There is little doubt around Memorial Stadium these days as to what the identity of this Kansas team will be in the upcoming season. And although they will rest their hats on being a run-first offense, the Jayhawks ability to break the big play will ultimately determine their success.
Don’t get me wrong.
Turner Gill’s squad is going to be a throwback offense that will rely heavily on the run. The problem is that the landscape of college football for several years has been geared towards spreading out defenses and quickly amassing yards—and points.
In theory, by going against the grain, Gill and offensive coordinator Chuck Long will dictate the flow of any given game by keeping the high powered offenses of the Big 12 on the sidelines.
Teams like the Longhorns and Sooners are too talented to keep down long keeping them of the board completely will be an impossible task. In order to combat the firepower of these premier programs the Jayhawks to need the ability to strike quick.
Gill emphasized this point Tuesday afternoon for the Jayhawks annual Media Day.
“I think that’s the opportunity we’re looking for is to have bigger plays particularly in the run game. As far as our running backs being able to have more of those 20 to 50 yard type runs”, said Gill Tuesday afternoon.
The Jayhawks will rely heavily on sophomore James Sims to carry the load but Gill has stated he would like to feature two running backs. One that is garnering a lot of due attention is freshman Darrian Miller.
Although Miller is not built to handle 200-250 carries in a season, he does have the game breaking ability that Gill is searching for.
“He’s definitely a guy that has big play potential as far as taking a handoff and going 80 or 90 yards”, said Gill of Miller. “That’s something he can bring to the table”.
But as any coach will tell you, the key to establishing a rushing attack is getting physical on the offensive line. Although the front 5 appears to be one of Jayhawks biggest strengths, and most experienced, Gill points to senior center Jeremiah Hatch as the key cog to the success of his offense.
“I think the biggest thing is being able to get to the second level”, said Gill about the importance of Hatch in his offense. “Trying to have a center get to the linebackers and last year he wasn’t able to do that very well. You’re going to have to have some times where your center gets to the second level. When you get up to the second level that’s when you have a better opportunity to have bigger plays. You got to have a center that can get up to the second level.”
But the best part of establishing a rushing attack is that it opens up passing lanes over the middle of the field. One of the players that Gill and his coaching staff expect to exploit those gaps will be junior D.J. Beshears.
Although Beshears started his collegiate career on the defensive side of the ball, after making the switch to offense, Beshears may have become the Jayhawks most valuable big play receiver.
“Coach (Gill) really emphasized me playing outside receiver more”, Beshears said of the coaching staff attempts to put him the most valuable position. “I’ll probably play that position as far as catching the ball and making big plays. Not as much as last year, running the ball out of the backfield and stuff like that, more of a go-to-guy as an outside threat.”
The Jayhawks may be one of the best rushing teams in the Big 12 by season’s end but will suffer in the wins column without a legit passing attack. With Turner Gill still undecided on a quarterback this aspect of the story has yet to be written. Lucky enough for Kansas, their stock pile of talented young rushers should carry this team until it is.
