Players to Watch: Kansas Jayhawks

This isn’t your average Mountaineer-Jayhawk match-up in which fans can already chalk up a W with confidence. Both West Virginia and Kansas come into tomorrow’s contest with momentum. Kansas is coming off its first road win against a Power Five opponent in 11 years, while West Virginia righted the ship on course last week in its three-score defeat of NC State, following a tumultuous road loss to Missouri two weeks ago. KU’s blowout win over Boston College has some fans and the media thinking this may not be the Kansas of old, especially with the Mad Hatter Les Miles at the helm of the program now. Don’t forget though, this is a team that lost 12-7 the week prior to FCS Coastal Carolina at home. If West Virginia can’t beat Kansas, then October’s going to be a doozy. Before these two teams take to the gridiron to determine who’s maybe a contender and who’s the pretender, here are a few Kansas names to keep in the back of your mind as you tune in.

Khalil Herbert 5’9″ 205 lbs. Sr. RB   

About a decade ago, the Carolina Panthers had a dynamic running back duo in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, who were nicknamed thunder and lightning because of their differing power and speed skill sets, respectively, in a ground-and-pound offense. Kansas has that in senior Khalil Herbert and sophomore Pookah Williams Jr. Herbert brings the Jayhawks’ thunder, and Mountaineer fans may remember when he rushed the ball for a career-best 291 yards on a career-high 36 carries in 2017 at Milan Puskar Stadium. Last week, he torched the Eagles for 187 yards on 11 carries. Especially if senior quarterback Carter Stanley has the game like he had two weeks ago against Coastal Carolina in which he could not move the offense through the air whatsoever, expect Miles to run the tread off Herbert and Williams Jr.’s tires. Expect the West Virginia front seven to be busy with a lot of work to go around racking up tackles and let’s hope the line can create a push. Herbert will be seen on plays going between the tackles.

Pookah Williams Jr. 5’10” 170 lbs. So. RB

Williams Jr. is the lightning in the aforementioned Williams-Stewart thunder and lightning comparison. A First Team All-Big 12 honoree as a freshman, Williams Jr. is one of the most lethal skill position players in the Big 12 Conference because of his speed and all-purpose ability. He rushed the ball 161 times for 1,125 yards, caught 33 balls for 289 yards and ran back 11 kick returns for 246 yards a year ago. Against the Mountaineers, he was held in check for the most part, accruing 65 yards on 12 carries with 16 yards on three receptions. Last week against BC, he matched his career-high in carries with 22, while amassing 121 yards. He is someone the Mountaineer defense will have to account for every time he’s out on the field, and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning will have to come up with clever ways to neutralize his effectiveness, as Tony Gibson did a year ago. Shutting or slowing down Herbert and Williams Jr. will be the focal point of the defensive game plan. The onus will be on Stanley to keep the Jayhawks balanced or they’ll lose, frankly.

Dru Prox 6’1″ 215 lbs. RS-Jr. LB

Prox has been one of the Big 12’s best tacklers through the first three games of the season. Last week, he reached double digits for the third-straight week, and he also forced a fumble. He’s been a complete surprise for the Jayhawk defense so far, after recording fewer than 25 snaps a season ago. Prox will have to play stout laterally if West Virginia decides to deploy an East-West run game like last week against NC State. This will be the best offense Prox and his teammates will have faced, if West Virginia continues to build upon its foundation and not take steps backwards because of the offensive line.

Hasan Defense 6’0″ 193 lbs. Sr. CB

Fans will remember Defense as the guy who picked off Will Grier twice a year ago, but you have to admit, with a last name like Defense, he was born to play that side of the ball. He picked off a pass in the Jayhawks’ season opener against Indiana State and also has a couple of pass break ups to his credit. One would imagine Defense will be locked on West Virginia’s breakout playmaker Sam James to neutralize his effectiveness. That will put pressure on James to create separation, but also Austin Kendall to find others in the progression who are open, if James is blanketed like the Mountaineers’ receivers were in the end zone last year. Defense is the kind of player every team wants.

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