Kansas State needs Isaiah Zuber to emerge as a No. 1 receiver this season
Isaiah Zuber led Kansas State by a wide margin in receptions last season, but that doesn’t mean he was the Wildcats’ best receiver.
Far from it, actually.
While he was snagging 51 catches for 510 yards and four touchdowns, Byron Pringle was amassing 724 yards and six touchdowns on 30 catches and Dalton Schoen was piling up 470 yards and three touchdowns on 23 catches. Zuber knew how to get open, yet his average reception of 10 yards ranked eighth on the team, behind a fullback. His longest catch of 29 yards ranked sixth on the team, also behind a fullback.
Why? Zuber ponders the question for a moment and shakes his head before offering a response.
“This year is going to different,” Zuber said. “That’s all I’m going to tell you.”
It better be. K-State is depending on Zuber to shed his possession-receiver label and become a No. 1 target capable of stretching the field and catching deep passes over the top of a defense. Because if he can’t do that, it’s unclear who else on the roster can.
There are few question marks on K-State’s offense this season, but receiver is one of them.
The Wildcats return five starters and several capable backups on the offensive line, four playmakers at running back and two captains at quarterback. But there is much less proven talent in the receiving corps. Schoen, a former walk-on, should pick up where he left off last season as a mismatch in the slot and Zach Reuter appears ready to contribute at a higher level. But every other receiver feels like a wild card.
Zuber is the fastest and most experienced man of the group. He says he can run 40 yards in 4.3 seconds, the quickest time of any K-State football player, and he appears in line for kick-return duties. So it falls on him to elevate the passing game now that Pringle is battling for a roster spot with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Can he pull it off?
“My biggest challenge with (Zuber) is getting him to understand how good he can be,” offensive coordinator Andre Coleman said. “He thinks, at times, he’s good. I love confidence. I want guys to have confidence. But he probably thinks he is better than what he is. He just doesn’t have the work ethic like Tyler Lockett yet. He doesn’t have that type of grind.
“When he develops that he will have a chance to be really special. He is a great athlete, don’t get me wrong. But when he understands that, when he puts that commitment into it, he can go from good to extraordinary.”
It seems like Zuber has absorbed that message.
He entered preseason camp with a new type of focus that he hopes will lead to a breakthrough season. K-State needs a new No. 1 receiver, and Zuber is up for the challenge.
“I watched every game from last year and every practice,” Zuber said. “I’ve been meeting with Coach Coleman. I have to keep my head focused, I have to quiet out all the noise and let nothing get to me. I just have to focus on myself and myself only.”