. “He’s not a very fun guy,” Holgorsen said. “He’s a smart guy.
“Look, I love the kid. My kids were in his wedding. His wife was my nanny. We’re real tight. It’s been fun to watch him.”
Holgorsen was an assistant under Mike Leach at Texas Tech when Riley was a player there and then a student assistant before becoming a graduate assistant. But don’t look for Holgorsen to offer advice.
“He’s the enemy now,” Holgorsen said. “We’re always going to be close and always going to be friends and always root for each other, that sort of thing but he ain’t getting no advice from me.”
Leitao suspended for two games
Incoming Texas freshman tight end Reese Leitao, who starred at Jenks High School, will be suspended for the first two games of the season, Longhorns coach Tom Herman said.
Leitao was arrested in February on a charge of drug possession with intent to distribute within 2,000 feet of a school.
He recently reached a plea agreement that reduced his charges to misdemeanors and subsequently he was allowed to enroll at Texas.
“I’ve seen what real remorse looks like from an 18-year-old kid,” Herman said Tuesday. “I mean, you want to talk about a kid that realized the gravity of his mistake. Let’s hope it’s very costly, but very impactful learning experience for him.”
Rhule taking on Baylor scandal head on
New Baylor coach Matt Rhule, both in informal conversations and in the podium news conference, did not run from the sexual-assault scandal he inherited when hired by the Bears last December.
“What I’ve learned in my time at Baylor and Waco is we’re not running from the past, but rather we’re learning from it,” Rhule said.
Rhule came from Temple and knew about the scandal only from afar, until he arrived in Waco. When asked why he was so forthcoming, Rhule said, “Because that which we don’t acknowledge, we’re doomed to repeat. So at the end of the day, I don’t know everything that happened, but I just know something happened that was wrong. I know that you first get in there, and you’re kind of like a first responder.”
Herman ready to see Buechele in pads
Texas quarterback Shane Buechele participated in the famed Manning Passing Academy earlier this summer and did well, from reports. But Herman will wait before he gets too excited.
“I don’t get a lot of confidence in quarterbacks in shorts and T-shirts,” Herman said. “That’s pretty difficult for me to grasp, other than kind of looking at a kid’s mechanics. But the game of quarterback is played so much here (head) and here (heart) that what you do in a controlled environment like that in shorts and T-shirts is not really indicative of how successful of a quarterback you’re going to be on Saturdays.”
Buechele made 12 starts as a true freshman last season. He threw 21 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.
Caffeinated up
Holgorsen has been known for slamming Red Bull energy drinks.
But those days — at least publicly — are over for now.
Has Holgorsen cut down on the caffeine? Gone to the softer stuff?
Nope.
“I’m supposed to drink Monster now,” Holgorsen said. “It’s a sponsorship thing.”
Holgorsen said he drinks “upwards of 12 energy drinks a day sometimes,” saying he has no plans to cut back.