How Dynamic is the Kansas Jayhawks Running Game?
Andy Mitts and Kyle Davis discuss how varied the running game is for the Kansas Jayhawks, and how that might help or hurt them at the end of the season.
Transcript
00:00 Anytime you get 400 yards rushing,
00:01 you're obviously doing something right.
00:03 The fact that you have two different
00:04 guys that have two different styles
00:06 and then a guy in Dylan McDuffie who
00:07 almost got 100 yards of his own as
00:09 the third string backup that basically
00:11 he got to two drives worth of plays
00:13 and he got a ton of yards on all of those.
00:17 Kansas has some really good running
00:19 backs and it's really hard.
00:20 You mentioned during the game in our
00:22 live blog talking about how Kansas may
00:25 have two of the top 25 backs nationally
00:28 in Devin Neal and Daniel Hyshaw.
00:30 I mean,
00:30 I would say they have two of the top
00:33 five running backs in the Big 12 for sure.
00:36 I'm not really sure though,
00:37 like if that's going to hurt them,
00:39 you know,
00:40 come postseason awards time because
00:41 you have two really good guys on the
00:43 same team and they might end up
00:45 splitting votes, which is yeah,
00:47 but but if you're if you're a player or
00:49 a fan you take that for the on field
00:51 results and that's for sure,
00:53 but that's something we've seen.
00:54 Like Kansas is is no shortage
00:56 to having good running backs.
00:58 I mean, even in the in the dark days,
01:00 you know whether Tony Pearson or or you know.
01:04 John Cornish,
01:05 or there's been plenty of really good guys.
01:07 What we see here is we don't think we.
01:10 I don't think Kansas has ever been
01:12 two or three deep like this,
01:13 and at least not for a really long
01:15 time until maybe like the Brandon
01:17 McAnderson Jake Sharp days of the
01:19 Mangino era like the and I think it
01:21 also speaks to across the board.
01:23 What we're seeing,
01:24 is that we talked about this for forever.
01:26 Kansas the last decade had a couple
01:28 of really good players and there
01:30 was zero depth behind him and you've
01:32 seen that what's what light bulb has
01:34 done is he's really filled out the depth.
01:36 I mean we watched.
01:37 You mentioned Dylan McDuffie.
01:39 He was running behind basically that,
01:41 but they put the second team offensive
01:43 line in there with about what the
01:45 seven or eight minutes left in the
01:46 game and they still were getting
01:48 excellent push and looking really good.
01:50 Like you can go on the defensive
01:51 side of the ball.
01:52 There's just depth everywhere where
01:54 you're seeing that the most is on the
01:55 offensive line and the running attack,
01:57 and that's so much more dangerous
01:59 when you don't have just one guy.
02:00 You have to stop and plan around for
02:03 or who's having an off day or or
02:05 nicked up or something like that.
02:06 Like the fact that.
02:08 That there's three of them who can.
02:10 I mean,
02:11 Kansas averaged almost 8 yards a
02:12 rush with five different runners,
02:14 and that's what Jason Bean only
02:16 getting 1.7 yards per carry.
02:17 I mean you had Devin Neal's averaging
02:19 13 yards to carry which is insane
02:21 for this game and then you put in
02:23 your third stringer and he's still
02:24 getting 7 yards to carry like it's.
02:26 Incredible what they've been able to do.
02:28 The offensive line still I don't
02:30 think that gets enough credit,
02:31 both for the runoff and and also
02:33 just for protecting being in Daniels
02:35 when he's been out there and not
02:37 giving up sacks, but there's just
02:39 so much depth to it that there's
02:41 a lot of really talent.
02:42 I mean that again,
02:43 yeah,
02:43 Neil and high Schaller two of the
02:45 best 30 in the country I would
02:47 think and and higher than Neil.
02:49 I still think is top 10 at least
02:51 and I've watched a lot of college
02:53 players doing what he's able to do.
02:55 And the beauty of it is that the downside is,
02:57 yes,
02:58 you kind of you might not have one guy
03:00 who's going to get up all the awards,
03:02 but he's also not happy.
03:03 He doesn't have to be a workhorse
03:05 who's going to have get 300 carries
03:07 by the time you get into a bowl game
03:09 and then he's going to be completely
03:11 worn down like I mean he's Devin Neal
03:13 gets 10 to 15 carries the game and
03:15 gets 150 yards in the touchdown and.
03:17 And it's really nice for just not only
03:20 health but also just you know the
03:22 spryness and the athleticism and the I.
03:24 You know you don't get worn down in
03:26 November and December when you really
03:27 need it when you aren't having to run.
03:30 Your one guy 25 times a game,
03:31 you know,
03:32 just to get 160 yards.
03:33 So it's the depth over around like
03:35 obviously there's a ton of talent,
03:37 but the the depth of that talent is
03:39 something that just we have not
03:40 seen in such a long time.
03:42 Yeah,
03:42 I mean like I would say guys like
03:44 Puka Williams and Khalil Herbert
03:45 were on the roster at the same time,
03:47 but not having those sorts of right.
03:49 You know years at the same time
03:51 of injuries or just not being able to.
03:53 You know,
03:53 like Puka Williams would have a game
03:55 and then kill the Herbert would have a game.
03:56 They wouldn't have a game at the
03:58 same time like this one, but you know,
03:59 I think I kind of think kind of to your point.
04:01 The other thing that having this depth
04:03 does is allow you to those guys can
04:04 make big pushes at the end of the year
04:06 for those types of awards and for the
04:08 team to really kind of impress at the
04:09 end of the year because you don't have
04:11 to worry about them being as worn down.
04:13 They're going to have those more
04:14 impressive performances in,
04:15 you know,
04:15 fresh in people's minds as it comes
04:17 time to be voting for these sorts of things.
04:19 So I think that's going to be
04:20 that's going to be helpful for them.