Kansas State defense tries to corral highly touted Nevada quarterback Carson Strong

Sep. 17—Prodded to point out similarities Carson Strong might have to quarterbacks he's faced in the past, Joe Klanderman went with the direct approach.

"Well, I did practice against Carson Wentz for about three years," said Klanderman, now in his second season as Kansas State's defensive coordinator, reflecting upon his time at North Dakota State.

A first name isn't the only thing Strong might share with Wentz come next year, though. The Philadelphia Eagles selected Wentz with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft. In recent mock drafts, outlets have projected Strong might match Wentz by going No. 2 overall — or perhaps even being the first player off the board in the 2022 draft.

His draft positioning will be decided in the future; Klanderman and his unit are more worried about the present, as Strong leads a high-powered Nevada offense into Bill Snyder Family Stadium at 1:05 p.m. Saturday.

Klanderman can't find many holes in Strong's game.

"His arm talent is a strength. The fact that he takes care of the ball is a strength. He doesn't throw interceptions, doesn't force dumb throws, doesn't put his team in bad situations," Klanderman said Thursday. "I think they put a lot on him at the line of scrimmage to get them in the right plays. I think he does a good job of that, sees looks very well, sees coverage well."

As is, Strong has been nearly perfect through two games this season.

He's completed 68.3% (56-for-82) of his attempts for 693 yards and six touchdowns against just one interception. In last week's 49-10 win over Idaho State, he threw for 381 yards and four scores while connecting on 79.1% (34-for-43) of his passes.

K-State head coach Chris Klieman, a defensive guru himself, echoed Klanderman. Strong, Klieman said, has "tremendous arm strength." But he possesses far more gifts than that.

"I think he calls a lot of the things himself at the line of scrimmage out of their tempo," Klieman said. "Although they can go fast, they'll slow it down some so that he can get them in the right call or the call that he likes. ... (He is a) mobile guy who sees so many coverages, and he's seen so much and played so many snaps. It's not easy to fool a kid like that — guys who have had that many snaps."

As is crucial against any talented quarterback, the key to slowing down Strong isn't difficult to surmise.

"Pass rush, because they throw the ball a lot," junior defensive lineman Jaylen Pickle said. "We haven't played a team that throws the ball as much as they do. I am just working on new things, figuring out what I can and can't use against their tackles."

Felix Anudike-Uzomah is licking his chops.

"We had a lot of sacks defensively, even all our defensive line lately," said Anudike-Uzomah, who on Monday earned the Big 12's newcomer of the week award after recording three sacks and forcing two fumbles against Southern Illinois. "So it should be a really fun game."

It probably won't be "fun" for the Wildcats' defense if Strong continually keeps plays alive, though.

"Last week we played a quarterback who played outside the pocket a lot," Pickle said. "So we had a big contain plan, and I am sure that this week we will, too. Probably want to keep him in the pocket."

Klanderman hopes the team's 3-3-5 defense, which it employed to great effect in the first two games of the fall, will come in handy Saturday.

"To prep for teams to go in with our old (four-down linemen) structure, I think he sees that stuff really well," Klanderman said. "Not that it can't be done against him — there are some teams in that league (the Mountain West Conference) that have a very similar structure to what we do and have had some success with him — but I think the variety of rotations that we can give him now could potentially present problems."