Kansas State Strong At Every Position

By Ben E. Brake

OFFENSE

Quarterback- Jonathan Beasley is the starter. He will stay the starter right up until he struggles. Jonathan’s
biggest problem is Michael Bishop. He is a very good "no frills" quarterback; but the fans didn’t get enough of
Bishop while he was here in Manhattan. Jeremy Milne is the number 2 quarterback on paper only. Ell Roberson
III will probably end the season as the starter. Roberson can add the flash and dash style that Bishop provided in
97 and 98. Roberson gave the fans a peak during spring practice and they liked what they saw. The offense
struggled at times last year under Jonathan Beasley and Adam Helm. The fans are dying to put Roberson in the
game, but Snyder won’t do that until Jonathan doesn’t produce. Beasley will have to have a better passing
percentage than the 44% that he had last year and be able to put some yards on the ground.

Beasley will start the first few games until Roberson is more comfortable and knows the system a little better.
Snyder can’t put the same pressure on the K-State defense like he did last year. He will be a little quicker in
making a change at quarterback if the offense struggles. Milne will be passed up for Roberson and Ell will finish
the season when and if Beasley falters. The quarterback position is totally up to Beasley. If he wants to stay the
number 1 he needs to put up the numbers and be consistent, if he doesn’t make way for Bishop #2. Experience is
nice, but experience without consistency makes experience second string. If Beasley starts going after the higher
percentage passes and less towards the long yardage passes, he will have a better chance of staying the number
1 quarterback. Jonathan, get your percentage up, stay consistent, and keep making the right reads, you will be
able to stay the starter during your final season.

Running backs

David Allen, Chris Claybon, and Josh Scobey will be the speed behind the quarterback. Joe Hall will not be back
on the field this year. He will be out this season to get his academic and legal troubles in order. Joe Hall was the
most amazing back for me to watch last year. He is a guy the size of a lineman that can run. He didn’t have a zig
or a zag, but a 300-pound wag. He would just run over the defense, which was an amazing sight. JUCO transfer
Josh Scobey will need to show that he can make it in Div. IA football. He had a tough spring but he will need to
give Allen some rest for punt returns. Redshirt freshman’s Rashad Washington, Rashad Jackson, and Danny
Morris will get a look also.

David Allen is the starter, but if Claybon, Scobey, or one of the redshirt freshmen can take it from him, I think he
will be pleased. He has some NCAA records to concentrate on for punt returns. I believe Scobey will feel more
comfortable after a couple of games. He had the jitters for spring practice and now has something to prove. One
of the backs will need to step up and allow Allen to rest up for punt returns.

Johnno Lazetich is the starting fullback, if he gets his melon thumped one more time this year he may be handing
the position over to Nick Hoheisel or Brandt Quick. Be careful Johnno, we want to keep you healthy.

Wide receivers

Quency Morgan, Aaron Lockett, and Martez Wesley are three of the best receivers in the Big XII if not the
country. This group of receivers will produce havoc to all of their opponents if the quarterback can get them the
ball. Brice Libel and Brandon Clark will provide excellent depth to the squad. Lockett was not as productive as
he was two years ago, but opponents were also putting more coverage on him than before. I believe Morgan will
get more coverage this year, which will allow Lockett and Wesley to put up some better numbers. Any way you
look at it this bunch will do well.

Morgan, Lockett, and Wesley are the starters. They are a "Triple Threat" No matter which receivers Snyder
has on the field, one will be open and they all can catch. All of them are capable of taking it to the house. The
defenses will have to play the pass and put extra men for pass protection, which will open up the ground game. I
can’t wait to see these guys in action.

Offensive Front-line

The offensive line will have its moments, but will turn out to be just fine. Experience is staggered with
inexperience for the obvious reasons. The less experience linemen will be assisted by the veterans to their sides
and will continue to grow during the year. Expect a few mistakes along the frontline, but don’t expect them to
fold. Center Randall Cummins is the kingpin on the line and will see that the younger guys are taken care of. This
line will need to have all their ducks in a row in time for conference play and I have no doubt that they will be
ready.

DEFENSE

Defensive Front-line

This group is very good. I don’t expect them to be any less than last year and may even be stronger. Mario
Fatafehi has gotten plenty of attention at defensive tackle and will probably get a lot more this year. Cliff
Holloman is the other tackle that will provide a very strong effort as well. The defensive ends will be anything but
vanilla; I expect Monty Beisel and Chris Johnson to shake up a lot of quarterbacks. They are both very
aggressive and know what they’re doing. Watch these two real close, I think you will like what you see.

Linebackers

This group stinks, NOT! If you listen to most of the major news writers you will get the impression that this group
won’t be able to make a play much less tackle. The critics will watch these guys closer than any other unit on
defense. The only problem may be experience. That will be taken care of after a few games. Ben Leber is the
man with the most experience and will see that they are all lined up right. I believe that this group will try their
best to prove all the doubters wrong and hope they do.

Defensive Backs

Hang on to your hats; cause this group will be awesome. One-dimensional, pass happy offenses will find that this
secondary is very frustrating. If an opponent can’t run the ball they will be in for a long day. Three of the four
starting backs return from last year and will probably be a little better. They ranked in the top 10 in the nation in
almost every defensive category and were number one in total defense. How do you get better than that? Just
watch!

Cooper, Carter, and Butler will treat the opponents receivers like unwanted stepchildren. Jarrod Cooper is the
most aggressive back on the team and will have several receivers fitted for dentures before the game is over.
Jerametrius Butler and Dysod Carter are two of the best cover backs in the country. They are fast and
aggravating, if the defensive frontline does their job the secondary will have several interceptions to play with.
The secondary has depth, depth, and more depth. This should be the strongest part of the defense if they stay out
of the dreaded "Prevent Defense" during the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Punting

I thought I would start with the weakness of the special teams. Every K-State fan is aware that K-State struggled
on punting. To say it as nice as possible, Travis Brown and Mike Ronsick were very inconsistent and struggled
the entire season. There is hope for this year with the recruiting of Jared Brite a standout high school punter
from California. He will have to show the coaches that he is ready to play right away and can help the team. I
don’t expect Jared to redshirt this year.

Punt return

David Allen- Nations best ever, nuff said!

Kicking/ Field Goals

Jamie Rheem- Lou Groza award runner-up, yep! Nuff said again!

Kick Return

David Allen and Quincy Morgan, WOW! This was easy!

Outlook for the season

I believe this group of guys has a great chance to win out. I believe it could boil down to the November 11, game
against Nebraska. I really think that K-State has an excellent chance in beating Nebraska for the second straight
time in Manhattan. If that happens K-State will meet Texas or Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game on
December 2nd.

I don’t know if Kansas State would get a BCS bowl bid even if they were to go 13-0 for the season. I think the
BCS would find a way to change the rules to where the Big 12 Champ does not get an automatic bid to the BCS
bowl selection. They probably have a hidden rule that if a SEC, ACC, or Big 10 team has more combined first
downs for the season than the Big 12 Champion then they will get the automatic BCS bid. O.K. I guess I’m not a
BCS supporter.