Trench Warfare - K-State and ISU

[Coleman Feeley]

submitted Today, 03:47 PM in Texas Longhorns Football By Coleman Feeley
 
With football season fast approaching, Chalk Talk’s summer series is examining the expected offensive and defensive line play from each of Texas’ 2015 opponents. Afer starting with Notre Dame, the series progressed to the rest of nonconference play with a look at Rice and California. After opening Big 12 foes with Oklahoma State and TCU, this week looks at K-State and Iowa State. After Oklahoma opens fall camp and I get one additional piece of intel, I will definitely add the Sooners to the mix.

Kansas State

Kansas State enters its (essentially) twenty second year with Coach Snyder at the helm. With a team full of experience and talent, the Kansas State Wildcats should be poised for another bowl run in 2016.

K-State’s offense will be led by a stacked offensive line that returns four starters and a quarterback who has no starts. Favored starter, Joe Hubener, has never played quarterback in a game before, however, while he’s untested, his athleticism is quite remarkable and could cause problems for opponents this season.

The Wildcat defense is anchored by an impressive secondary and a solid, experienced defensive line. All-Conference defensive tackle Travis Britz certainly enhances the already accomplished pass defense of Kansas State.

Offense
Kansas State will continue to operate from a spread system utilizing a lot of passes and zone runs. With newcomer Joe Hubener at quarterback, Kansas State’s offensive line will be tasked with the enormous job of protecting an inexperienced leader. The predicted line-up is: #55 Cody Whitehair (LT), #77 Boston Silverman (LG), #71 Dalton Risner ©, #68 Luke Hays (LG), and #65 Matt Kleinsorge (RT).

With mobile quarterbacks, offensive linemen have to be even more aware than usual of their surroundings. The pocket can be moved and the play can be extended on any given down, and without protection Hubener’s mobility will be of little advantage. With the return of four starters there’s a good chance that Kansas State can maintain solid pass protection throughout the season.

Senior left tackle Cody Whitehair was a second team All-Conference player in 2014 and currently finds himself on the Lombardi Trophy as well as the Outland Trophy watch lists. With more than 80 combined starts, Kansas State’s offensive line will be a formidable challenge for the Texas defensive line.

Defense
Kansas State’s defense plays almost every snap from a four man defensive front. This front allows the Wildcats to utilize their talented defensive linemen to execute a very disruptive pass rush. This relentless rush, along with their extremely talented secondary, makes it very difficult to pass against the Wildcats.

Snyder operates somewhat differently in having both a defensive tackles coach and a defensive ends coach. This differentiation of the two positions puts a heavier emphasis on the importance of each position’s role.

Senior defensive tackle Travis Britz is a three year letterman with twenty three starts in the last two years and is a force in the middle. He plays the run extremely well by shedding blocks at the right time to limit plays to only one or two yard gains. He also does a tremendous job of collapsing the middle of the pocket on pass plays. By collapsing the middle, you allow your defensive ends to put pressure on the quarterback and rush more freely.

Iowa State

2014 was a tough year for the Cyclones - going winless in the Big 12 is tough on fans, players, and coaches. However, ISU’s loss against Texas was anything but a blow-out as the game was decided in the final seconds with a field goal by Nick Rose.

With a good majority of their players returning, Iowa State is a team that is destined for greater success this season. Offensively, with newly added receivers, quarterback Sam Richardson is set for a big year while their defensive counterparts will be forced to improve. Finishing 124 out of 125 in total defense last season, Iowa State’s defense hit rock bottom…the only good thing about rock bottom is there’s only one way to go from there.

Offense
As the program dealt with redshirted and injured players, Iowa State’s offensive line was a job by committee for the last few years. This fall nearly every predicted starter has experience, and several players spent some amount of time starting. Even so, OL is a question mark for the Cyclones. The starting line-up for ISU will likely be: #67 Jake Campos (LT), #77 Oni Omoile (LG), #53 Patrick Scoggins ©, #76 Jamison Laik (RG), and #72 Brock Dagel (RT).

Senior right tackle Brock Dagel has played in 29 games and started 15 of them making him the most experienced player on the line. However, last season Dagel’s year was cut short due to a knee injury which always produces a level of uncertainty for the following season. If Texas’ defensive line plays aggressively and creates an adequate pass rush, Iowa State will be forced to run the ball which is not one of their strengths.

Defense
The Cyclone defense was abysmal last year, finishing second to last in the nation statistically. However, with the addition of Junior College players, Iowa State stands a significant chance of improving and will be forced to do so if they expect to win. The projected starting line-up for Iowa state will be: #45 Dale Pierson (DE), #94 Devon Cousin (DT), #97 Demond Tucker (DT), and #98 Trent Taylor (DE).

The addition of Demond Tucker should significantly improve the interior line as Tucker was ranked a four star recruit out of Junior College and was the NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. Iowa State will, like most teams, platoon their defensive line and consistently play a four man front.