Spring football is in the air, and with our Spring Practice Primers the Eye On College Football Blog gets you up to speed on what to look for on campuses around the country this spring. Today we look at Kansas State.
Spring Practice Begins: Wednesday, April 4
Spring Game: Saturday, April 28
Returning Starters: Nine on offense, seven on defense, both specialists
Three Things To Watch For:
1. Collin Klein. Whether it's practice or a game, when it comes to Kansas State football, Collin Klein is always the guy you want to watch. While he prowess running the ball is well known, having rushed for 1,141 yards and 27 touchdowns last season, this spring it may be his arm you want to pay attention to. Klein completed only 53% of his passes last season while throwing for 1,918 yards and 13 touchdowns. Working on his accuracy throwing the ball will be a focus this spring and heading into the 2012 season. While I'm not sure his throwing motion will ever be anything close to normal, if he can improve on his accuracy then this offense is going to be very hard to stop, and Klein will end up in New York as a Heisman finalist.
2. Defensive improvement. With Arthur Brown and Nigel Malone, the Wildcats have two of the best players at their positions in the Big 12, but there is work to be done. The defense finished in the middle of the Big 12 in just about every major category, and that's due to some bad performances over the last half of the season. In Kansas State's final 6 games, the Wildcats defense gave up an average of 37.5 points per game, including more than 50 in three straight. Take away the 17-13 win over Texas and that number jumps to 42.4 points per game. While Kansas State has an offense that can put points on the board, the Wildcats won't be going 7-2 in the Big 12 again this season giving up points like that.
3. More production at running back . Collin Klein may actually be the best running back on this team, and he may be big, but having your quarterback carry the ball over 300 times in a season is a big risk. Kansas State would be well served to give backs like John Hubert and Angelo Pease a bigger load in 2012. Especially Pease, who carried the ball only 36 times in 2011.