These plays show why running back Jordon Brown is a vital member of K-State’s offense
Jordon Brown might be the most underrated player on Kansas State’s football roster.
The North Carolina graduate transfer made a case for that distinction last week when he returned to action against Oklahoma and provided a much-needed spark on offense as the Wildcats rolled to an upset victory.
Many shrugged off Brown’s injury absences against Baylor and TCU as insignificant, because he is the team’s No. 2 running back behind starter James Gilbert, and Harry Trotter also gets carries out of the backfield. K-State seemed well positioned to get by without Brown.
Turns out, Brown brings something to the field that isn’t easily duplicated.
“It was really great to have him back out there,” Gilbert said. “We are like a one-two punch. I was so happy when he got cleared by the doctors and was able to play. We can do a lot of three-back sets and plays with me, Harry and Jordon. We did that the first couple games in the season and we did it again (Saturday). I’m just happy to have everyone back healthy so we can do stuff like that again.”
Brown did a little bit of everything against the Sooners.
He was one of the biggest reasons why the Wildcats snapped out of an offensive slump and piled up 48 points and 426 yards against a previously undefeated team. At one point, they scored on eight consecutive drives.
Brown helped by slipping past OU defenders for 63 rushing yards on 12 carries and also finding an open spot against zone coverage for a 23-yard catch.
“It was great to be back,” Brown said. “When you’re watching the game from the sideline you feel pretty helpless.”
But his biggest impact may have come when he didn’t touch the ball. Brown is one of the most versatile playmakers on K-State’s roster, and he gave Oklahoma defenders something to think about every time he was on the field.
Offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham used Brown beautifully as both a blocker and as a decoy on plays that went to his teammates.
One of the best examples of this occurred on a 15-yard quarterback draw from Skylar Thompson. On that play, Brown lined up alongside Thompson in the backfield and ran a route to his in the flats. Thompson dropped back as if he intended to pass and stared down Gilbert, which was enough to get two Oklahoma linebackers to move toward Brown and open up the middle of the field. That left lots of room for Thompson when he took off on a designed run.
“Jordon brings a different dynamic back there,” freshman receiver Joshua Youngblood said. “He has speed and agility. James brings power. You have more balance when they are both in there.”
The Sooners never seemed to know where to look when Brown was on the field. He is K-State’s best pass-catching threat out of the backfield and a gifted runner, so he needs to be accounted for.
Messingham gave Oklahoma defenders something extra to think about by using an inverted wishbone formation that featured Brown, Gilbert and Trotter surrounding Thompson out of the shotgun.
With three running backs on the field at the same time, the Wildcats took advantage of misdirection and gained leverage on the perimeter for nice runs. Some of Gilbert’s plays came with Brown leading the way as a blocker.
“When you can have three tailbacks back there, you don’t know which way it’s going,” K-State coach Chris Klieman said. “We’re scratching the surface on a lot of things that we can do out of that formation.”
The only bad news to come out of Brown’s time on the field against Oklahoma was that he got “nicked up” as the game went along. He played a full four quarters, but he was also seen limping at times in the second half.
Klieman held him out of practice early this week to help him recover, but Brown is expected to be at full strength against Kansas on Saturday.