Kansas State Football: Depth Chart Review – Houston – Offense

This chart explains everything that is currently wrong with the Kansas State offense.

The Kansas State offense has been all setup and no punchline. The running backs can’t break a tackle, and the wide receivers can’t make plays downfield. Avery Johnson, in theory, is one of the nation’s most explosive quarterbacks when it comes to running the football, but he only does so when the mood strikes him. When it doesn’t, he happily dumps the ball off to a running back for a two-yard gain on 3rd down and 6 instead of trying to make a play for his team.

The Wildcats need him to be more than a “game manager” because he’s not particularly good managing games. This game was begging for someone, anyone, on the offense to make a play, and no one seemed interested. It looked like a team of guys hoping someone else would do something.

Hopefully, things improve as the opponents get worse, but it’s clear this offense lacks what it needs to compete in the upper tier of the Big 12, or rather, lacks the will to do what it needs to do to compete in the upper tier of the Big 12.

Quarterback

*Starters in Bold

Avery Johnson: Snaps – 62 – Comp – 16/30 (53.3%) – Yds – 182 – Td – 2 – Int – 1 – Rushes – 7 – Yds – 42

Grade: C-

I’ve been struggling to describe Avery’s play against Houston, and the word I keep coming back to is “passive.” I’m not sure I’ve ever watched a guy play this much without at least some feel for his game, but I have no idea what Kansas State will get out of Avery in any given game. If you want to know why this offense struggles to make explosive plays, the answer is easy: it’s set up for Avery to be one of the primary playmakers, and sometimes he refuses to make plays.

Against Tulane, he looked like the high-level dual-threat quarterback Collin Klein needs to make this offense work.

Against Houston, he averaged 4.3 yards per carry and didn’t look interested in taking hits. On more than one occasion, it looked like he had the opportunity to run, but he decided to drop the ball off (or over) instead of turning the corner and seeing what he could find with his legs. Once again, it looked like he had his mind on getting out of bounds instead of getting into the end zone.

At this point, Avery looks like a classic coach killer.

On occasion, he flashes an elite skill set that combines top-notch arm talent with elite speed. Avery’s problem is between his ears. Bad plays rattle him. He doesn’t like getting hit. His body language is poor when the team is struggling.

I thought Collin Klein’s return would fix some of these issues, but after Avery’s last two lackluster performances, this may be who he is as a quarterback. The frustrating part is that he could come out next week against Kansas and look like a first-round pick.

This isn’t a question of talent!

He has a better overall skill set than Connor Weigman, but Weigman is twice as competitive. The difference is that Weigman is a gamer, and Avery isn’t, at least not on a game-to-game basis. He’s a quarterback with A+ tangibles and D- intangibles.

Running Back

1. Rodney Fields: Snaps – 41 – Rushes – 14 – Yds – 45 (3.2 YPC) – Rec – 2 – Yds – 36
2. Joe Jackson:Snaps – 25 – Rushes – 4 – Yds – 6 (1.5 YPC) – Rec – 2 – Yds – 13

Grade: D+

You guys were right, and I was wrong.

I dismissed your concerns about the run game’s lack of explosive plays, and that was a big mistake. I also write about Purdue, and last Saturday I watched their running back, Fame Ijeboi, force 18 missed tackles on his way to a 3-touchdown, 195-yard rushing game against Minnesota.

Joe Jackson and Rodney Fields combined to force 2 missed tackles against Houston and 1 missed tackle against Cincinnati. They’re good enough to get you what the play is blocked for, but not much more. Jackson has plenty of speed and acceleration but has terrible balance and agility. Fields has a little more wiggle, but it looks like he tops out in 3rd gear and can’t get going again after first contact.

This offense needs a high-level running back to make it go. Deuce and DJ could make something out of nothing. These guys make nothing out of nothing, and very little out of something. Avery could, in theory, make this work with his explosive running ability, but we’ve only seen that against Tulane this season.

At this point, I don’t think Fields or Jackson are good enough to be the lead back in this type of run-heavy offense. Kansas State needs to pick up first downs on the ground, and that’s tough to do when the backs keep falling on first contact. I’m hoping for Jay Harris, or even Monterrio Elston Jr., against Kansas. I don’t see how they could be less productive.

Wide Receiver

1. Josh Manning: Snaps – 57 – Targets – 5 – Rec – 3 – Yds – 24
2. Jaron Tibbs: Snaps – 61 – Targets – 7 – Rec – 4 – Yds – 33 – Td – 1
3. Brandon White: Snaps – 3 – Targets – 1 – No Stats
4. Derrick Salley Jr.: Snaps – 29 – Targets – 1 – No Stats
5. Izaiah Williams: Snaps – 22 – Targets – 1 – No Stats
6. Adonis Moise: Snaps – 1 – No Stats

Grade: D-

Tibbs’s touchdown is the only thing keeping this from being an F, and I’m probably being too generous. Manning and Tibbs tied for the longest wide receiver reception with a couple of inconsequential 12-yard grabs. Combined, they had 13 yards after the catch on 7 receptions. That’s essentially catching the ball, taking a step, and falling straight to the ground.

To be fair, they’re not supposed to be the run-after-catch guys. Brandon White and Izaiah Williams are supposed to play that role, but they combined for 2 targets and 2 drops on Saturday. White was pulled after dropping a deep pass, but Williams used his extra snaps for cardio.

I’m going to be kind to Derrick Salley Jr. and give him a pass because his quarterback either locks onto a receiver and force-feeds them the ball or totally ignores them. Salley got force-fed 12 targets against Cincinnati but couldn’t get Avery’s attention this week.

Such is the Avery Johnson experience.

Tight End

1. Garrett Oakley:Snaps – 41 – Targets – 3 – Rec – 3 – Yds – 49 – Td – 1
2. Linkon Cure: Snaps – 27 – Targets – 3 – Rec – 2 – Yds – 27
3. Elias Wilson: Snaps – 3 – No Stats

Grade: B-

Oakley continues to play relatively well; 49 yards and a touchdown from a tight end is great production…if everyone else is doing their job. That wasn’t the case on Saturday, but it’s hard to blame Oakley. He caught everything thrown his way and did more than any of the receivers after the catch.

Linkon Cure remains a decent tight end who’s getting paid like an elite one. To his credit, his blocking has improved as the season has progressed, but he’s not getting paid to block. He’s supposed to be a playmaker, and he’s not. I don’t care how fast he can run or how far he can jump; if he can’t get open, it doesn’t matter. I keep looking for signs that he’s coming around and is ready to break out and put his elite physical abilities on display, and I keep getting a whole lot of meh.

Still, I gave this unit a B- because Oakley and Cure combined for 76 yards and a touchdown while doing a respectable job blocking. That’s not bad, in a vacuum, but Kansas State doesn’t play in a vacuum. They have a good bit of their resources tied up in these two guys, and they’re getting pretty consistent B- performance for their money.

Offensive Line

Left Tackle

Ryan Howard: Snaps – 62

Left Guard

Tanner Morely:Snaps – 62

Center

Dylan Villarouel: Snaps – 62

Right Guard

Charlie Adams: Snaps – 62

Right Tackle

Gus Hawkins: Snaps – 62

Grade: C

In terms of pass protection, this group gets an A. Avery had plenty of time to throw the ball and didn’t take a sack or even a hit because the offensive line missed a block. Their job is to keep the quarterback upright and give him enough time to make a play. They succeeded in that endeavor.

In terms of run blocking, this group gets an F; in fact, let’s go ahead and make it a G. Kansas State attempted 5 A-gap runs (between the center and guard) and were rewarded with 9 yards. When they bounced it out to the B gap (between the guard and tackle), they picked up 25 yards on 6 carries. The only 10+ rushing play on the day came on a jet sweep. There was nowhere to run between the tackles, and the backs weren’t doing anything on their own accord.

I need someone to explain how Tanner Morely makes this line better, because Kansas State hasn’t found anything in the inside run game since he took over at left guard, moving Charlie Adams to right guard and Keiton Jones and Chase Duarte to the bench. Maybe it’s just the increased competition, paired with the backs’ inability to pick up yards after contact, but the inside run game has been week-old dogwater since the staff moved away from the timeshare at guard and went strictly with Adams and Morely.

Ryan Howard is still doing a good job in pass protection considering his status coming into the season before being thrust into the starting role at left tackle, but he’s not a good run blocker. The same is true for Gus Hawkins. His pass blocking is fine, but he still has a long way to go before he’s a competent, not good, but competent, run blocker. Both Howard and Hawkins play too high when they run block and get shoved backward when defensive players get underneath them. I keep looking for Hawkins to pull around and open a hole for one of the backs because he moves really well for a right tackle, but getting to the right spot and opening the hole are two different propositions. Hawkins gets blown up more than he blows up defenders. That’s not the end of the world if the interior run game is working, but as I mentioned above, it’s not.

The only guy who’s been consistently decent as a run blocker is center Dylan Villarouel, but he needs one of the guards to help him out and start working some combo blocks. The running backs haven’t done a good job of making people miss, but the offensive line isn’t getting to the second level and making life tough for the linebackers and safeties. I’m used to seeing K-State linemen working 5-10 yards downfield, and this year they are tethered to the line of scrimmage.

In short, the pass blocking is fine, but the run blocking has been questionable at best. That’s not good for an offense that has to establish the run for everything else to work.