Position Battle: OSU’s Thin Receiving Corps. and KU’s Improved Secondary

The Oklahoma State Cowboys head to Lawrence in search of their first conference win, and although they’ve dominated Kansas for the past eight years, they enter Saturday with an inconsistent offense that struggled last week against Texas Tech.

For Kansas, that’s a perfect matchup, as their best strength is on defense. A major position battle for this game will be OSU’s passing game against KU’s much improved secondary.

Kansas was last in the conference in defensive pass efficiency in 2017 but they’re currently first in the same category through four games. The Jayhawks have had seven separate players record an interception this year.

• 2018 Kansas: 175 YPG allowed passing
• 2017 Kansas: 297 YPG allowed passing

Junior cornerback Hasan Defense is the unit’s best cornerback after defending 11 passes last season, and freshman and former four-star recruit Corione Harris has been a welcome addition to the secondary. Harris and Defense lead the team in passes broken up with three and two, respectively.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, are operating with a thin receiving corps. Not only is Dillon Stoner recovering from injury but Jalen McCleskey’s departure further hurts the offense’s inside receiver depth. In addition, Patrick McKaufman and Tracin Wallace’s injuries leaves the reserve unit without two more bodies.

Tyron Johnson would be the obvious guy to assume a larger role. The junior has 10 receptions for 206 yards but is yet to receive a touchdown. Former walk-on Landon Wolf will also see an increased role, although the sophomore only has four career receptions under his belt.

The Cowboys’ game against Kansas will provide them with an excellent opportunity for them to establish the new receiving pecking order with a number of relatively unproven receivers.

The Jayhawk defensive front is better than most fans think, and OSU will likely have a number of third-down conversions to bag throughout the course of the game because of it. Quarterback Taylor Cornelius’ performance will be important for the Pokes, at least early on, and the receivers will have to step up and take on bigger roles for the absent McCleskey and Stoner.