*Starters in Bold
Avery Johnson: Snaps– 77 – Comp– 14/24 (58.3%) – Yds– 209 – Td– 1 – Rush– 13 – Yds– 133
Grade: A
I have a proposition for Coach Klien. He should hire a hypnotist to convince Avery that he's playing Kansas every game. He played fast and loose and was finishing runs down the field instead of jogging out of bounds. Avery isn't frustrating because he's a bad quarterback; Avery's frustrating because sometimes he forgets he's a good quarterback. When he's engaged like he was on Saturday, he's one of the most explosive playmakers in the nation, and that's exactly what this offense has been missing.
Coach Klien made a fairly significant change in the passing game, which I'll get to in a moment, but Avery did a better job of spreading the ball around in this game. Instead of one receiver getting 16 targets, Tibbs got 8, and Sally and Manning got 4 each. That tells me Avery was comfortable reading the defense and finding the open man instead of waiting for his primary receiver to break open and trying to fit the ball into a tight window.
While the passing game was better, the quarterback run game was the key factor in the victory. I've been waiting for Avery to get more involved in the inside run game and was happy to see his longest run of the day shake loose from the A gap. I was even more impressed by how he finished runs and used his legs to pick up first downs to keep drives alive. When he decided to go, he put the hammer down instead of desperately looking for a dump-off until the last possible moment and then stepping out of bounds when he ran out of real estate.
He also showed a little fire in this one. I liked that. He doesn't have to be Tim Tebow every game, but I felt like he helped set the emotional tone in this game. When Avery tightens his chin strap and starts looking for defensive backs to truck at the end of runs, it's contagious.
Rodney Fields: Snaps– 19 – Rushes– 8 – Yds– 66 (8.3 YPC) – Td– 1 – Rec– 1 – Yds– 13
Joe Jackson : Snaps– 61 – Rushes– 27 – Yds– 159 (5.9 YPC) – Rec– 1 – Yds– 15
Grade:A
After taking a back seat to Rodney Fields in several games this season, Joe Jackson broke out on Saturday. Like Avery, Joe did most of his damage between the tackles, with his longest run, which went for 64 yards, coming from an A-gap run. While he still isn't breaking many tackles, he did a better job of finishing runs, with 67 of his 159 yards coming after initial contact. Kansas State's running game has lacked a knockout punch, but Joe busted 2 runs for over 10 yards and 2 runs for 15+ yards. He picked up 79 yards on runs over 15 yards; scoring is significantly easier when you can gain chunks of yards instead of trying to scratch out touchdowns 3 downs and 10 yards at a time.
Fields didn't receive his normal workload on Saturday while Jackson was riding his heater, but he was extremely efficient with his 8 opportunities. He ran hard between the tackles, broke a team-high 6 tackles, and averaged 8.3 yards per attempt, including a 23-yard gain, with 15 of those 23 yards coming after first contact.
When Avery plays a bigger role in the running game, it stretches the defense from sideline to sideline. The ends have to stay home on the perimeter and set the edge instead of crashing down and clogging the interior run lanes. Avery doesn't even have to run outside; his speed is enough of a threat to keep the defense honest. I don't think it's any coincidence that 241 of the Wildcats' 359 yards came from A-gap runs. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and the running backs spent more time running straight on Saturday.
Josh Manning: Snaps– 75 – Targets– 4 – Rec– 2 – Yds– 24
Jaron Tibbs: Snaps– 77 – Targets– 8 – Rec– 5 – Yds– 67 – Td– 1
Derrick Salley Jr.: Snaps– 43 – Targets– 4 – Rec– 2 – Yds– 70
Adonis Moise: Snaps– 7 – Targets– 1 – Rec– 1 – Yds– 4
Grade:B
Here's the big change I mentioned earlier. Brandon White and Izaiah Williams haven't panned out in the slot this season. Instead of continuing to try to make it happen with either of their traditional slot receivers, Jaron Tibbs moved into the slot. Interestingly enough, he played in the slot a good bit for Purdue. Moving Tibbs to the slot gave Avery a safety blanket over the middle. All 5 of his receptions came in the middle of the field, and 4 of the 5 ended in first downs. That's the type of drive-extending production that White and Williams haven't provided this season. I wouldn't be surprised to see Tibbs in the slot moving forward.
Derrick Salley Jr. was the biggest beneficiary of the change. He's clearly been one of the 3 best receivers this season, and it now appears that he's fought his way into the starting rotation. At 6'3", 235 pounds, he's a heavy breakfast away from being a tight end, but he happens to be the Wildcats best downfield threat. He showed that against Kansas, with one reception going for a game-high 45 yards and the other for 25 yards. He led the team in receiving yards despite only making 2 receptions. Once again, that's the explosive element that's been missing from the passing game.
Finally, Josh Manning had another solid, if unspectacular game. He turned a 7-yard reception into a 19-yard gain and a first down. I think he might settle in as Kansas State's 3rd receiver in this new setup, and that's probably his best utility.
The only other receiver to get action was Adonis Moise, and his only reception was a behind-the-line-of-scrimmage pop pass for 4 yards.
Barring injury, this should be the new wide receiver depth chart moving forward.
Linkon Cure: Snaps– 69 – Targets– 2 – Rec– 2 – Yds– 16
Oliver Miller: Snaps– 29 – No Stats
Lawson McGraw: Snaps– 10 – No Stats
Grade:C
Linkon Cure is the last man standing from the original depth chart, with Will Anciaux out for the season and Garrett Oakley dealing with an injury that will keep him out of at least one more game. Of those three, Cure was supposed to be the receiving tight end and, hypothetically, one of the better deep threats. He spent most of the game blocking, and that's not really his strong suit. PFF gave him the lowest run-blocking grade on the team, and that doesn't particularly surprise me.
As a receiver, Cure continues to struggle to connect with Avery. I liked seeing him used in the short passing game. He's a gifted runner and turned a 2-yard pass into a 10-yard gain, good for a first down. Unfortunately, he fumbled after making his other reception, and Kansas recovered. For this offense to be at its best, Cure needs to be better.
Another surprise the offensive staff unveiled on Saturday was Oliver Miller playing jumbo tight end. The 6'6", 295-pound freshman, who is a left tackle by trade, was positioned to start either left tackle or left guard in camp until he suffered a late injury. With Ryan Howard playing well at left tackle and Tanner Morely holding down left guard, Miller won't see much action as a regular offensive lineman now that the starting rotation is set. However, he makes one heck of an auxiliary tackle when Kansas State wants to go max protection to give Avery time to hit Salley Jr. deep. The cool thing with Salley Jr. is he doesn't need to be open; he needs enough time to get deep so he can turn 50/50 deep balls into 80/20 deep balls, with the worst outcome being a long incompletion. Miller helps provide that sort of protection.
Miller's real value, though, is as a back side puller. I wouldn't consider that the strongest part of either Ryan Howard or Gus Hawkin's game. Now they can stay home and cut off the back side while Miller blows a hole in the opposing defensive line for the back to follow. Moving Miller to tight end may have been a desperate move because of the injuries at tight end, but it could solve a couple of problems for the offense moving forward. He wasn't at his best on Saturday, but he'll only get better with more reps.
Ryan Howard: Snaps– 78
Tanner Morely: Snaps– 78
Dylan Villarouel: Snaps– 78
Charlie Adams: Snaps– 78
Gus Hawkins: Snaps– 78
Grade:A-
Avery was pressured on only 5 of his 24 dropbacks, wasn't hit, wasn't sacked, and the team rushed for 359 yards. The offensive line's job is to keep Avery upright and open holes for the run game.
Mission Accomplished.
When you dominate the A gap like Kansas State did against Kansas, the center clearly played well. Dylan Villarouel has been good all season, but this may have been his best game yet. Most of Kansas State's big runs came right off Dylan's rear end, but when he's not working a double team with one of the guards, the big man functions well as a puller on outside runs and does a good job climbing to the second level in the zone run scheme. Not too bad for a first year starter.
I've been waiting to see what all the preseason fuss was about with Tanner Morely, and I finally saw it on Saturday. I'm going to write off some of his more nondescript performances to rust. He didn't allow a pressure and was a big part of the interior run game. Charlie Adams remains one of the biggest surprises on the roster at right guard. I know I didn't have him down as an unquestioned starter at the beginning of the season.
Ryan Howard and Gus Hawkins both allowed a single pressure and moved well in space, both in the outside run game and climbing to the second level to help spring longer runs. One thing I noticed on Saturday was more K-State offensive linemen working upfield instead of getting stuck at the line of scrimmage and getting plowed into from behind by the running back. I felt like the backs showed more patience in this one, and the offensive line rewarded them with more space to run.
The only reason this grade is an A- and not an A is the continued issues in short yardage.
