Film Study: Dual Quarterbacks - 81 Days Until Kansas Football
While planning out the Kansas Jayhawks film studies for the 100 Days countdown this year, a gift from the football blogger heavens was delivered to us, a sort of sign of what should be featured first this year.
Clips from the 2022 Montana State Bobcats. No, really.
One of the seemingly unique and definitely thrilling staples of KU's 2022 offense was two-quarterbacks sets, taking advantage of the combined skills and athleticism of Jalon Daniels and Jason Bean. So, why just dive into what the Jayhawks did and should continue to do with those sets when we can also glean inspiration from one of the best teams in FCS last year?
With Daniels possibly on the NFL draft radar this coming season and Bean back in the fold for one more ride, let's take a look at what it will take for KU to maximize two of its most dynamic athletes. We'll do so, by the way, with the help from the fine folks at PreSnap Inc., who also posted a thread about KU's quarterbacks on Twitter along with the Montana State posts.
BEFORE WE BEGIN...
We all know the most infamous two-QB play of 2022 for the Jayhawks. It was the one that ended their season, and there's a decent chance your Kansas State or Arkansas friends have shared that highlight in the wake of the aforementioned Twitter threads.
It's worth re-watching, even if the Liberty Bowl heartbreak is still real.
Final execution was obviously lacking here, but there's no denying that it was a well-designed play when you have a secondary passer with speed like Bean.
The initial play fake by Daniels and subsequent action to the left by running back Devin Neal gets the defense flowing in that direction. The tight ends are heavily involved, with Jared Casey yo-yoing behind the line and getting in front of Bean as a lead blocker and Mason Fairchild delaying his release after a block and getting open (albeit behind Bean) in the pattern. Wide receiver Lawrence Arnold is covered at the end of the play in the right corner of the end zone, but the defense is still in conflict at that point.
This play shouldn't scare you off from wanting to see more of the Daniels-Bean pairing on the field at the same time. It's the freshest play in mind and the deepest wound, but it's still smart to find a way to get Bean's speed on the field as much as possible. That in and of itself is a dangerous weapon, but his passing ability creates a rash of new problems for defenses. It's a "process over results" situation when referencing the Liberty Bowl finale.
WHERE THE JAYHAWKS SUCCEEDED
The following play is a prime example of why Bean is so dangerous and can be such a powerful force when he's on the field with Daniels. He never touches the ball on this down and still makes a major impact on the defense.
Thankfully, we have an All-22 cut of this play so you can see the gravity Bean has. He's lined up as the single receiver on the field side of the play. When he comes around in orbit motion, he doesn't just pull the cornerback inside the hashes with him, he also draws the safety's attention. Tight end Trevor Kardell gets picked up over the middle and there's a defender tight on Fairchild's vertical route, plus the attention on Bean clogs up the near sideline. That allows Ky Thomas to slip through the offensive line with no defenders between him and the end zone.
This epitomizes the value of simply having No. 9 on the field and the conflict he puts defenses in. Bringing him in motion opened up the entire play. By the way, major credit to Daniels for getting this ball off and on target despite the Razorback closing in on him off the edge.
For another example of this gravity and some splendid creativity, let's go back to KU's win over Houston in Week 3:
There's so much misdirection going on here, you'd think offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki had been studying the early days of the single wing. We have a direct snap to Neal, who immediately hands off to Daniels sweeping right.
While that's going on, take a look at the defensive back who's assigned to Bean (who's wearing 17 in this clip). The defensive back makes a beeline for Bean as soon as the latter breaks horizontally. You can understand the decision for the defender when he correctly identified the offense's personnel, but it leaves the outside linebacker with no help on Casey near the goal line. Easy pitch and catch, touchdown Kansas.
What about a play in which Bean actually gets the ball?
We get a fun read-option wrinkle in this play from Week 13 versus K-State. Bean motions in from trips right, which actually gives K-State the numbers advantage on the field side of the play. Torry Locklin's flat route, however, keeps one of those defenders near the line of scrimmage and gets those remaining Jayhawks single coverage on their vertical routes.
Daniels reads the defensive end and hands off to Bean as the defender crashes on the initial quarterback. The timing needs to be perfect here because of Bean's 180-degree turn, and it is. Bean ends up with three reasonable options, and with two closed off (the flat route is covered and there's minimal room in which he can take off and run) he hits wide receiver Luke Grimm as the junior pass catcher shields the defensive back, working back and to the sideline.
Kansas found a bevy of ways to integrate Jason Bean into its offensive game plans last season. His downfield passing ability opens up tons of possibilities, but even if he's just the recipient of a misdirection play fake he can throw a defense out of whack and opens up either wider running lanes or better passing lanes for Daniels. Plus, we know how dangerous his speed is when he carries the ball in the open field.
LET'S VISIT BOZEMAN
Clearly, KU found a way to make dual-quarterback sets work a season ago. We just watched three big plays that made use of the whole offense's individual skills.
The Jayhawks aren't the only team that uses two-QB sets, though, as we've already alluded to. What did Montana State do when it employed those sets, and can Kansas use any of those principles to its advantage in 2023?
Our first 2022 Bobcats play is a simple concept that would give the Jayhawks a chance to put Bean's foot speed to good use.
Montana State lines its quarterbacks up side by side on this down, and you can see the respect the defensive backs have to pay both potential passers from before the ball is snapped.
The boundary corner on the near side drops back and plays off coverage, and both the outside and slot receivers run vertical routes to clear even more space. Now, watch the box. The whole defensive front has to wait while the initial quarterback, Sean Chambers, holds the ball at the mesh point with the other quarterback, Tommy Mellott.
That split-second freeze is enough for Mellott to break right with plenty of room in front of him. He's a capable passer and can throw it if one of his receivers breaks open, but there's no need to here with so much open space. Big 12 defenders are faster than those in the Big Sky Conference, but Bean is also faster than Mellott. A play like this would let KU take advantage of Bean's speed while using the downfield passing threat as a tendency breaker if defenses start to cheat up.
On to our final clip:
Once again, the gravitational pull of the second quarterback is why this play clicks. The safety playing closest to the slot (3) has to stay flat because of run threat on the left sweep. He doesn't get any depth while the deep safety is 15 yards off the line of scrimmage and dropping, which opens a huge cushion for the unchecked intended target.
The No. 1 receiver is covered, there isn't much there for the No. 3 receiver's quick out and the running game is shut down, yet there's still an opportunity for a chunk play.
Montana State's "Big Cat, Little Cat" scheme is a bit different than what Kansas has run because it's more of a system than just a package of plays. Mellott is the Bobcats' primary quarterback while Chambers has his own package where he subs in. Then, in the two plays above, Mellott was the second QB to touch the ball, unlike how Daniels is still the primary ballhandler when both pivots are on the field for KU.
Still, conceptually, there's a lot to like and a lot that Kansas can borrow from Montana State's multiple quarterback sets. KU has already used those types of plays to great effect, and with a little more development and fine tuning that package could make the Jayhawks' offense even more dangerous in 2023.
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