It’s easy to overlook individual players when analyzing and discussing a team with miserable results, such as the Kansas Jayhawks. When a team is unable to win a single game over the course of a season, it’s often the coaching staff, scheme and outside factors which are picked apart before the actual players. In reality, the players on the field deserve criticism for poor play just as much as they deserve adulation when the team eventually rebounds. When it comes to Kansas, a team with severe limits talent wise, it’s going to take impressive performances by both young and veteran players to make a meaningful, positive impact going forward. This breakdown of the KU football offensive skill positions will take a look at the offensive weapons the Jayhawks will have in 2016.
KU Football Offensive Skill Positions Breakdown
As poor as KU’s defense was in 2015 (it was the worst scoring defense in Division I FBS), their offense was not much better. Regardless of who was leading the team at quarterback (or who will lead it this coming season), there were very few reliable options when it came to making plays down the field. With an average of 15.25 points per game last season, it’s obvious that Kansas lacked playmakers. In 2016, with the majority of the skill position players returning and with another year in coach David Beaty’s system, the Jayhawks should see an, at the very least mild, offensive turnaround.
Under head coach David Beaty’s air raid offense, the running game was not heavily featured in 2015 and it often seemed to be outright ignored (often due to early deficits). Running the ball effectively can open up the passing game however, and a good receiving back can also open up a new set of options for a quarterback. After splitting carries for much of 2015, senior Ke’aun Kinner will likely be the featured back for Kansas this coming season, a role he has been able to handle before in his short time in Lawrence.
A former NJCAA player of the year at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, Kinner started 2015 as Kansas’ lead running back and excelled in the role; he rushed for over 100 yards in each of the Jayhawks’ first two games while also punching in three touchdowns. Due to nagging injuries and solid play from fellow tailback De’Andre Mann, Kinner was limited in carries and overall action the rest of the season, rushing for just 296 yards in the team’s final 10 games. An effective but seldom-used receiving threat out of the backfield, Kinner caught 16 passes last season, averaging 9.2 yards per reception.
Kinner is not a big back, standing just 5’9”, 180 pounds, but is surprisingly strong and has an innate ability to keep his balance at the point of contact. If he can stay healthy, Kinner can be an explosive option for Kansas as both a runner and a receiver, similar to a role played by Tony Pierson from 2011-2014. As the only upperclassman on the current KU roster to have seen consistent game time last season, expect Kinner to be in on the bulk of the Jayhawks’ offensive snaps which feature a running back. Sophomore Ryan Schadler, used mostly on kickoff returns in 2015, will also likely see more action on offense this season.
The pass happy, spread offense Beaty runs naturally requires a large amount of passing. After a season filled with drops from receivers across the board, Kansas needs much better production from its receiving corps in 2016. With the graduation of Tre’ Parmalee, KU’s top returning receiver is Steven Sims Jr., who had just 30 receptions for 349 yards last season. Frequent drops by receivers and not being able to consistently create separation from opposing defensive backs were the main challenges of Kansas receivers for much of 2015. Both of those issues are ones that the Jayhawks desperately need to improve upon in the upcoming season.
Sophomore Tyler Patrick, while rarely used as a threat down the field, served as a safety blanket for KU quarterbacks several times throughout the 2015 campaign, as he was frequently used in wide receiver screens. It’s important to have a safe, reliable receiver in a pass-heavy offense and Patrick fills that role. On the other hand, the Jayhawks are in dire need of a down-field threat in the passing game. Among players returning in 2016, Sims and junior Darious Crawley, who missed the last three games of last season, are the most likely candidates to provide a spark in the downfield passing game next season.
If any newcomer is going to make an impact for Kansas’ offense this season, it would not be surprising if it were Evan Fairs, a three-star recruit from Richmond, Texas and a former Maryland commit. Beaty was high on Fairs on signing day, even comparing the incoming receiver to former KU star Dezmon Briscoe, who twice amassed over 1,000 receiving yards in a season during his Kansas career.
It should also be noted that tight end play will be crucial for the Kansas passing game this coming fall. Two years ago Jimmay Mundine provided a safe and consistent target for quarterbacks Montell Cozart and Michael Cummings over the middle of the field. Last year that threat was absent, as the team’s top tight end, Kent Taylor, caught just 15 passes over the course of the season. Ben Johnson, a junior in 2016, will be counted on to step up and provide consistent production in the second year of Beaty’s air raid offense.
2015 was anything but a banner year for the Kansas Jayhawks offense. An ineffective and often abandoned running game and an air attack featuring copious amounts of dropped passes doomed the team throughout the season. It will be vital for the team to work on making catches downfield and making plays in the open field, but it’s not an insurmountable task. There is talent, albeit young, on the Kansas roster, but the bestair of the bunch will have the weight of the world on their shoulders as they attempt to drag the Jayhawk offense out of the Big 12’s basement.
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