New coordinator will lean on Kendall Adams as K-State looks to improve pass defense
You only need one word to describe Kansas State’s pass defense over the past three seasons — ugly.
The Wildcats have fallen off a metaphorical cliff since holding opponents to 229 passing yards per game in 2014. That number ranked second in the Big 12, and it was a big reason why they won nine games that year.
Then came the ugliness. K-State had one of the Big 12’s worst pass defenses over the next two years, and things bottomed out last season when it allowed 309.1 passing yards per game. Not good, especially in a pass-happy conference that features some of the nation’s best quarterbacks and receivers.
Blake Seiler is well aware of the downturn. As K-State’s new defensive coordinator, he has spent the past few months trying to figure out what went wrong.
“It has been a combination of a couple things,” Seiler said. ”You go back a couple years, first game of the season we lose our best defensive back, Dante Barnett. You lose the quarterback of your defense, and that is tough. Then, last year, we had to have a lot of guys step up who were new.”
That shouldn’t be a problem this year. The Wildcats return experience at several important secondary positions, including their “quarterback.”
Kendall Adams, a preseason all-conference selection, is back on the field and ready to lead K-State at free safety after recovering from an Achilles injury.
“It’s great to have Kendall back,” Seiler said. “We missed him out there in the spring, but he’s had good days in summer camp. You can just see the experience he has back there running the show, making the calls, making the checks. He is just one of those guys who makes everyone around him better.”
Much will be expected of Adams this season. The senior is coming off a year in which he made 63 tackles and grabbed three interceptions in 10 games, missing one with a bruised knee and the final two with a torn Achilles’ tendon.
The road to recovery was long. Adams spent weeks on crutches and several months getting back up to full speed. But he’s ready to go now.
“I was really excited to start camp and start practicing again,” Adams said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to play football.”
Two familiar faces will join him in the secondary. Duke Shelley is back at cornerback as a senior, and Denzel Goolsby returns at strong safety as a junior. Along with Adams, they form one of the most experienced trios of defensive backs in the Big 12. But they face a difficult challenge without D.J. Reed.
Reed was far and away the team’s top defensive back last season, and now he’s in the NFL.
A.J. Parker seems poised to replace him at cornerback and Walter Neil is projected to start as a slot corner. Can three returning starters and two new faces make up for the loss or Reed and finally slow opposing quarterbacks in the Big 12.
Adams is confident the answer will be yes. It’s his main goal for the upcoming season.
“I want to get back to being the player I was before I got hurt and be a good leader for the defense,” Adams said. “Having a good player like D.J. Reed leave for the NFL, I feel like I have to step up my leadership for the defensive backs and the defense as a whole.”
Seiler hopes to help them with some new and improved defensive formations.
Former defensive coordinator Tom Hayes emphasized stopping the run and limiting deep passes. That meant linebackers in the box, cornerbacks 15 yards off the line of scrimmage and loads of open space across the middle for offenses to exploit.
A more balance approach is expected from Seiler.
“There are a lot of things you can do just mixing the coverages and all those things,” Seiler said. “The biggest thing is to get them lined up, get their eyes right and then play fast.”
This secondary should be able to do exactly that, and limit the ugly numbers of past seasons.