Three Potential Catalysts To Victory Against TCU: Part I
It's no secret that the Cats are lacking production on offense. K-State needs some big-play ability on the field and freshmen are the most likely to provide that threat. In today's press conference, Coach Klieman listed off three freshmen that have shown signs of promise during practice from the bye week: Keenan Garber, Chris Herron, and Joe Ervin.
Chris Herron | #8 | QB (but really WR) | 6'2" 194 LBS | True Freshman | Houston, TX
Shades of ... Mini-Daniel Sams
It's not a surprise that Chris Herron was called out by Klieman. Herron was one of two Quarterbacks that were part of the 2019 recruiting class, with Jaren Lewis being the other. However, Herron has been practicing with the wide receivers since training camp and is considered one of the best athletes on the team. At a position where K-State desperately needs athleticism, I anticipate Herron will burn his redshirt this year contributing at WR and maybe even get some time as Wildcat QB down the stretch.
Joe Ervin | #22 | RB | 5'8" 177 LBS | True Freshman | Rock Hill, SC
Shades of ... John Hubert with a higher top speed
Joe Ervin will also likely not redshirt this year, as he's been consistently mentioned as the freshman running back that is the farthest along in the development of the offense. Ervin has 13 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown so far in 2019, and with Jordon Brown out with injury, it makes sense that Ervin will be in line for more touches.
Keenan Garber | #1 | WR | 5'11" 171 LBS | True Freshman | Lawrence, KS
Shades of ... Jermaine Moreira without the end-zone dives
The most surprising name that Klieman mentioned was WR Keenan Garber, who hasn't seen the field yet as a true freshman. Garber is 171 lbs soaking wet and it seemed like he needed the redshirt year to develop physically before seeing the field as a freshman. Garber was one of the prized pieces of the 2019 recruiting class and he definitely has some speed and elusiveness. He's definitely on #TeamShifty, and I would love to see him get the ball in the open field.
While Klieman only mentioned Garber, Ervin, and Herron - we've heard plenty of hype around Joshua Youngblood throughout the season. I picked Youngblood to be a breakout player against Baylor and he had 6 total touches which was quite a bit more than he had heading into the game. The fact that he was inserted onto the kickoff return team leads me to believe the staff is actively looking to get him the ball more.
If Kansas State is able to beat TCU on Saturday, look for one of these four freshmen to make a big play to spark the Wildcats.