I've talked to several people over the last month and put together some thoughts on the offense after spring football.
QB- Let's knock out the obvious here that Jalon Daniels will be the guy if healthy. He understands the system and this spring he told me he got on the same page with his receivers more than last year. That's a scary thought if JD6 can somehow be a crisper version of what you saw from him last season. There were times last year he looked like an All-American.
Jason Bean is the back-up. And there is no arguing this. Sure, Bean may line up in the slot and at WR in some formations. This spring gave Andy Kotelnicki time to get more creative with so many returning starters to add to his playbook. But if Daniels goes down, Bean will be the back-up. Bean is a proven commodity who can move the ball against Big 12 defenses.
RB- There are some concerns going into the spring and summer months and it really comes down to staying healthy. Devin Neal in an ideal world would get 15 carries a game and spread the others around. He averaged 14 carries a game last year and turned in a 1,000 season. But he needs help. If Daniel Hishaw can stay healthy the Jayhawks might have the best 1-2 punch in the league. Hishaw has been hurt the last two seasons and didn't participate in contact this spring. Sevion Morrison wasn't healthy most of camp.
Dylan McDuffie can be the physical workhorse back but he's not as explosive as Neal and Hishaw. This spring they had to use walk on running backs to get through drills at times. Locklin can be a third-down, slot type. This is a simple situation. If the backs are healthy I love this group.
WR- This group surprised people last year and every key player returns for 2023. I look for a better unit having a year under their belt and everyone should be improved. Doug Emilien had a good spring and is someone who can break in and get catches this year. I would like to see a deep threat established. The best candidate would be Trevor Wilson but he hasn't been able to crack into that group yet. The group will get deeper when Buncom (already on campus) and Kubecka and Sample arrive. I believe the WR group will take a step forward from last year, where they were solid.
TE- Much like the WR, everyone is back from last year and there is a lot of depth and experience. This spring didn't bring much movement in the pecking order and I still have a top three of Fairchild, Casey and Kardell. The guy with talent is Kardell and he had a good spring. Not playing baseball helped him develop more in the offseason. I have no concerns with the TE group and I look for Kotelnicki for more two TE formations like he showed last year at times.
OL- Let's save the best discussion for last. You might be better off flipping a coin or playing a guessing game to figure out the starting OL for Missouri State. It is five months away and this unit changes daily. There is only one position I would put money on to be the starter and that's Novitsky. Outside of that everything is a wild card.
There are so many candidates and possibilities there is no way to know how this will shake out. What I do know is all the players cross-training positions makes it more difficult to predict. Every player played two positions. For instance Armaj Reed-Adams played both guard spots. Dominick Puni played guard, tackle and center. Ford played both guards and center. Logan Brown right and left tackle. The same for Cabeldue. Kobe Baynes played guard and tackle. You get the point. There are a lot of interchangeable spots.
If I had to pick a player who is a key to the puzzle coming out of spring it is Kobe Baynes. He might be the best right tackle and he may be one of the best two guards. He gives Fuchs a lot of flexibility. If they decide to go with Cabeldue as the left tackle then it will be between Baynes and Logan Brown at right. If Brown wins the job I think Baynes takes a guard spot from someone. If Baynes wins the RT job then you have two starters from 2022 back in Puni and Ford.
And don's dismiss the idea that Puni could get snaps at left tackle. I heard he looked pretty good in limited snaps this spring.
There is a chance a starter from last season doesn't win a job and that's a good thing. That means there is competition, better players and others developing.
There is a possibility Spencer Lovell who won the starting job at Cal last season is the fifth best guard in fall camp.
One of the positive parts having such a deep line is giving players like Clements, Baker, and Livingston time to develop.
QB- Let's knock out the obvious here that Jalon Daniels will be the guy if healthy. He understands the system and this spring he told me he got on the same page with his receivers more than last year. That's a scary thought if JD6 can somehow be a crisper version of what you saw from him last season. There were times last year he looked like an All-American.
Jason Bean is the back-up. And there is no arguing this. Sure, Bean may line up in the slot and at WR in some formations. This spring gave Andy Kotelnicki time to get more creative with so many returning starters to add to his playbook. But if Daniels goes down, Bean will be the back-up. Bean is a proven commodity who can move the ball against Big 12 defenses.
RB- There are some concerns going into the spring and summer months and it really comes down to staying healthy. Devin Neal in an ideal world would get 15 carries a game and spread the others around. He averaged 14 carries a game last year and turned in a 1,000 season. But he needs help. If Daniel Hishaw can stay healthy the Jayhawks might have the best 1-2 punch in the league. Hishaw has been hurt the last two seasons and didn't participate in contact this spring. Sevion Morrison wasn't healthy most of camp.
Dylan McDuffie can be the physical workhorse back but he's not as explosive as Neal and Hishaw. This spring they had to use walk on running backs to get through drills at times. Locklin can be a third-down, slot type. This is a simple situation. If the backs are healthy I love this group.
WR- This group surprised people last year and every key player returns for 2023. I look for a better unit having a year under their belt and everyone should be improved. Doug Emilien had a good spring and is someone who can break in and get catches this year. I would like to see a deep threat established. The best candidate would be Trevor Wilson but he hasn't been able to crack into that group yet. The group will get deeper when Buncom (already on campus) and Kubecka and Sample arrive. I believe the WR group will take a step forward from last year, where they were solid.
TE- Much like the WR, everyone is back from last year and there is a lot of depth and experience. This spring didn't bring much movement in the pecking order and I still have a top three of Fairchild, Casey and Kardell. The guy with talent is Kardell and he had a good spring. Not playing baseball helped him develop more in the offseason. I have no concerns with the TE group and I look for Kotelnicki for more two TE formations like he showed last year at times.
OL- Let's save the best discussion for last. You might be better off flipping a coin or playing a guessing game to figure out the starting OL for Missouri State. It is five months away and this unit changes daily. There is only one position I would put money on to be the starter and that's Novitsky. Outside of that everything is a wild card.
There are so many candidates and possibilities there is no way to know how this will shake out. What I do know is all the players cross-training positions makes it more difficult to predict. Every player played two positions. For instance Armaj Reed-Adams played both guard spots. Dominick Puni played guard, tackle and center. Ford played both guards and center. Logan Brown right and left tackle. The same for Cabeldue. Kobe Baynes played guard and tackle. You get the point. There are a lot of interchangeable spots.
If I had to pick a player who is a key to the puzzle coming out of spring it is Kobe Baynes. He might be the best right tackle and he may be one of the best two guards. He gives Fuchs a lot of flexibility. If they decide to go with Cabeldue as the left tackle then it will be between Baynes and Logan Brown at right. If Brown wins the job I think Baynes takes a guard spot from someone. If Baynes wins the RT job then you have two starters from 2022 back in Puni and Ford.
And don's dismiss the idea that Puni could get snaps at left tackle. I heard he looked pretty good in limited snaps this spring.
There is a chance a starter from last season doesn't win a job and that's a good thing. That means there is competition, better players and others developing.
There is a possibility Spencer Lovell who won the starting job at Cal last season is the fifth best guard in fall camp.
One of the positive parts having such a deep line is giving players like Clements, Baker, and Livingston time to develop.
