photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas defensive tackle Daniel Wise (96) wraps up Ohio running back Dorian Brown (28) during the fourth quarter on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016 at Memorial Stadium. At left is Kansas defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. (2).

As Daniel Wise finished the earliest portion of his pre-game routine and made his way toward the visiting locker room last week at Jones AT & T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas, he noticed some Texas Tech football players talking at him.

The Kansas defensive tackle freed his right ear from under his headphones and engaged the Red Raiders in a bit of trash-talking. The moment would have come and gone with little fanfare had FOX Sports 1’s on-field camera crew not captured the exchange, which aired on the nationally televised pre-game show before picking up some steam on social media.

“Of course the atmosphere is already tense,” Wise, a sophomore, said this week of his interaction with a small contingent of Tech players. “Everybody’s ready to play. It’s on Thursday night, it’s prime-time television. Energy and intensity was there, and it just took one little thing, I guess, and it just went down from there.”

In the clip, Wise could be seen wearing a white Jayhawks T-shirt while jawing with receiver Derrick Willies and others, who barked back and forth at close range, as KU staffers Justin Johnson and Tyler Hill tried to keep some distance between the opposing players.

A 6-foot-3 tackle from Lewisville, Texas, Wise soon was coerced into a tunnel leading to KU’s locker room, but he claimed the squabble wouldn’t have escalated — “I wouldn’t have let it go that far,” he added.

Wise, who had a season-low one tackle in what became a 55-19 Kansas loss, hoped the display would energize his team. Though the staff had no repercussions for Wise as a result of the incident, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen made it clear he didn’t care for it.

“I don’t think there’s any place for it. It’s not necessary. It’s a waste of energy,” Bowen said. “Show up and play the game. Anybody can be a tough guy when they know the police are going to break it up and all of that. It’s a waste of energy. Relax, calm down and play the game.”

Bowen went on to share he didn’t make an example of Wise or even talk about what happened with his players after the fact.

“I think our guys on our defense understand my mentality on all that,” Bowen said. “Play between the whistles and that’s all that matters. The rest of the stuff, really, who cares?”

To an extent, Wise thought his bout of pre-game theatrics was out of character.

“Off the field, soft spoken, I would say. But on the field I have that energy and whatnot,” Wise said. “…I’ve gotta control my emotions and stuff. But I think that was right, getting the energy flowing for the team, some guys could feed off it.”

As it turned out, the desired effect didn’t exactly pan out, either. Texas Tech scored a touchdown on each of its first two possessions. In particular, Bowen thought the Jayhawks (1-3 overall, 0-1 Big 12) struggled on a game-opening, five-play, 75-yard Tech TD drive.

“The first drive, we were bumbling idiots out there,” Bowen said. “… For the second drive, we actually had a couple chances. We get a third-and-nine and have another chance to make a play and get off the field. The first parts of games are tough.”

Players and coaches alike know the Kansas defense can’t afford those types of starts in the Big 12.

“I guess Coach Bowen, he sees best,” Wise said when asked about Bowen’s tongue-in-cheek, ‘bumbling idiots’ assessment. “To me everybody’s energy was high and I guess the focus wasn’t as much there. But the energy was there.”

When Kansas falls behind, Wise added, players such as himself, Dorance Armstrong Jr., Marcquis Roberts and Fish Smithson lead positive discussions on the sideline.

“Whether it’s a player or coach, someone’s always trying to fix what happened the first time,” Wise said.

KU plays host to TCU (3-2, 1-1) Saturday at Memorial Stadium (11 a.m. kickoff, ESPNU).