ITG 67 - Big 12 Team Previews Pt. 1
ITG 67 - Big 12 Team Previews Pt. 1
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:03 You are in the gun with Skylar Callahan and Jed Drenning, the signal caller.
00:08 And today we're gonna be breaking down the Big 12 Conference heading into
00:13 the 2023 season.
00:14 And there's a lot of new faces obviously for actually, to be exact,
00:19 BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Central Florida.
00:22 We'll dive into those new programs.
00:25 We're gonna touch a little bit on all the other 13 that West Virginia fans
00:29 may not be all that familiar with heading into the season.
00:32 If you want a full deep dive on West Virginia in this upcoming season,
00:37 Jed, Owen Schmidt and Wesley Uler, they'll have that for
00:42 you on our YouTube channel at In The Gun.
00:46 And you can find that just about anywhere that you get your podcast as well.
00:50 Go to Believe first and foremost, check out the threads there.
00:53 There's all the episodes on the Believe channel.
00:57 So, but before we get into that real quick, a word from our sponsor, Bet Online.
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01:32 Bet Online, where the game starts.
01:34 And Jed, where we start is with the 2021 Big 12 champs, the Baylor Bears.
01:39 They took a slight step back last year.
01:41 They won 8-5, quite a disappointing season for a team that was probably,
01:45 by many, expected to be in that Big 12 championship race again.
01:51 They made the decision, Dave Aranda did, to go with Blake Chapin.
01:56 Back in the spring, they thought it was gonna be a quarterback battle between he
01:59 and Gary Bohannon.
02:00 Bohannon transfers out, we all know the story.
02:04 So give us the quick rundown on the Baylor Bears.
02:07 >> Well, let's start with this.
02:08 Baylor has been really up and down on this roller coaster ride for
02:15 the better part of the last decade and a half.
02:17 I mean, no program, I would argue, has enjoyed the extreme highs
02:23 versus the extreme lows that Baylor has.
02:25 I mean, even just a microcosm of that would be the Matt Rowe tenure.
02:29 He was only in Baylor in Wake Up for three years.
02:32 We so often talk about scheduling for success.
02:36 Baylor understands how to schedule for success.
02:39 They understand how to put yourself in position from a non-conference
02:43 standpoint to set yourself up appropriately to get a spring into the season.
02:48 I'll tell you this, I shared this stat with you, Skyler,
02:52 probably surprised you like it would most.
02:54 When I mentioned Matt Rowe in those three years at Baylor, he was successful enough
03:00 in turning that program around to parlay that into an NFL job, right?
03:03 With the Carolina Panthers right there where you are.
03:07 Against ranked teams in his three years at Baylor, Matt Rowe was 0 and 11.
03:14 Well, how do you possibly be regarded as so
03:16 successful in three years when you're 0 and 11 against ranked teams?
03:20 Because your non-conference schedule was accommodating enough,
03:23 you can chalk up some easy wins, beat who you should beat in conference play as
03:27 you're undergoing that rebuild, and that's the success that he enjoyed.
03:31 Now, he passed that off to Dave Aranda.
03:33 Dave Aranda suffered mightily.
03:36 He took a gamble with a coordinator that didn't work out on the offensive side of
03:39 the football during the 2020 COVID season.
03:42 He was quick to make a change.
03:44 He made the change.
03:45 He brought in a new coordinator who believes in pounding the football,
03:48 believes in Jeff Grimes, the guy that is an outside zone guy.
03:53 He has that RVBO offense, that reliable violent offense, they like to call it.
03:57 Now, in large measure, that depended on the physicality of his offensive line.
04:01 The problem that they might suffer, they lose four of their starters up front.
04:06 So Baylor's gonna have to undergo a rebuild.
04:09 Now, I think if anybody is in position to coach their way to a rebuild at the point
04:13 of attack on the offensive line, it might be Jeff Grimes and his partner in crime,
04:18 their offensive line coach, they've been together for a long time, is Eric Mateos.
04:22 So yes, they're gonna be untested.
04:25 Yes, they're gonna lack continuity, but they're gonna have to find a way that
04:28 those guys are gonna put them in position to make some things happen on
04:31 the offensive side of the football.
04:33 Now, if that does in fact happen, I think they're gonna have a puncher's chance
04:37 because they also lost some playmakers on the defensive side.
04:41 I mean, you can talk about in the last couple years, not even just last year,
04:46 but some of the key guys that Baylor has lost with.
04:49 Siaki is a guy that comes to mind, the big bodied grizzly bear of a defensive
04:53 tackle, what athleticism he showed.
04:57 That's not easy to fill, a loss like that.
04:59 Dylan Doyle, to me, was the heart and soul of that defense,
05:02 right in the middle of that Mike Backers spot.
05:04 So they're gonna have to replace some key guys.
05:06 But again, can Dave Aranda and his defensive pedigree with the same pressure
05:11 packages, trying to outfox offenses and get them to waste resources in one
05:15 direction and bring pressure from the other, can he be the difference maker?
05:19 Can he compensate for those losses and
05:22 just simply find a way through solid coaching to overcome that?
05:25 So you have an offensive line where that needs to happen, and
05:28 you have a defensive unit where that needs to happen.
05:30 But that also, pick six previews did a good job of talking about this.
05:33 That just happens to be the two strengths of this Baylor coaching staff.
05:38 So that's kind of where they're at.
05:40 Now, against ranked teams two years ago, that was the fundamental difference.
05:43 And I'll toss to you for some quick thoughts here.
05:45 But two years ago, when they shocked everyone and did win the Big 12,
05:49 they were five and one against ranked teams.
05:51 Last year, that wasn't the case.
05:53 They struggled mightily, they were 0 and 5 against ranked teams.
05:55 So they're gonna have to swell up when it matters most and perform in those
05:59 critical games that they wanna get back in the hunt they were two years ago.
06:03 >> Yeah, I think a lot of this depends on the play of Blake Shapen.
06:07 And I don't wanna sound cliche about, it depends on the quarterback, but
06:11 let's be honest.
06:12 Like 18 touchdowns and 10 picks, that's just not gonna work for
06:18 them to be able to win.
06:20 But the good thing is, you're talking about scheduling for success.
06:23 And we flashed the schedule off here at the beginning of this.
06:27 They got Texas State, former Big 12 member Utah in week two.
06:31 And then they have Long Island,
06:32 who West Virginia just beat like a drum not all that long ago.
06:35 So you've got- >> That's just it, right?
06:38 >> Yeah, and you've got a very, very good opportunity.
06:41 And all three of those games, by the way, are at home.
06:44 So they do get the Utah youth at home.
06:46 If they get out to a 3-0 start, they welcome in Texas.
06:50 I mean, that's an opportunity for them to get four wins right off the bat.
06:54 One of which would be presumably a top 25, maybe top 20, 15 win in Texas.
07:01 And who knows where Utah will land in that too.
07:03 I'm sure that they're gonna get some votes as well.
07:05 So I think Blake Shapen is the key to their success offensively.
07:12 Defensively, I'm not really all that concerned about them just because I know
07:16 Dave O'Rean is gonna get it figured out.
07:18 >> Yeah, and you talked about that non-league schedule with Utah coming to town.
07:24 I mean, I have to think, especially that early in the season,
07:27 Kyle Whittingham is the type of savvy defensive coach that he's gonna recognize
07:32 these early season holes.
07:33 I mean, you lost guys like Jacob Gull, Connor Galvin, Grant Miller,
07:37 four of five starters up front.
07:40 That's not an ideal circumstance to be facing a Kyle Whittingham defense early on
07:44 as you sort yourself out.
07:45 So that'll be an interesting matchup.
07:47 I have to think they're gonna have to try and find a way with that outside zone,
07:51 with that stretch play, with their bread and butter.
07:53 Richard Reese really showed some flashes last year at running back.
07:56 Dominic Rhodes, solid transfer that has a lot of promise for
08:01 them from Oklahoma State.
08:03 So the pieces are in place behind center.
08:05 Like you said, if they can set the table for Blake Shapen and find some way to sort
08:09 themselves out through the non-conference schedule and
08:13 find what works up front with new starters, then I think Jeff Grimes will have
08:17 something to work with and I agree with you on the defensive side.
08:20 Aranda will figure things out.
08:22 Even though last year, that's from a struggle standpoint on third down, and
08:26 this is what he's gonna work to address in the off season.
08:28 That's the worst third down defense Baylor has had, and
08:31 this was under Dave Miranda's watch since 2012.
08:35 And we remember the 70 to 63 Baylor defense in 2012,
08:39 much like we remember the Wash Virginia defense in 2012.
08:41 But so interesting things to keep an eye on.
08:45 >> Yeah, moving on to the second team here, it's the first of the newcomers.
08:49 It's BYU and Kalani Sataki.
08:53 So here's the BYU schedule here as we flash up on the screen.
08:56 Sam Houston, Southern Utah and
08:59 Arkansas before they kick things off in Big 12 play on the road at Kansas.
09:03 So this is a, again, a couple of opportunities here for
09:10 BYU to kind of get things going before they really start to get tested.
09:15 And Jed, for Mountain Deer fans, they're gonna know who's a quarterback.
09:22 >> Yeah, they are.
09:23 >> BYU team and that's the old former replacement for
09:27 Kenny Pickett at Pitt, and that is Keaton Slovis.
09:30 Yes, he is transferred to BYU, so
09:32 West Virginia will see him for second straight year at a second school.
09:36 And again, I'd hate to beat the drum here, but it sounds like just looking out
09:43 from what they have returning production wise that he's again,
09:47 gonna be the key to their success, is he not?
09:50 >> And well, and something tells me Mountain Deer fans are gonna be very
09:53 familiar- >> Yeah.
09:55 >> Probably at Pitt, and the F bomb that Mr. Slovis dropped, but I mean-
09:59 >> And they will be coming to Morgantown, so-
10:01 >> They will be coming to Morgantown,
10:03 yeah, so on the one hand, you have a very well established kid who has almost 10,000
10:08 career yards passing.
10:09 On the other hand, you have a kid who over the course of his career has thrown 33
10:13 picks, so he was 10 touchdowns, 9 picks even at Pitt last year.
10:18 So he will put the football in harm's way,
10:20 that's gonna be one of the questions.
10:21 But first of all, when you talk about these four new teams, on some level,
10:25 each of them have to undergo a transition, somewhat like we underwent from the Big
10:29 East to the Big 12 back in 2012, and we remember the growing pains that we
10:33 suffered from a lack of depth in stepping into such a league.
10:37 So you ask yourself, which of these teams is most and
10:39 least inclined to experience similar growing pains?
10:42 I've always kind of viewed BYU as not necessarily a G5 team,
10:47 not necessarily a P5 team, but maybe a quasi P5 team because of their schedule,
10:51 because of their history.
10:53 But when you look at the transition, first of all,
10:55 Kalani Sitaki already took part in one of these transitions.
10:58 He was on the staff that took Utah from the Mountain West into the Pac-12, so
11:04 he's undergone this before.
11:06 And more interestingly,
11:07 when you look at their record against P5 teams in recent years, first of all,
11:11 they're 15 and 16 since he took over.
11:13 Everybody remembers early in his tenure at FedEx Field, West Virginia won that
11:17 exciting thriller down to the wire with a defensive stop and the turnover,
11:20 the 35 to 32 game.
11:22 That was only Sitaki's third game, very early in his tenure.
11:25 But they're 15 and 16 against P5 teams since he took over.
11:28 But more importantly, eight and four over the course of the last couple years.
11:33 But again, that winning tradition, the last 16 years, 15 of those seasons,
11:37 they posted winning records.
11:39 I do think on some level, this is going to be about Keaton Slovis.
11:43 I think he's gonna need some help.
11:45 They have some talented receivers on the perimeter returning.
11:48 I think they're pretty creative with what they do on the offensive side of
11:52 the football with Aaron Roderick.
11:53 But the question marks arise on the defensive side of the football.
11:57 I mean, you're talking about a team that had, they were among the national leaders
12:02 in returning production going into last year on the defensive side of the ball.
12:06 Now normally that translates success, which certainly didn't last year.
12:10 I mean, their defense fell apart at the seams and
12:13 Kalani Sitaki himself had to get very involved in hands on.
12:17 Fire a guy that he'd been around and been on staff with for a long time.
12:20 So they got a rebuild with a new D coordinator in J Hill.
12:23 So I think the two questions or the two things to keep an eye on,
12:27 how does that transition with the rebuild defensively go?
12:31 And let's keep an eye on Keaton Slovis out of the gates and
12:34 see if he can find a way from a scheduling standpoint.
12:37 That's the thing you got to look at, new quarterback, new defense.
12:40 So they open with Sam Houston, that has to help.
12:43 >> Yeah.
12:44 >> Hit a couple of these early games there, right?
12:46 I mean, talk about that, Skyler.
12:48 >> Yeah, I mean, again, when you lose guys like Apuka Nukuwa or Chris Brooks,
12:53 that's big shoes to fill for this team, for
12:57 an offense that really wasn't explosive.
13:00 But I mean, those two guys are, I mean, that was their leading rusher,
13:05 their leading receiver.
13:07 >> Absolutely.
13:08 >> I mean, so to be able to have those two kind of,
13:11 I don't want to call them preseason games, but I mean, let's face it,
13:15 it's what they are.
13:17 Southern Utah, Sam Houston, they got a test.
13:19 When they go to Fayetteville, when they go to Arkansas by week three,
13:22 we're gonna learn a lot about them.
13:24 Cuz that's an up and coming Arkansas team with a lot of talent back.
13:27 But so by the time they get into league play,
13:29 we're gonna know a lot about them.
13:31 It's fascinating.
13:32 I do think if they can overcome those shortcomings they suffered through
13:36 defensively last year, and if you can get some element of production from Keaton
13:39 Slovis, this is the type of roster that has an opportunity to work its way into
13:44 what's expected to be that massive log jam kinda in the center of the Big 12, right?
13:50 So I think this is a team that might be in position to do that.
13:54 But I'm a Setaki guy.
13:55 I think he's done a nice job with some of the challenges that he's had to overcome.
13:59 First of all, what's one thing Mountaineer fans might not know about BYU?
14:07 What's one thing maybe they assume incorrectly?
14:09 Well, when you talk to BYU people, one of the things they'll say, look, yeah,
14:13 we got some older kids, but they're not up and down our roster.
14:17 That's the exception, not the rule.
14:19 We're not a bunch of 28 and 29-year-olds coming out there against your 20-year-olds.
14:22 Yes, some of those, but by and large, that's the exception, not the rule.
14:26 They're big physical kids.
14:28 They hit Samoa hard from a recruiting standpoint.
14:31 So they're gonna bring a physical element and a physical style of football on both
14:34 sides of the ball once they get things right defensively.
14:37 Yeah, when BYU is at its best, they are very strong in the trenches.
14:41 And we've seen it over the years, especially defensively.
14:43 I mean, you talk about Kyle Van Noy, Zeki Yonza.
14:46 I mean, they've had some legitimate NFL talent in that front seven years past.
14:52 And I feel like that is why they are probably gonna have the most success
14:56 in the Big 12 of these first four newcomers because they can recruit to that.
15:01 They can build that.
15:02 And I think from a depth perspective, they can probably handle the schedule
15:07 probably a little bit better than some of these other schools that we're gonna get
15:09 talking about here.
15:10 Their schedule, you're right, has been more akin to what they're about to undergo.
15:15 Now, it's more P5s than what they're used to, okay?
15:18 It certainly is that, but that's something to consider right there.
15:23 But when you look at their style of play, when they come to Morgantown late in
15:27 the season, they're built to play late season football.
15:29 There's no doubt about that.
15:31 But also from a scheduling standpoint, last thing I'll toss out there.
15:34 Remember West Virginia's first loss in our first year in the Big 12,
15:38 our first conference loss?
15:40 We went on the road to Texas, played them Saturday night, had a shootout,
15:45 won a 48-45 game.
15:47 We were sixth, they were 11th.
15:49 We came back home, and next thing you know, we turn around, and
15:52 in consecutive weeks, we're going to Texas again, but this time to Lubbock.
15:56 And we absolutely got ambushed.
15:58 Well, don't look now, but here comes BYU from Provo.
16:03 The week before they come to Morgantown, they go to Austin to DKR just like we did.
16:08 They got to go back to Provo just like we did, and
16:12 then they got to make a long trip across the country just like we did.
16:15 So I see a parallel there.
16:17 Maybe we can catch them at the right time late in the season after that trip at DKR.
16:21 We'll see.
16:21 >> That's a very good point with these newcomers,
16:23 especially the packed whole schools when they come in.
16:26 When you look at where they are at on West Virginia's schedule,
16:29 you got to kind of see where they're bouncing back and forth from.
16:32 That could be definitely a huge effect for sure.
16:35 Before we get into our third team here, a quick word from Toothman Ford.
16:41 We all know, let's be honest.
16:42 >> And plenty to pick from, plenty to pick from, yeah.
16:44 >> Plenty to pick from.
16:45 They're the best people to work with.
16:46 So if you're gonna go get a car,
16:49 go visit our friends at Toothman Ford where cars cost less.
16:53 All right, so our third team here on the Big 12 preview is the Cincinnati Bearcats.
16:57 One, another one of the newcomers here in the Big 12.
17:01 They go Eastern Kentucky, Pitt, and Miami,
17:05 Ohio to open up their season before jumping into Big 12 play where they will
17:10 host Oklahoma.
17:12 How about that for your first Big 12 game there in Cincinnati?
17:15 I'm sure the Nippert Stadium will be rocking and packed for that one.
17:18 So, Jen, let's just be honest here with Cincinnati.
17:22 This is gonna be a multi-year rebuild.
17:26 This is not gonna be a quick fix.
17:27 You can look at the transfer portal and
17:29 say maybe they can make this happen a little bit quicker.
17:31 But just looking at what they have returning from last year, it's not very much.
17:36 I mean, they've got, they completely flipped their whole offense.
17:39 They got transfers all over the place at key positions.
17:42 And I don't know what they're going to look like by the end of the season
17:48 from a depth standpoint, because if they suffer some injuries, this is gonna be,
17:53 this could end up being a snowball effect where they end up maybe four and eight or
17:57 five and seven, maybe even worse.
17:59 And in my opinion, this is probably one of the teams that I would have put
18:04 below West Virginia in the Big 12 preseason rankings.
18:07 I don't know how media saw this roster and said, it's better than WVU, but
18:13 that's just me.
18:14 >> Well, Scott Satterfield is a good football coach.
18:20 He's replacing a good football coach, which we'll hit on.
18:22 But Scott Satterfield at Appy State did a great job.
18:25 Actually, he and Neil squared off a number of times when he was at Troy.
18:29 He did a good job at Louisville.
18:31 What might you expect out of Scott Satterfield taking things over?
18:35 This is the type of thing that from a transition standpoint, Skyler,
18:38 Luke Fickle put that program on such solid footing with the job that he did.
18:43 It would have been really fun to watch the Cincinnati teams from a couple years
18:46 ago with a stud at quarterback and an NFL first round pick,
18:49 one of the better corners it turns out in the NFL.
18:53 Really a lot of talent splashed across both sides of that lineup a couple
18:56 years ago.
18:57 They were in the playoffs not that long ago.
18:59 It would have been fun watching that Cincinnati against a power five schedule
19:04 to see how it could hold up, right?
19:05 But that's not what you're getting.
19:07 It's the type of thing that Luke Fickle built it up.
19:11 And ordinarily, the mark of a good coach traditionally was, okay,
19:14 what kind of shape did you leave the program in compared to how you took it over?
19:18 Well, he left it in a lot better shape, right?
19:21 But the problem now in the modern era, the portal impacts things in such
19:26 a way that it never used to that there's an exodus.
19:29 And it stands to reason that when you lose your head coach,
19:32 especially a coach the caliber of Luke Fickle,
19:33 you're gonna lose a lot of kids through the portal.
19:36 So from a portal activity standpoint, when you look at on3.com,
19:40 they're one of the many outfits that rate how teams project or
19:44 do from a production standpoint in the portal, they have an index that they look at.
19:48 Cincinnati ranked at the bottom of the big 12 from that power index standpoint
19:53 in the portal, again, kind of to be expected when you're in a coaching transition,
19:57 losing the likes of Luke Fickle.
19:59 So what can you expect with Scott Satterfield taking over?
20:02 First of all, you can expect a disciplined football team,
20:06 least penalized team in the ACC last year at Louisville.
20:09 That's kind of the way he approaches the game.
20:10 Remember when Matt Campbell took over Iowa State, they were flawed in so
20:15 many ways.
20:15 And that's the first thing he did was he stopped beating himself by being among
20:19 the least penalized teams in the big 12.
20:20 They didn't turn it over nearly as many times.
20:22 That's similar to what you can see Scott Satterfield work towards.
20:26 But the starting point is gonna be better from a foundational standpoint as to what
20:30 Cincinnati is used to doing in recent years.
20:33 Now, offensively, he's gonna wanna run the football.
20:36 The last couple years, his Louisville teams, nobody in the ACC had more rushing
20:40 yards than his Louisville offenses the last couple years.
20:43 And maybe that will cater to the strength of the Cincinnati team if it has one.
20:47 Dante Corleone's an NFL defensive tackle, he's a stud.
20:50 And he's not alone in the Cincinnati defensive line.
20:54 They have enough talent to be incredibly disruptive at the point of attack
20:59 along that defensive line.
21:00 They're solid linebacker.
21:02 They're not bereft of talent on the back end.
21:04 So defensively, they might find a way.
21:06 Now the question is, can the style of play, again,
21:09 new quarterback expected to be Emory Jones, athletic.
21:13 He can move around, make things happen with his legs.
21:15 But sometimes, again, might put the football in harm's way and turn it over.
21:18 But if they run the football effectively enough, as Scott Satterfield did at
21:22 Louisville, and he's going to want to and be helping to intend on doing at Cincinnati.
21:26 To help that defense out, maybe take the air out of things,
21:29 shrink the game a little bit.
21:31 It will be interesting to see where this goes because they also have a couple
21:34 weapons from a special team standpoint.
21:36 But that's kind of the way I see things big picture from a Cincinnati standpoint.
21:40 Being back in the league once again with West Virginia, and you and
21:43 I talked off camera, Skyler.
21:46 Cincinnati has played football longer than West Virginia.
21:49 You can't say that, but a lot of teams in this league, right?
21:51 They've been at this a long time.
21:53 Now, up until 2005, when you compare what they accomplished or
21:57 didn't accomplish from way back when they started football in the wider days,
22:02 I guess, right?
22:04 Up to 2005, it doesn't really compare to what they accomplished since.
22:09 Once they joined the realigned Big East from 2005 into the American,
22:13 what they've accomplished 17 years since, 14 bowl games, it's pretty impressive.
22:18 They fashioned their entire brand and made a name for themselves.
22:22 So I agree with you.
22:23 I expect them to develop into a force to be reckoned with.
22:27 But we're really catching them downturn with a new staff,
22:31 with an exodus of talent.
22:33 We'll see how it goes, so.
22:36 >> Yeah, I mean, I think they could be, and I hate to use the term sleeping giant,
22:40 because I think you could say that about maybe even each or
22:44 three of the four newcomers in the Big 12.
22:46 But I mean, you got a recruiting hotbed in the state of Ohio.
22:50 And I know that for years,
22:52 they weren't able to really compete against Ohio State in recruiting.
22:55 Now that you have that Big 12 logo next to you,
22:57 I think that is gonna help win some of those battles.
23:00 So if they can keep some of that talent in state,
23:02 that's gonna go a long ways for Cincinnati.
23:04 So moving on to our- >> To your point real quickly,
23:08 let's close with this, Skyler.
23:09 Skyler.
23:11 >> Yeah. >> To your point real quickly,
23:12 I'll bolster that recruiting point.
23:14 Tucky has made a heck of a living, Coach Stoops,
23:18 by taking kids that Ohio State didn't want.
23:21 >> Yeah. >> What's to say Cincinnati can't step
23:24 to the table and fill a similar in-state as opposed to across the river?
23:28 Sorry to interrupt, but you made me think of that.
23:30 A great point on the recruiting front by you.
23:32 >> Yeah, absolutely, cuz I mean, Ohio State is gonna get to pick their clutch.
23:36 That's just how it is.
23:38 So- >> Yep.
23:39 >> Cincinnati's got a chance to get some of the leftovers and
23:42 oftentimes are pretty good leftovers to have that.
23:44 So number four, and it is somebody, again, West Virginia fans are familiar with,
23:50 and that is Dana Holgerson and Houston.
23:52 They open up against Utta, then they have Rice, and
23:57 then they get into the conference play for a small little bit there with PCU before
24:02 finishing out non-con play against Sam Houston and Jed.
24:06 Similar situation to probably more so Cincinnati than BYU,
24:10 that they're gonna have to establish depth and it's gonna take a little while to do so.
24:14 But looking at what they have coming back, it's not a lot.
24:19 I mean, you're looking at both sides of the ball and
24:22 I mean, they were turning four starters.
24:24 It's a defense that gave up over 32 points a game last year.
24:28 And Doug Belk, who was a part of Dana's staff here at West Virginia,
24:32 he's gonna have his support cut out for him.
24:34 I mean, this is a massive, massive task that he has ahead of him.
24:39 And I don't know that they're gonna have the top tier talent right now.
24:42 But I mean, again, Dana knows how to figure this stuff out offensively.
24:48 It's just a matter of, is it gonna be a similar transition for Dana?
24:53 Do you think where he came in with West Virginia to the Big 12 and
24:56 it was all they just got to outscore everybody?
24:58 Is that kind of a similar situation you see here with Houston?
25:02 >> To an extent, and if you remember, that worked until it didn't.
25:07 We had to rebuild once again in 2013, but even down the stretch in 2012.
25:14 But Doug's a good football coach.
25:16 Doug Belk's a good football coach.
25:18 And when you look at the job that he did two years ago,
25:21 with what they called Houston's third war defense.
25:26 I mean, I love that nickname, but they led the FBS third down percentage.
25:32 Dana was actually calling things offensively in conjunction with Shannon
25:35 Dawson, who's gone, we'll get to that.
25:37 Two years ago to help his defense out, to really keep them off the field and
25:42 help minimize their snaps to some extent.
25:46 So that worked to great effect two years ago when they had all this success.
25:52 But a year ago, you saw them already, even before losing the talent that they've
25:57 since lost, they plummeted from leading the nation in third down defense.
26:01 To nationally, they ranked 110 in that critical category last year.
26:06 So the question is, can Doug Belk find a way to overcome that?
26:11 Last year, he tried to do so by bringing pressure and
26:15 outnumbering you offensively.
26:17 It didn't work so well.
26:18 They were victimized by a ton of big plays, but
26:21 they did pressure the quarterback.
26:22 But the deal with that is, when you so consistently bring numbers,
26:26 somebody's band's gonna be playing.
26:29 And very often, it's gonna be the band of the other offense.
26:32 And that's what you saw play out with Houston last year.
26:35 So the question is, can they overcome some of those issues,
26:38 some of those talent shortcomings?
26:41 I mean, not a ton of stuff to work with.
26:43 You'd start with Nelson Caesar on the defensive line.
26:45 He's a guy with some potential.
26:47 AJ Halsey on the back end,
26:49 a guy at safety that can do some different things for them.
26:52 But that's the question.
26:54 So I would jump over to the offensive side.
26:56 And I agree with you.
26:57 If anybody can figure things out after losing a 4,000 yard passer as they did in
27:01 Clayton Toon, after losing Tank Dell, who declared early for
27:05 the draft after catching 109 passes.
27:07 I mean, Dana finds a way, whether it's Mario Alford, whether it's Kevin White.
27:13 He recycles on the perimeter and finds a way in his version of the air raid to
27:17 really feed the football to the appropriate people and put them in space and
27:21 give them an opportunity to make some things happen.
27:24 Now, they have a veteran presence up front at the point of attack.
27:28 So there's some potential there.
27:29 Can they establish that enough?
27:31 Okay, they lost Alton McCaskill at the end of the spring,
27:34 was a true difference making running back.
27:36 They lost him in the portal, he's off to Colorado with Dion.
27:38 So they got Tony Mathis.
27:39 Look, I'm not knocking Tony.
27:40 Tony is serviceable.
27:41 He's a steady starter.
27:42 He's reliable.
27:43 I expect him to do some solid things for Dana.
27:46 I'm just not sure he's Alton McCaskill.
27:48 So we'll see how the run game works out.
27:51 I think he'll find something to work in the pass game.
27:54 I just have to believe if Donovan Smith works out, and
27:58 Donovan Smith did show some things at Texas Tech.
28:01 I mean, we saw that firsthand with West Virginia.
28:05 He's a talented kid.
28:06 He's played a lot of football.
28:08 So you're not starting from scratch with Donovan Smith.
28:10 So I have to believe that Dana, with his pedigree and
28:13 with his creativity, he's gonna find a way to turn either Sam Brown,
28:17 a former Mountaineer receiver, or Joseph Manjack.
28:21 He has Michael Loft on a tight end.
28:22 He's gonna find a way to put those guys in position to succeed and
28:26 have some opportunities from the offensive side.
28:28 Enough to make things interesting, but I do think there are parallels.
28:32 We talked about Cincinnati and what they lost.
28:36 Well, once again, don't you think Dana would love to be coming into the Big 12
28:39 with Clayton Toon pulling the trigger?
28:41 >> Yeah.
28:41 >> You know, playing pitch and catch, but that's not the case.
28:46 So over the course of time, Houston's the type of market that with a Big 12 brand
28:51 on your jersey you can recruit to.
28:53 Let's just see how things work from a transition standpoint.
28:56 The thing is, I don't know if Dana will be ambushed to the extent that he was
29:01 the first time around, because at least this time he's been through it,
29:03 so he knows to expect it.
29:05 He recognizes that what a lack of depth can do.
29:08 It's just how quickly can he address that.
29:11 Another program that I think has a bright future in the Big 12,
29:15 much like we talked about with Cincinnati.
29:16 So we'll see how things go right out of the gate.
29:21 We draw them on a Thursday night.
29:23 So I would imagine we're gonna take their best shot, all things considered.
29:27 But I think they have a bright future.
29:29 It's just how quickly can they come out of the gates and play that out.
29:33 Dana's been trying to warn them for the better part of 18 months.
29:36 And they've been recruiting really with a Big 12 angle and
29:41 perspective and narrative for the last year and a half.
29:43 Dana's talked about that.
29:45 So it's not like they're starting from scratch with that front either.
29:48 You don't have to officially be in the league before you start telling kids
29:50 you're in the league.
29:52 So they've done a good job of that.
29:53 We'll just see how things go early on and
29:55 see what kind of growing pains they might expect.
29:58 >> Yeah, and I mean, that's a great point, because when he was at West Virginia,
30:01 he didn't really have that window to say, hey,
30:05 we're going to be in the Big 12 Conference.
30:07 It was kind of a very quick process.
30:09 But yeah, Dana's gonna obviously figure some things out offensively.
30:14 I think they've got some guys that can make some plays.
30:17 Donovan Smith, as you mentioned, has dual threat ability.
30:20 And it's just a matter of consistency, I really think, with him.
30:23 It's kind of Jekyll and Hyde at times.
30:25 And if you can kind of take some of the bad out of his game and
30:29 the forced throws and try to be a hero and all that stuff.
30:33 If you take that away from him a little bit, but
30:36 allow him to still play within himself, then this offense can really open up for
30:40 Houston.
30:41 So going to Iowa State, Matt Campbell looking to bounce back and
30:46 get things back on track, but he's dealing with a whole heck of a lot right now,
30:50 isn't he, Jett?
30:51 >> He sure is.
30:52 Stay tuned on a daily basis, talk about climate news.
30:56 Well, there could be camp news coming out of Iowa State.
30:59 You had this off the field.
31:01 It was Iowa State and Iowa to some extent.
31:03 Strange things going on from a gambling perspective.
31:07 Some kids maybe did a couple of the wrong things.
31:11 Quarterback Hunter Deckers did so and even got caught on tape on video doing so.
31:16 That went viral, so very unfortunate for him.
31:19 But he was a productive player for him last year.
31:22 Now he finds himself in a bad spot.
31:25 I mean, again, day to day, we're kind of keeping our eye on news to come out of
31:28 that camp to see what plays out there.
31:30 Rocco Beck, Mountaineer fans need to remember.
31:33 Anthony Beck's son Rocco, pretty daggone quarterback in his own right.
31:37 He would be the number two.
31:40 He'd be the viable option to be pulling that trigger for their offense.
31:45 And when you talk about their offense, they're going a different direction.
31:48 They weren't happy with how things unfolded last year with Tom Manning.
31:52 They couldn't run the football.
31:54 Now part of that, I have to blame on the fact that early in the year,
31:57 they were really high on Cartabius Norton.
32:00 And Cartabius Norton suffered an injury that cost him most of the season,
32:04 didn't play.
32:05 So that hurt them.
32:06 They were disjointed up front along the offensive line.
32:09 They just couldn't find any continuity.
32:11 And Tom Manning, who so often, I mean, he even left for
32:14 a year to go coach the tight ends with the Colts and they brought him back.
32:17 He was so creative with that tight end room.
32:19 We've seen what he did with some of those big bodied,
32:22 giant frame tight ends through the years.
32:24 Well, that wasn't part of what they did last year.
32:25 They lost some of those guys.
32:27 They struggled to find guys to fill those roles.
32:32 I mean, Xavier Hutchinson was kinda really the only thing they had.
32:35 Sometimes people would bracket their coverage to him, he'd still make plays.
32:39 But Nate Sheelhouse is gonna be directing their offense now from an OC standpoint.
32:46 We'll see which direction that goes.
32:48 And then on the defensive side, you can expect John Haycock's defense
32:53 is gonna show up.
32:54 They're gonna play.
32:54 They're gonna play out.
32:55 Again, last year, just about every key metric you look at, scoring defense,
32:59 number one in the Big 12, total defense, number one in the Big 12, pass defense,
33:02 rush defense.
33:03 Curiously enough, the only area that John Haycock's defense struggled last year
33:09 was when the field shrunk and they found themselves in the red zone.
33:12 The Cyclones had the worst touchdown rate allowed.
33:16 69% of the time, the opposition reached the end once they got inside the 20 in
33:21 the red zone against Iowa State.
33:23 But outside of that, defensively, they were exceptional.
33:26 But curious to me, the things that Matt Campbell, when he came from the Mac and
33:30 showed up at Iowa State to replace Paul Rhodes, how he turned that around was
33:34 playing sound fundamental football and being sound in the kick game, right?
33:38 So they didn't penalize themselves, they didn't back up, they moved forward.
33:42 From a special team standpoint, they only helped themselves,
33:45 they didn't hurt themselves.
33:45 And I'm looking out there last year, Skyler,
33:48 they couldn't find a long snapper for their punt team.
33:51 Which led them to having three punts blocked.
33:54 And I'll be honest with you, after being out there in Ames last year and
33:57 watching that game, they're lucky it was only three.
34:00 I couldn't believe that, I mean, I'm watching that kid in pregame and
34:04 I'm like, this is the best you can find?
34:06 And I'm like, wow, so they were lucky to escape with only three.
34:10 But those are the types of things that the Matt Campbell teams that had success
34:14 in the past, now let's not lose sight of the fact that they lost
34:18 in one year two generational players.
34:21 They lost Breece Hall and they lost Brock Purdy.
34:23 So they lost Pat White and Steve Slayton in the same year.
34:27 They had to find a way to overcome that, that's not easy to do.
34:30 So there are some question marks surrounding that program.
34:35 But the biggest question mark would be from a culture standpoint,
34:38 they hang their hat on culture and you have all these off the field issues.
34:42 Unfolding, so there's some uncertainty there.
34:44 I have to believe long term Matt Campbell figures this out, but
34:48 that's another one that look, the schedule is gonna matter.
34:52 Who they play and who they don't play is gonna matter.
34:54 Those are the types of things they're gonna have to do because they found a way
34:57 only because of that incredibly stingy defense to hang around in so
35:02 many of these games last year.
35:04 But because of their lack of a running game, because of their inability to push
35:08 the football downfield with any level of consistency, they just couldn't score
35:12 enough to make a difference in these tight games, and they lost just about all of them.
35:16 I mean, even West Virginia who struggled against the run a year ago,
35:19 shut this offense down for three quarters defensively against the Iowa State run
35:24 game, and finally, because the Western offense just couldn't stay on the field
35:28 and string anything together, the defense was out there so much that they finally
35:32 had to break in the fourth quarter it did, but
35:34 Iowa State had massive deficiencies in the run game.
35:37 Part of it due to injury, part of it due to issues along the offensive front, but
35:40 you got a new officer coordinator, potentially a new quarterback, stay tuned.
35:45 And no Xavier Hutchinson, so who might be the answer on the perimeter?
35:49 We'll see, they got some guys who could be candidates, but
35:52 let's see how this unfolds.
35:53 >> Yeah, I mean, that's 100% right there, you're spot on with the run game.
35:58 I mean, 3.3 yards to carry me, that's just not gonna do it.
36:00 I mean, for a Matt Campbell coach team, that's their bread and butter.
36:05 They run the ball, they play defense, they shrink the game.
36:09 Jarrell Brock, he had 445 yards, he was their leading rusher a year ago,
36:13 4.5 yards a pop, which isn't too, too bad.
36:16 But they've got to figure out something with this running game.
36:20 And if they do, and really, they're almost gonna have to even more now,
36:25 if you have Rocco Beckton, a quarterback who has virtually no experience.
36:30 So if you're putting him out there and he's having to carry the load
36:33 offensively throwing the ball around, you're gonna be in big, big trouble.
36:35 So- >> And we're just assuming, Skyler,
36:38 we're assuming that because John Heacock is there,
36:42 defensively they'll find a way to overcome the loss of a first round pick.
36:47 As an edge rusher in Will McDonald, they'll find a way to overcome the loss of
36:50 more linebackers like Orion Vance, Kobe Reader.
36:53 Anthony Johnson was an instrumental kid for them on the back end.
36:56 We're just assuming that they'll find a way defensively because of Heacock's
37:00 presence to overcome that before you get into any of the issues offensively.
37:04 So we'll see.
37:05 >> Yeah, quick thank you to GoMart, here to keep you going.
37:09 Make sure you're signing up for your GoMart rewards.
37:12 And now we got the Kansas Jayhawks who opened up last season just absolutely
37:18 red hot, they went out five and 0 to start the season.
37:21 College game day is coming to town.
37:23 Everyone in the country really was talking about this massive turnaround that
37:27 Lance Leopold directed, and rightfully so.
37:30 I mean, he has definitely earned the respect of me and probably you and
37:36 a lot of others around the college football game for
37:39 how quickly he's turned this program around.
37:41 He's got the preseason player of the year on offensive,
37:44 this quarterback Jalen Daniels.
37:46 A lot of which, that was part of why they kind of fell apart there in the second
37:51 half of the season, they went one and six down the stretch.
37:53 He was out with an injury, but this is a very intriguing team.
37:57 It's weird to say, Jed, watch out for the Kansas Jayhawks.
38:01 I mean, could they actually be a team that really pushes for
38:04 a top three or four spot?
38:06 I mean, I don't know if we go that high with them, but
38:09 they've got some playmakers now with Jalen Daniels and Devin Needham.
38:12 >> They're explosive, but they've got to solve a lot of things defensively.
38:18 Kansas a year ago on the defensive side of the football,
38:22 the worst scoring defense in the Big 12.
38:24 They had the worst total defense in the Big 12, the worst rush defense in the Big 12.
38:28 They couldn't get teams off the field defensively on third down.
38:31 So they couldn't play dead in the West on the defensive side of the ball.
38:35 And they lost, by the way, their third down pass rush specialist Lonnie Phelps.
38:40 So he was kind of a difference maker who transferred in and
38:44 gave him a lot of production for one season.
38:45 But here's what's curious about this.
38:47 You mentioned Jalen Daniels, and what a terrific job he did for them.
38:52 And he was a big part of the reason they had so many weapons offensively.
38:57 But he was the straw that stirred the drink.
38:59 And he was a big part of the reason that this was one of the critical keys.
39:02 First of all, the staff's been together for a long time.
39:05 When you look at this Lance Leipold staff,
39:07 whether it's Andy Kotelnicki coordinating the offense, Brian Bordlund on the defensive
39:11 side, that's why I do think they'll figure things out defensively.
39:14 It worked at Buffalo, it worked at the D3 level.
39:17 He understands and trusts his staff, they have a plan.
39:19 It's just gonna take some time to plug in the appropriate personnel,
39:22 in this case on the defensive side.
39:24 But when you look at Jalen Daniels, one of the things that they were so good at,
39:28 in fact, better than anybody in the Big 12, they led the Big 12 in third down offense.
39:33 They converted 50.6% of their time, that is absolutely exceptional.
39:40 Okay, now, that was after being dead last in 2020, 2021.
39:45 You wanna turn your fortunes around offensively, do that.
39:48 Go from dead last to elite in third down conversions.
39:53 That's a quick way to do it.
39:54 And here's what's impressive.
39:55 I talked about coaching, I talked about that staff.
39:57 I talked about Andy Kotelnicki, their offensive coordinator.
40:00 Even after the Jalen Daniels injury, even with a backup running the show,
40:05 they converted 47% of their third downs.
40:09 They were still elite.
40:10 So that tells you they got a little something going on.
40:13 Now, what's interesting is when you break down the numbers,
40:15 one of the things I track is I look at pass run tendencies for each team.
40:18 I look at the snaps per game, offensively the snaps per game.
40:21 Their defense was asked to defend.
40:25 Because in large part of that success on third down, you'd think, well,
40:30 that puts you in position offensively to give your defense a hand and
40:33 keep them off the field, right?
40:34 Well, the truth is, Kansas ran the fewest snaps per game out of any of
40:39 the 14 teams that will constitute this year's Big 12.
40:43 They only ran 63 snaps a game, which left their defense out there,
40:48 76 snaps a game tied for second most faced by a defense in the Big 12.
40:53 That's what the recipe for a defensive struggle is.
40:57 I mean, asking your defense to defend 76 snaps a game.
41:00 Well, how do those two things live in the world, live in the same world?
41:03 An elite third down offense, but
41:06 a defense tasked with defending 76 snaps a game.
41:09 I'll tell you how, big plays on the offensive side.
41:13 When you look at the big plays this offensive made, not just in the past game,
41:16 but with Devin Neal in the run game and others.
41:19 They from a 50 plus yard play standpoint, from a splash play standpoint,
41:23 even if you look at the 40 plus yard plays, only TCU had more in the Big 12.
41:28 And TCU, of course, advanced to the CFP Championship, played 15 games.
41:32 So Kansas on a very regular basis was making game breaking plays and
41:37 they were only on the field for a handful of snaps at a time.
41:40 Now they were buying themselves more opportunities with that success on third
41:44 down, but they didn't have a lot of them.
41:46 It was kind of a bang, bang score, bang, bang, big play type of offense.
41:51 Now the question is, can they address the shortcomings that they had on
41:54 the defensive side of the football?
41:56 Because on the offensive side, we talked about how good they were, but
42:00 not only were they good, they were almost fully intact.
42:03 I mean, to their partner, to Devin Neal, to the offensive line,
42:08 they really only lose one key guy up front.
42:11 Some of those guys transferred from Buffalo a year ago and
42:13 that helped from a continuity standpoint with what Codornicki and
42:16 what Lance Lightpole wanted to do, they understood their scheme.
42:20 Now on the defensive side of the football, that's going to be the question.
42:23 Can you have guys, it's got to start with Kenny Logan.
42:26 He is an elite defender on the back end for them defensively.
42:28 He's one of the better defensive backs in the Big 12.
42:30 It's got to be built around him.
42:32 They have some transfers coming in.
42:34 Kobe Bryant's a good football player at corner.
42:36 So they have some pieces in place.
42:38 Depth could be an issue for them on the defensive side.
42:40 Before you can develop depth, you must first develop talent.
42:42 So they're kind of still in that phase of things.
42:45 Let's see how things go.
42:47 Again, I have to believe that over the arc of time,
42:49 Brian Borland will figure things out on the defensive side,
42:53 much like Codornicki and the offensive staff have.
42:56 But let's see how that goes.
42:57 One of the things that they did offensively that helped themselves out,
43:00 they understood the need to get the football out quickly.
43:03 And they didn't ask the offensive line to hold up against some of these Big 12
43:08 pass rushes.
43:09 And it worked with great success, not just last year, but even two years ago.
43:13 So let's see if similar things can play on the defensive side.
43:16 Can they get creative?
43:17 Can they steal a few turnovers?
43:18 Can they steal a few possessions?
43:19 We'll see.
43:20 But that's what has to happen.
43:21 For Kansas to truly be taken seriously and take the next step,
43:25 have to address those things on the defensive side.
43:27 >> Yeah, I would have been really interested to see what Kansas would have
43:30 done down the stripes had Jalen Daniels been healthy.
43:33 I think that would have been really interesting to see.
43:35 Could they have gotten to maybe seven, eight wins?
43:38 Maybe even nine.
43:39 I mean, how crazy would that be?
43:41 I mean, to see Kansas with nine wins in one football season.
43:45 I mean, it's unthinkable.
43:46 But I think that's the key for Kansas is how does Jalen Daniels respond
43:52 to all the adjustments that everyone in the Big 12 is gonna make?
43:57 Because now teams know about Jalen Daniels.
43:59 He's not this best kept secret anymore.
44:03 It's all out there.
44:04 So how do they defend him?
44:05 How do they take Devin Neal out of the game?
44:08 Hyshaw is a kid that, as I mentioned off air, scored two touchdowns against
44:13 West Virginia.
44:13 He was the guy that really kind of did damage against West Virginia.
44:16 >> Minnesota.
44:17 >> That's a tough situation there.
44:21 But if they can overcome that and find some other guys to help complement Daniels
44:25 and Neal, I think Kansas is gonna make this another successful season and
44:29 prove that 2022 was not just an anomaly.
44:33 >> And for the final team of our two part preview here, the Big 12,
44:37 we're gonna go to Kansas State.
44:39 And I'm just gonna throw it out there, Jed.
44:42 This is my Big 12 preseason pick to win the league.
44:46 I love Kansas State.
44:48 Maybe I'm just giving another shot at it.
44:51 I had them as my preseason pick last year.
44:55 I fell a little short of that.
44:56 But I love this Kansas State team.
44:58 I think Will Howard is a terrific quarterback.
45:02 And really, I think that's what kind of hindered them a little bit a year ago,
45:06 is they were trying to force this two quarterback system thing with Adrian
45:10 Martinez.
45:11 And by the time they figured out, hey, Will Howard's the guy,
45:14 it was probably a little bit too late.
45:16 So I like Will Howard.
45:17 He's gonna have a huge year for them.
45:20 They've got some playmakers offensively.
45:22 And you'll hit on those guys here in just a moment.
45:24 But they opened up the season in southeastern Missouri, I believe that is,
45:29 yeah, and the NICU play Troy and then Missouri before they open up with UCF and
45:35 Big 12 play.
45:36 So am I crazy for thinking K-State, Big 12 preseason pick here, Jed, or am I okay?
45:44 >> Well, no, they were the absolute real deal legit throughout the course of last
45:50 year, it wasn't just a team that got hot at the right time down the stretch.
45:54 I mean, they played good football throughout.
45:56 We now see what that loss to Tulane, which seemed catastrophic early in the year,
46:01 what it turned out to really be.
46:03 Tulane's a pretty good football team, right?
46:05 But this is a team that blew out Missouri, they blew out Oklahoma State.
46:09 They blew out Baylor, who two years ago, as we talked about, won the Big 12.
46:12 They blew out Kansas.
46:14 So this was a solid football team throughout the course of the 2022 season
46:19 before knocking off TCU and Jerry Ward, who won the Big 12.
46:23 So now the question becomes, okay,
46:26 obviously they can recruit talent, they can develop talent.
46:31 But can they replace talent?
46:32 Because let's start on the offensive side of the football.
46:35 That's one of the things they're gonna have to do.
46:38 Malik knows was a difference maker on the perimeter.
46:40 He was a big player receiver, he was a stud.
46:42 We know what Deuce Vaughn was.
46:44 I mean, nobody's gonna refute what Deuce Vaughn was.
46:46 Now, I do like what they have returning up front on the offensive line.
46:50 As a matter of fact, if there's a team that's as loaded as West Virginia, or
46:53 maybe even a touch more so, we'll see up front along the offensive line,
46:58 it might be the Kansas State Wildcats.
47:00 So you talked about Will Howard, I like Will Howard too.
47:04 I think that one of the ways that a quarterback proves his metal
47:07 as a field general is, what do you do on third and long?
47:13 When the defense is not just third and manageable, but third and long.
47:16 When the defenses can give you their absolute most exotic looks,
47:19 do you have an answer for that?
47:20 Do you stand tall in the face of pressure?
47:23 Do you know your quick release and quick answer throws?
47:27 Do you have a mastery of your offense?
47:28 How do you do?
47:29 Well, here's how Will Howard did in third down and ten plus yards to go,
47:34 which is third and long with the way they equated it from a metric standpoint.
47:37 His passer rating was 271.6.
47:40 Now, I'm gonna give you some perspective on that.
47:42 The last time an FBS quarterback had a passer rating higher than that was 2019,
47:48 with Tua at Alabama.
47:50 So Will Howard answered the bell.
47:53 We saw a couple of those in Morgantown on third and long, right?
47:56 So Will Howard absolutely answered the bell in those critical transition
48:01 situations for K-State.
48:03 But now can they figure out how to replace those weapons that they lost?
48:07 They got some possibilities and some candidates.
48:10 Trey Sean Ward coming in from Florida State, expected to be the starter.
48:15 I don't know if I'd necessarily call him the featureback because you also have
48:18 DJ Giddens, so you have a couple weapons there.
48:21 Philip Brooks seems like he's been at K-State forever.
48:25 So he's an option on the perimeter.
48:28 A guy that I really thought was underrated for
48:30 the better part of last year was Ben Centered at tight end.
48:33 He's a playmaker for them.
48:35 You talk about a guy who delivers in critical times.
48:38 Now, we'll see how this switch to the defense on the defensive side of
48:42 the football that they underwent two years ago.
48:44 It's been very effective for them.
48:46 When they moved from an even front to an odd stack, I mean, traditionally,
48:50 during the Bill Snyder tenure, they were an even front defense that would kind of
48:54 just outlast you and wait on you to blink offensively.
48:57 They tried to force you into those types of mistakes.
48:59 Now, they moved to a more exotic under Joe Klanderman running that defense,
49:03 a more exotic odd stack defense, so they can get creative.
49:06 Now, it's easier to get creative when you have weapons like Anya Dekay, but
49:09 Anya Dekay is now hopping his wares with the Kansas City Chiefs.
49:12 So Julian Brents, an NFL corner, is now off to the next level.
49:17 Can you replace those types of players on the defensive side of the football and
49:21 continue to get exotic?
49:22 Because what they did, even with all that NFL talent,
49:25 they had a couple NFL defensive backs and an NFL pass rusher, and
49:29 they still gave up nine plays of 50 plus yards to the air.
49:32 So they gave up some big plays.
49:34 Now, part of that's tied to the fact they like to roll the dice and
49:36 take some chances with a few exotic looks.
49:38 But so the answer, the question is, can this program,
49:42 which already established itself, they can recruit, they can attract talent, and
49:46 they can develop, but now can they develop to the point of replacing talent?
49:49 Because they're going to be asked to do so
49:52 at very critical spots on both sides of the football, so stay tuned.
49:56 >> Yeah, I love Kansas State, like I said.
50:00 I think they're a team that's really gonna push for a Big 12 spot, or
50:04 spot in the Big 12 title game, and maybe even more.
50:06 I don't know if I wanna go as far as saying they're a college football
50:11 playoff team, but maybe not.
50:13 But yeah, that's gonna do it for the first part of our two-part series here,
50:18 the Big 12 preview.
50:20 One final thank you to Fortis for
50:21 real performance and financial security guaranteed.
50:24 Make sure to visit fortis.us.com for Jet Drenning.
50:28 I'm Scott Kelly, and as always, be sure to tell an ear
50:33 about your favorite WFootball podcast in the gun.
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