The Tiger offense will need some players to step up and become stars this year. The likely place to find one of these stars is in the backfield where the Tigers have one of the deepest backfields in the entire country. Brad Lester will start, replacing the departed Kenny Irons. Lester is a speedy back who has averaged 5.2 yards per carry throughout his career and is also a solid kick returner. Behind Lester is Ben Tate. Tate is one of the best prospects to ever come out of the state of Maryland and could easily end up being the number one back by the end of the season. Tate is 5'11" and 215 lbs. so he packs a big punch along with outstanding speed. Tate also averaged 7.3 yards per touch last season to lead the team. Also in the fold are Redshirt Freshman Mario Fannin, a back with similar build to Tate and Tristan Davis, a Junior who also excels in the kickoff return game. The receivers are talented, but unproven. Someone needs to step up here. On the offensive line, there is much youth. King Dunlap is the only proven starter and is a beast, however, the rest of the line will need to show that they can keep up with other SEC defensive fronts. Look for top recruit Lee Ziemba to start somewhere on the line by season's end.

On defense, the Tigers are led by All-American candidate defensive end Quentin Groves. #54 for the Tigers defense is the true leader of the pack and should shine in this his Senior season. Groves has played awesomely in the regular season, but has been virtually non-existent in Bowl games. His lone tackle in three bowl appearances came in 2005 vs. Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Improvement in this area for Groves. Sophomore Sen'Derrick Marks is on the other side and will be a key second man on a defensive line that should be great this year. Marks had 10.5 tackles for loss last year and 3.5 sacks. The linebackers will be great as well as long as they can get the Sophomore Tray Blackmon into the mix. Blackmon is the most talented and athletic of all the linebackers, but he's had off-the-field problems in the past, including academics. Along with Blackmon will be Juniors Merrill Johnson, Steve Gandy, and Sophomore Patrick Trahan who played very well in the spring. Defensive backs will be the weaker link in this year's Auburn squad, though in the past they have always stepped up. Jonathan Wilhite will be the new number one corner replacing David Irons. Wilhite only has one interception while at Auburn, but has 71 tackles and 13 broken up passes over the last two years. Watch out for Sophomore Aairon Savage to step up at free safety after a Freshman season in which he finished third on the team in tackles with 53.

Who to watch:

Brandon Cox - look for the senior QB to pick apart the Wildcat secondary going to receiver Prechae Rodriguez and tight end Cole Bennett across the middle.

DE's Quentin Groves and Sen'Derrick Marks - Groves and Marks will attempt to make it a "hell on earth" type of day for young QB Josh Freeman.

Special Teams - look for the Auburn returners to have a field day playing under the home lights. Both Brad Lester and Tristan Davis are outstanding return men.

Freshman to watch:

Tim Hawthorne - the Redshirt Freshman receiver will look to come in right away and become the #2 target for Cox. He has good size.

On the Kansas State side of things, Sophomore QB Josh Freeman will be the man this year. He has the job locked down for the next two years, at least and he will look to start a retooling of the offense and use his cannon arm to get balls to every Wildcat possible. At 6'6", Freeman is mammoth in size and his escapability isn't bad either. His most dangerous assett is his arm, of course. Hefty James Johnson is the starter at running back for now, however, Leon Patton will be equaling carries by season's end, if not getting more. Patton is just a 5'7" and 184-pound wrecking ball. He has surprising pop for a small guy and tremendous speed to get to the sidelines. The Wildcat receivers are nothing stellar, but not bad either. Jordy Nelson and Cedric Wilson are both speedsters who can stretch the field and make plays downfield. The sleeper of the offense will surely be the tight end, Rashaad Norwood who could very well be a star in the making. Norwood finished second on the team in catches last year with 36 for 358 yards and has the body of a bigger receiver. The Wildcat offensive line is nothing to behold, however, JUCO transfer Alesana Alesana could be a diamond in the rough. He's still learning the position, but could be a great one someday.

Defense is more of a strength for this year's Kansas State team. The defensive backfield and defensive line will be especially strong. The addition of JUCO transfer Gary Chandler at either safety spot will be a huge boost. He is a hybrid-type of player with NFL caliber athleticism...as long as he keeps on the straightened arrow path. Teaming up with Chandler at the other safety spot will be Senior Marcus Watts. Watts, if injury free, could end up being an All-America type of player. His big-hitting ability will be cherished in Manhattan. Poised for a breakout year is Senior Justin McKinney at cornerback. McKinney is only 5'9", but runs in the 4.3 range and last year had 54 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and eight broken up passes. On the defensive line, there are multiple stars waiting to be born. Ian Campbell is a one-man wrecking crew and should earn All-Big 12 honors this year. He can play some linebacker as well. Also along the line will be Alphonso Moran and Rob Jackson on the other side. Jackson had 4 sacks and 8 tackles for loss last year. Emerging end Moses Manu should be a factor as well. You certainly won't recognize the names at the linebacker position now, but in the next couple years they may become familiar. Two in particular that could emerge are inside backers Reggie Walker and Justin Roland. An athletic rock, Walker will stop the run consistently while not missing many tackles. Roland is a 245-pound athletic freak who can play on the outside or inside. He had 17 tackles last season as a backup. If he steps up big, he has an outside chance at getting looks from some NFL teams due to his size.

Who to watch:

Jordy Nelson and Rashaad Norwood - Kansas State will look to exploit the weaker Tiger secondary by stretching the field and launching bombs from the arm of Freeman to the hands of Nelson and then mixing them up with short routes over the middle to the bigger Norwood.

Ian Campbell - the hybrid DE/LB will be all over the field attempting to stop whichever running back is thrown at him. He will also help the already stout defensive line if needed.

Defensive Line - Mike Abana, Moses Manu, Alphonso Moran, and Rob Jackson will be hard to stop all season long and will get much penetration into many backfields throughout the season.

Freshman to watch:

Lamark Brown - the true Freshman was recruited as an athlete, and that's exactly what he is. At 6'3" and 215 lbs., the kid already looks like an NFL receiver and that will probably be the position which he plays at Kansas State. He has the ability to roll people over as well as the speed to beat them deep.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Add Comment