Regardless of Who Plays QB, Preparing for K-State Is Difficult for Pokes

Kansas State backup QB. These words strike fear in the hearts of Oklahoma State fans everywhere.

The last time the Wildcats came to Stillwater, Joe Hubener was 3-0 as a starter and facing his first Big 12 competition. He had a decent start against Oklahoma State’s defense, moving the ball down the field before an injury sent him to the sideline during the opening drive.

Enter Kody Cook, the wide receiver who had not taken a snap during his collegiate career. He would pick up where Hubener left off, finishing the Wildcat’s opening drive in pay dirt on his first completed college pass.

Cook would go 10 for 16 for 122 yards and two TDs and would rush for 87 yards and one more score. Hubener would return in the fourth quarter but threw the game-sealing interception after Ben Grogan’s game-winner field goal. The Cardiac Cowboys moniker was cemented somewhere inside Boone Pickens Stadium, as well as a trepidation for not knowing who will take snaps in purple.

The Cowboys find themselves in a similar scenario heading into this weekend’s game in Stillwater as the Wildcats have played three different quarterbacks this season due to injury.

But according to Glenn Spencer, preparing for Kansas State’s peculiar Big 12 offense is no different than any other year — it’s always this hard.

“That’s the challenge of Kansas State,” said Spencer. “They make you defend a lot of different personnel groups. A quarterback run game out of each of them and the RPOs out of each of them. Again, that’s why they move the ball pretty good on everybody they play.

“If we could be up here more hours we would be.”

Senior linebacker Chad Whitener has faced the ‘Cats twice and is well aware of the difficulty their running game can present for his group in particular– and he’s ready for it.

“They just present a fun challenge because of the way that they add extra bodies in holes and they really make you have to be disciplined with your fits and know what your assignment is every time or they’re gonna gash you,” said Whitener.

Redshirt freshman Skylar Thompson is expected to get the nod a week after starting for an injured Alex Delton against West Virginia. In his first career start against the Mountaineers, Thompson went 13 of 26 for 159 yards and two interceptions. Those aren’t exactly stellar numbers but Thompson seems to have arm talent to build off of and this should serve as an extended audition for someone who many think is K-State’s QB of the future.

If Thompson is the featured signal caller, expect him to present a slightly more traditional QB look to what you might expect from Kansas State.

“There might be a slight variance,” said Spencer about the difference in looks between the QBs. “Maybe you bring in No. 10 [Thompson] who maybe throws the ball a little bit better but he still can do the same quarterback runs. No. 5 [Alex Delton] can run it. He’s very fast but he’s still going to throw the ball. I mean, he’s thrown some shots. It’s not like he’s a bad thrower either.

“So it’s not that big. It’s not enough to where they say ‘we’re not going to run our offense because so and so is the quarterback’.”

Whitener agrees that if you prepare for one K-State QB, you really are preparing for any K-State QB.

“We have film on both guys and in the way that they run their offense they really don’t change what they’ve done,” Whitener said. “I mean 10 runs the ball as well as 5 so we’ve just got to understand what our responsibility is for us [regardless] of who’s going to play quarterback.”

To throw another wrench into the works, Jesse Ertz, who “gashed” the Cowboys for three rushing TDs last year in Manhattan and was impressive down the stretch, might play. The senior has missed five games since injuring his knee against Texas, but Bill Snyder has previously refuted reports that Ertz was done for the year and had even hinted that he might play as early as three weeks ago against Kansas.

“We have the game film [on Ertz] from last year, a couple early cut-ups,” said Spencer with a smile. “They’re sneaky up there in Manhattan, so he could trot out there and be rolling.”

Whether it’s Thompson, the supposed future at QB with the better arm or Delton, the more prolific ground threat — or Ertz — or a combination of all three, OSU coaches and defenders will need to be on their toes. A game against Kansas State is never a given, even with questions at QB. We should know that by now.