September - Kansas City Sports & Fitness Magazine

Q
uarterback? What quarterback?
No, you’re not hallucinating. We
meant to write this. It really is
insignificant who ends up as the starting
quarterback for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Wildcats coach, Bill Snyder is famous
for building his offense around his quarterback.
But whether he chooses Carson
Coffman (who was officially selected as
the starter at the end of August), Collin
Klein or Sammuel Lamur, the offense will
be constructed around everything, but the
signal-caller.
The key to the offense will be the running
game, with 2009 Big 12 Offensive
Newcomer of the Year Daniel Thomas
carrying the load. Thomas led the conference
in rushing and rushed for more yards
in a season in Kansas State history that
anyone not named Darren Sproles. He’s
bigger and stronger, and he says faster this
season. He’s also coming off his first
off-season in which he knew he’d be the
starting running back.
The offensive line will be one of the
Wildcats strongest units this season, with
lots of size and experience. Eight of the
10 linemen on the projected two-deep are
juniors or seniors. They’ll open holes for
Thomas and whoever else carries the ball.
But to make sure the defense doesn’t
stack the box and focus only on the run.
The Cats will feature a big, talented receiver
corps. Three of the four are 5-11 or taller
and 200 pounds or bigger. The fourth, in
each case, is freshman Tramaine
Thompson, who, at 5-7, 165, will remind
some of a thicker Brandon Banks. With
single coverage likely, the receivers will
find openings and move the chains.
Then, think about this. Thomas played
quarterback in high school and at junior
college. Chris Harper, who transferred
from Oregon after one season, played
quarterback in high school before switching
to receiver during his freshman year
at Oregon.
If Snyder chooses, he could line up
10 SEPTEMBER 2010 KANSAS CITY SPORTS & FITNESS
Kansas State won’t depend on quarterback
to win and go bowling
Thomas and Harper in the backfield with
the quarterback du jour. Guess which one
is going to get the ball and what he’s going
to do with it.
You’ve heard of
the Wildcat formation?
The
Wildcats may
have a tripleoption
Wildcat
formation. Let
the confusion
begin for Dcoordinators
around the
Big 12.
Coffman
started the first
four games of
last season
before being
replaced by
Grant Gregory.
He’s a fifthyear
senior and
an intelligent
quarterback.
He probably
won’t win a
game with his
arm or his legs,
but with anoth-
er year of experience, he probably won’t
lose one either.
Klein looks like a quarterback at 6-5,
233, but he struggled in the preseason.
He’ll likely be switched back to receiver,
where he played all 12 games last year,
thereby strengthening that unit even more.
Lamur is the X-factor. He’s a very athletic
quarterback, and at 6-2, 221, is big
enough to carry the ball when necessary.
He hasn’t grasped the offense as well as
Coffman, but don’t be surprised to see him
sub on a few plays per game to throw
another wrinkle into the offense if he doesn’t
get the starting nod.
More questions lie on the defensive side.
Brandon Harold, who was a freshman all-
American defensive end in 2008 before
missing all but one series last year, returns.
If he’s healthy,
he solidifies an
otherwise
questionable
unit.
Like the
receivers, the
linebackers
have depth but
not a lot of
experience.
Alex Hrebec is
the lone returning
starter. But
he is one of
eight vying for
one of three
starting spots
this year.
Snyder said
Hrebec, Kevin
Rohleder,
Jarell Childs,
Troy Butler
and Blake
Slaughter are
part of the
solution. But
don’t count out
Kadero Terrell, Jarett Wright or even freshman
Tre Walker.
“We’ve got a plethora of guys,” Snyder
said. “It’s not that we don’t have depth. I’m
not going to say that it’s not (high-) quality
depth. These are good young performers.
These are young guys who do what you
ask them to do. They play well within the
system. There’s a lot to choose from. It will
be very competitive.”
The secondary probably will be the
strength of the defense. Safeties Tysyn
The key to the offense for KSU will be the running game
lead by Daniel Thomas.
Hartman and Emmanuel
Lamur return and will be
surrounded by a strong
group of cornerbacks
who have seen a lot of
playing time if not in the
starting lineup.
So where does this
leave the Wildcats at the
end of the season? I
believe they’ll be back in
a bowl game, and probably
a pretty good one.
David
Smale
Contributing
Writer
History tells us there will be surprises.
The Cats will beat somebody they’re not
supposed to beat, and probably struggle
against someone they should dominate.
A year with Snyder certainly has taught the
team how to win.
If the Wildcats start the season with a
win against a mediocre UCLA team,
they’re likely headed for a 4-0 start before
hosting Nebraska on ESPN on Thursday,
Oct. 7. They probably should have beaten
the Bruins last year in Los Angeles, and
with this one in Manhattan, the Cats will
be favored. Follow that with wins over
Missouri State, Iowa State at Arrowhead
Stadium and Central Florida and the
Huskers will face a motivated and confident
team.
I still think Nebraska will win the game,
but the Wildcats should get back on the
winning track the next week at Kansas.
The following week’s game at Baylor
might determine how good K-State’s bowl
game will be. A winnable game at home
against a depleted Oklahoma State squad
precedes the games against Texas and then
at Missouri. But the road games at
Colorado and North Texas ought to help
K-State break a three-year bowl-less
drought. An 8-4 record is certainly within
reach and possibly 9-3.