K-State Q&A: Who’s active? Who’s out? What to expect from Arkansas State and more
One common misconception about Kansas State’s public depth chart leading up to its season-opener against Arkansas State seems to be that every player listed will be available for the game while many of the players that aren’t mentioned will be sidelined.
Well, I’m here to tell you that the gameday status of K-State players has never been harder to predict. Showing up on the depth chart means nothing. Practice has felt like a revolving door throughout the preseason, with players missing time almost randomly because of positive tests, contact tracing and good, old-fashioned injuries. But I’m willing to make some educated guesses on which players you will see on Saturday, as well as which players you won’t.
The good news: Things appear to be trending in the right direction for K-State. Fears about the Wildcats falling below the Big 12’s personnel threshold for playing games (53 healthy players, including one quarterback, seven offensive linemen and four defensive tackles) have subsided. It also sounds like the Wildcats will be able to get by without using cornerbacks or running backs as receivers, which seemed like a real possibility before a few key pass-catchers returned to practice this week.
“It’s gotten better,” K-State offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham said Thursday. “I feel like the last four, five, six days (are better) as far as everybody we thought was going to be in the game plan being back and ready to go. I feel really good about the running back position, I feel good about the receiver spots, the tight ends ... We have to go out and execute now.”
When asked about specific COVID absences, Messingham said: “I don’t think it is going to affect us very much. I think we are really in pretty good shape personnel wise to be able to go out and play.”
Defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman was less bullish on the overall health on that side of the ball, saying the Wildcats are ready to play with the personnel they have available and that no “cavalry” is coming to help. But the defense was never hurt as badly as the offense was during preseason camp. I see no cause for alarm.
Let’s make some educated guesses.
Probable: Wyatt Hubert, Justin Hughes, Elijah Sullivan, Briley Moore, Chabastin Taylor, Malik Knowles, Jacardia Wright, Logan Long.
They may have missed some practice time over the past few weeks, which means they might not play every snap, but that shouldn’t prevent these players from taking the field in Week 1.
Questionable: Joshua Youngblood, Landry Weber, Wykeen Gill, Taylor Poitier, Christian Duffie.
Here’s guessing some or most of these receivers will suit up, given Messingham’s confidence. But they may not. I’m less optimistic about the offensive linemen, but we’ll see happens Saturday morning. As I previously reported, receiver and offensive line have been big question marks lately. For now, let’s just say I will be looking for their numbers during pregame warmups.
Out: Joe Ervin, Thomas Grayson, Matthew Pola-Mao, Jonathan Alexander.
Everyone in this group has been removed from the roster after “opting out” of the 2020 season. You won’t see them on Saturday.
Note: Like NFL injury reports, anyone I didn’t mention above is presumed ready to play or not expected to factor into the game plan. There could certainly be some absences I’m unaware of. Players I did mention could be out or limited for a wide variety of reasons, as both injuries and COVID have been a problem for the Wildcats.
Now, let’s dive into your questions. Thanks, as always, for providing them.
The K-State marching band will be present at Saturday’s game, playing classics like Wildcat Victory and the Wabash Cannonball. But its members will only play in the stands and do so while spread out so they can practice social distancing. The band won’t be allowed on the field before the game or at halftime.
That means there won’t be a marching performance at any point. While I’m guessing some fans won’t miss that aspect of the gameday atmosphere, I personally think it will sap some pageantry away from the normal atmosphere.
There’s also no chance of a halftime act involving the Starship Enterprise and a Jayhawk going comically viral, which is a bummer.
Overall, though, I think the gameday experience will still be fun for those in attendance. Not as much fun as a normal game, but nothing beats the sound of a crowd inside a college football stadium on Saturdays. Beer will also be available everywhere for the first time. Things could be a lot worse.
I’m interested to see exactly what the atmosphere feels like, but I don’t think it will be a letdown.
This is sadly a moot question.
K-State athletic director Gene Taylor told KMAN Radio Sports Director John Kurtz earlier this week that the Wildcats were only expecting 11,000 fans at Saturday’s game. And that falls under the 25% capacity of 12,500 that the Wildcats were shooting for.
So no one should call the Arkansas State game a sellout.
But that doesn’t mean the game won’t be a success for both players and fans. If K-State can pull off a football game in front of fans without any problems during a pandemic, I think that will be a nice accomplishment for the athletic department. One that would rank above a meaningless sellout statistic.
You know who cares about sellout streaks: Nebraska fans. And they would probably commit crimes to watch a football game with 11,000 people right now.
Skylar Thompson: Over. The Red Wolves aren’t exactly a powerhouse on defense. Memphis quarterback Brady White threw for 275 yards and four touchdowns against them last week.
Deuce Vaughn: Under. No way he gets 10 carries in K-State’s running back committee. I’m also not forecasting a touchdown. But I do envision a couple nice catch-and-run plays from him out of the backfield.
Briley Moore: Over. If he’s fully healthy, or close to it, he should be the second tight end of the season to torch Arkansas State. But he might be on a snap count, which could make 50 yards and a touchdown challenging to reach.
Kiondre Thomas: I’m boldly predicting him to come up with an interception in his first game with the Wildcats. I also see Khalid Duke getting a sack against Arkansas State.
Loyal readers of this mailbag know I previously predicted Jacardia Wright to emerge as K-State’s top ball-carrier this season. Though I still think he will make an impact this year, not being listed on the initial depth chart is concerning. So I’m changing my prediction.
Now I think Harry Trotter produces the best numbers of any K-State running back. Why? He will get the most carries because of his experience. His average run may end up being lower and less exciting than Deuce Vaughn and maybe even Tyler Burns, but he is a reliable runner and the closest thing this backfield has to a workhorse. Lamar Jackson, his former teammate at Louisville, also speaks highly of him. No other member of the backfield can say that.
When given the opportunity to play extensively last season, he had some solid games.
Fans will probably get more excited when Vaughn and Wright are on the field, but Trotter should top them both in rushing yards.
If there are bowl games (and I don’t think that’s a given) just about any number of wins will be enough for K-State to qualify for the postseason.
Without the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mountain West and MAC playing football this fall, there isn’t much need to limit bowl participants to only those teams that win a certain number of games.
There’s going to be room for everyone. If Kansas wants to play in a bowl after winning two games this season, the Jayhawks might get that opportunity.
Alas, I’m skeptical that there will be many bowl games this year. Sending teams to a city for a week and then limiting fan capacity for a glorified exhibition game doesn’t seem worth the hassle for most bowls. Maybe there’s a way for the upper-tier bowls to keep going while the smaller ones go on hiatus for a year. I’m not sure what the best formula is here. The people in charge of the bowls don’t know either, as no set policy has been announced for achieving a bowl berth.
But if bowls happen, K-State will most definitely get invited to one if it wins seven games.
Hey Kellis! Thank you for selecting so many of my questions for your K-State Q&A column, even though I submit them by e-mail instead of Twitter like everyone else. I was impressed by what I saw from Arkansas State last week, even though they lost to Memphis. What do you think of them? Do I need to be worried about an upset? - Andrew B. via e-mail.
The simple fact that Arkansas State already has a game under its belt during the COVID era, while Kansas State does not, creates at least a small opportunity for the Red Wolves to pull off an upset.
BYU beat the living snot out of Navy last week, mostly because the Cougars had been scrimmaging hard against each other for weeks while the Midshipmen were only practicing against dummies because of coronavirus concerns. One team showed up ready to hit the other in the mouth. The other hadn’t made a tackle in six months.
That seemed to be the difference in the game.
Now, I’m not saying anything like that will happen to K-State in this game. The Wildcats have been tackling each other in practice and held a mock game at the football stadium last weekend. They aren’t out of practice. But it can be hard to simulate the real thing, and Arkansas State already learned that in its game against Memphis.
I still think K-State will win this game comfortably. Chris Klieman and his coaches got the opportunity to scout Arkansas State last week while the Red Wolves are preparing for their second straight road game unsure of what to expect from the Wildcats. Also: K-State lit the world on fire in its opener last season against Nicholls.
Advantage K-State.
The Red Wolves are a better team than most nonconference cupcakes. They won eight games last season and are traditionally one of the best teams in the Sun Belt under coach Blake Anderson. They have some talent on offense, including some tall receivers and two gifted quarterbacks. But their defense has some holes and they are currently platooning two passers instead of rolling with one.
Until they figure out that situation, I don’t see the Red Wolves pulling off an upset against a team like Kansas State.
They are better than Nicholls and Bowling Green, the two teams K-State warmed up against last season, but they aren’t as good as North Dakota Sate or Stanford, the last two team that beat K-State in an opener. I predicted the Wildcats to win this game 35-21 last week, and I have seen nothing to make me consider changing that pick.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Q&A: Who’s active? Who’s out? What to expect from Arkansas State and more."