2012 Recruiting Breakdown: Offense (Part 1)
by EMAW 4 Ever on Feb 5, 2012 3:11 PM CST
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PrintIn the second part of the 2012 recruiting series I will breakdown the offensive recruits. Due to the amount of offensive recruits/athletes I'm going to break it down into two parts. We'll start out with one of the most anticipated QB recruits in recent memory.
Tavarious "Tay" Bender
Position: QB
Height and Weight: 6-3 208
What stands out: Vision- Bender showed that he can run the option very effectively and he seemed to have a pretty good idea of where the next tackler was coming from.
Skill Set: Vision (see above)... Accuracy- This took a little finding, but I found some more highlights of him and he seemed to be able to put the ball right where it needed to be just about every time... Elusiveness- In watching him he just seems to find a way to get through a hole and into the endzone.
Where he fits in: When Snyder first came back to say his options at QB were limited would be putting it very optimistically, but now it can be said that it is one of our deepest positions. Next off-season will be very interesting to see who takes over for Collin Klein, red shirt Sophomore Daniel Sams or red shirt (most likely) freshman Tay Bender. I have heard conflicting reports on gray shirting and if Bender is now unable to gray shirt, but if he can he should as that will make him only a junior when Sams is expected to graduate (2016). If he can't gray shirt I expect him to change positions to WR or on defense somewhere.
Other notes: Bender has a pretty good squat (420) and bench (255) for a high school senior. His speed is not particularly impressive but much like Collin Klein he is pretty lanky and gets most of his rush yards out of long strides. Bender got a look from Nebraska but K-State was the only BCS school to give him an offer.
For more keep reading after the jump.
Vernon Vaughn
Position: WR
Height and Weight: 6-2 190
What stands out: Speed- in his highlight reel he was able to consistently out run defensive backs. In one play he went around 25 yards and got behind two DBs for touchdown in just a few seconds.
Skill Set: Speed (see above)... Jumping- much like Marquez Clark he has the ability to jump up to make the play... Hands- he made a couple of deep catches and seemed to have no problem making the play.
Where he fits in: Vaughn will probably red shirt this year and be available next year after Chris Harper and Brodrick Smith graduate. From what I have seen he has the chance to be pretty good in a few years.
Other notes: I was able to see Vaughn play basketball last year and I was pretty impressed, that being said this is a completely different sport, but if his skills translate over he will be fairly decent.
Aderius Epps
Position: OL
Height and Weight: 6-2 295
What stands out: Impact blocking- in every play he neutralized (or crushed) the defender.
Skill Set: Impact blocking (see above)... Down field blocking- in one play he went out 5 yards from the line of scrimmage and flattened a linebacker waiting to get an edge around the line... Physicality- he got up and into (or sometimes under) the lineman and put them on their backs every time.
Where he fits in: Offensive line is a pretty deep position for us right now so I would not expect to see him until 2014 at the earliest.
Other notes: Epps is fairly big for a high school senior and you would expect him to continue to grow and develop as player. Epps also got offers from Baylor and TCU. He lined up at guard, where I would expect him to play as the tackle and center positions are pretty well set for the next few years.
Jarvis Leverett
Position: RB
Height and Weight: 5-11 200
What stands out: Agility- I can't remember when I saw a running back with as good of a spin move as has. In the few plays that he didn't get into wide open space he was able to strafe the sidelines or wiggle out of a tackle that would get made 95% of time.
Skill Set: Agility (see above)... Speed- once he found a hole he was gone. His down hill running is as impressive as I have ever seen... Vision- he did a superb job of finding holes and getting down field.
Where he fits in: Leverett has a chance to contribute in the next few year. He shows potential to be good to great at times and if he can show it on a consistent basis he has the chance to be a really good player
Other notes: Looking the box scores of his games, he only had a few 100 yard rushing games. He also only recorded yards in 1 of his last 3 games. He got a look from Oregon, Mizzzou, and Texas Tech among others but only K-State offered him a scholarship.
Deante Burton
Position: WR
Height and Weight: 6-2 200
What stands out: Physicality- Burton does a good job against bump and run defense, getting off defenders to make the catch.
Skill Set: Physicality (see above)... Route Running- Burton does a good job staying on path and pushing defenders out of his way to ensure that he does just that.
Where he fits in: It may be a while before we see Burton have consistent meaningful playing time when others are healthy. But if he has some time to develop he could become a pretty good player. I could see him lining up in goal line plays as his ability to take a hit is a nice thing to have with 10-15 yards to play in.
Other notes: Burton is a decent player with room to improve. He got a look from South Florida, UCLA, and Oklahoma State but ultimately ended up staying in state and in his hometown.
Dante Barnett
Position: ATH
Height and Weight: 6-1 175
What stands out: Secondary vision- he had a few fairly impressive interceptions. He has the ability to follow the QB's eyes and make a big play.
Skill Set: Secondary vision (see above)... Tackling- he made several big tackles in which he violently separated the ball from the receiver.
Where he fits in: My guess is that he is turned into a defensive back, which is not a particularly deep position for us.
Other notes: He was a teammate of Tyler Lockett in high school. He took a gray shirt last year and I would expect a red shirt this year. Not particularly impressive speed but gets the job done.
The other 6 offense/athlete recruits will be in part 2.
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Good write up
the only two argument I have are this: (and let me preface by saying I don’t pay for the services that allow you to watch all the good highlight film on these kids, I just get write-ups and stats)
1. Tay Bender: According to the ESPN stats, the kid runs a 4.4. maybe that was an aberration, but to even run it once is still pretty good. I would guess he has normal 4.6 speed, which is still pretty fast for a QB. I would also say that Bender (accordign to his coach) always played QB and DB. If one of the two young studs was to move, I would lean more towards Sams going to WR or RB based on his experience playing those positions. As Pan has discussed before, Sams has a huge upside, but Bender is much more solid, and Snyder may err on the solid side if they are close.
Also, since Bender is already on campus, enrolled full-time, and working out with the team I don’t think he can greyshirt anymore. Nor do I think the staff wasn’t him to. You want Bender to RS now, so that Sams has a quality backup/competition going into 2013.
2. I know some guys who watched Deante Burton play in HS. These are guys I trust with opinions of football players as their either played or coached (or both) the game at both HS and college level. They tell me that if Burton played in TX or FL or CA that he probably would have been a high 4-star kid and would have received a lot more attention. As it was, he was the best player on a good team that went deep into the state playoffs all three years he started. They expect him to push for early playing time just like Lockett did. I expect him to RS, given the current depth at WR, but I wouldn’t count out him playing either.
Just my thoughts. Thanks for taking the time to review all of these guys and write these up. I enjoy reading them very much!!
The GoPowercat podcast
mentioned that about Burton as well, saying if he had played his high school ball in Texas he would have been a sure 4-star and would have been recruited heavily by a lot of the major power schools. These are the kind of under-the-radar gems I love and with which Snyder built K-State football. Spare me the recruiting rankings, the bottom line is whether a program fills its needs and finds hungry players ready to buy into a coaches philosophy. I thought last year at signing day K-State got a really, really good class and I think this past season bore out its true quality and depth. Hopefully this year’s will do the same.
Ya, I didnt think the film that MHS chose was perticularly flattering
He seemed kinda sluggish, I didnt do a lot of follow up on him but the espn report was not flattering. As for Bender speed looks different base on body size, i.e. a Darren Sproles type is going to look a lot faster than a Collin Klein type, not saying that bender isnt fast he just doesnt look fast.
by EMAW 4 Ever (iphone) on Feb 6, 2012 3:54 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
I'm largely favoring sams due to the hype from pan.
But if Bender is the safer bet for 8-10 win seasons than I’ll gladley take him any day. This is the kind of QB problem that I like to have.
by EMAW 4 Ever (iphone) on Feb 6, 2012 4:06 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
This.
We seem light years beyond the days of wondering whether Grant Gregory or Carson Coffman will be the starter.
The sauce sweeps behind asian girl white guy.
In his good days Gregery didn't seem too bad
But I think that Bender and Sams will be much better
by EMAW 4 Ever (iphone) on Feb 6, 2012 11:13 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
Gregory was exactly what that team needed
a super hard-working kid, with decent talent and leadership abilities, to bridge the post-Josh Freeman gap. He was never going to be a star, but he did lead the team to a 6-6 season and nearly a birth in the Big 12 championship game
I agree
I never had a problem with Gregory. He wasn’t going to make one forget Chad May, Michael Bishop, Jonathon Beasley or Ell, but he was hard-working, steady, tough and athletic enough to give the offense enough to carve out a near North Division title (oh, but for that fumble in the endzone up in Lincoln).
The bottom line is Coach Snyder is finally getting some quality talent at QB that fits his style of offense. The more competition the better. I wrote off his first two seasons back due to the paucity of talent and the lack of a quality QB for his system. To be honest, I thought the 6-6 season in 2009 was rather a remarkable achievement, and the 7-6 year – while frustrating – also was progress.
Very much agreed
and before this season started, I was thinking that an 8-9 win season would be fantastic.
And if you look back at it, if the 10-11 team hadn’t fielded one of thee worst defenses to ever play at K-State, that team could have easily won 8 or 9 games too.
I am very excited for the progress this team keeps making. And what makes me more excited for next year is the returning leadership, depth, and talent across the board. Yes, there are still a few question marks, but we know two things 1. These guys have bought all-in, making HCBS’s jib a lot easier, and 2. The two most important positions on the field QB and lead-LB are manned by Seniors with talent and outstanding leadership abilities.
I expect that this team will better than last year, even if the record doesn’t show it.
Isn't it amazing that even with K-State's extraordinary record of awful football, that 10 team was the very worst in all time run D?
Not the teams that went 0-10 or 0-11 and got murdered by top-10 running attacks at OU and NU, but the bowl-game team with a solid offense.
I’ll say it again, Carson Coffman wasn’t the reason the Cats did not win more games, it was the defense’s fault.
"If you don't want to work, become a reporter. That awful power, the public opinion of the nation, was created by a horde of self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditch digging and shoemaking and fetched up journalism on their way to the poorhouse." - Mark Twain
BOYCOTT ESPN!
I almost punched a dude once who talked shit on Grant Gregory
True Story(alcohol was involved but seriously don’t screw around with a Gregomaniac)
Bobby Hill: What's a meat examination team?
Hank Hill: It's like a debate team, only instead of doing something useless you get to grade the cut and quality of meat!
Yeah, I meant more the uncertainty at the position.
Not knowing every year who the starter would be. Neither guy being strong enough to have Snyder’s confidence. And while I admire Gregory’s moxie, I certainly hope Sams and Bender prove to be much more talented.
The sauce sweeps behind asian girl white guy.
Ya, its always nice to know just who's gonna be calling the plays
Minus 07-08 we really haven’t had a good idea of what we were getting a QB before the season started.
by EMAW 4 Ever (iphone) on Feb 8, 2012 1:09 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
Thanks very much EMAW, I like your analysis
You need to save these and do a retrospective 4 or 5 years down the road!
"If you don't want to work, become a reporter. That awful power, the public opinion of the nation, was created by a horde of self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditch digging and shoemaking and fetched up journalism on their way to the poorhouse." - Mark Twain
BOYCOTT ESPN!
I'm probably going to do the rest of the offense and defense tomarrow
If anyone has suggesitions or wants more info in the reports just say and i’ll do my best to put it in.
by EMAW 4 Ever (iphone) on Feb 7, 2012 12:29 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions
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