Improved quarterback play a must for Kansas State in 2016

The question that dominated Kansas State football conversations throughout the past season will linger long into 2016.

Who will play quarterback? Good luck with that one.

The Wildcats never found an adequate answer this season, and it may take until Sept. 2 to settle on one for the 2016 opener at Stanford.

Perhaps Jesse Ertz will reclaim the job now that the torn ACL he suffered one play into his sophomore year has been repaired. By all accounts, he dominated the preseason quarterback derby and was Bill Snyder’s Plan A.

Or maybe Alex Delton will be ready after recovering from his own leg injury. Maybe it will be junior-college transfer Jonathan Banks. It’s also possible four-star recruit Skylar Thompson and Northern Illinois transfer Landon Root push for playing time. And don’t forget about Joe Hubener, who started 11 games this season. Possibilities abound.

That uncertainty serves as the most frustrating aspect of K-State’s unpredictable 6-7 season. Players recovered from a 3-6 start – challenging heavyweights Baylor, Oklahoma State and TCU despite a never-ending string of injuries – to reach the Liberty Bowl. Young players return at several important spots. Yet, Bill Snyder is no closer to finding his future quarterback than he was last January, when Jake Waters ran out of eligibility.

K-State’s offense is about to hit the reset button.

One thing’s for sure – it needs better quarterback play than it got this season.

Hubener and Kody Cook, a converted receiver, combined to complete 46.8 percent of their passes, often making simple throws look difficult. They also threw for 14 touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. Those numbers ranked near the bottom of college football.

The combination of inaccurate quarterbacks and mediocre receivers made it impossible for K-State to effectively operate the balanced offense Snyder prefers. No team can win in the high-octane Big 12 without a quality quarterback.

Things got so ugly at times that fans clamored for a run-only attack, akin to what Baylor pulled off without its injured quarterbacks at the Russell Athletic Bowl. Maybe that strategy would have changed the outcome of one game, but it’s not a long-term solution. K-State needs a viable passing attack.

That’s why Snyder will seek big contributions from unsung players across the offense. The Wildcats will look to redshirt freshmen Denzel Goolsby and Isaiah Zuber as upgrades at receiver next to Deante Burton and Dominique Heath. On the offensive line, only center Dalton Risner returns. So young blockers Scott Frantz, Adam Holtorf, Tyler Mitchell and Bryce Fitzner will need to be ready to rebuild K-State’s front five.

The Wildcats will require serious re-tooling on offense, outside of running back, where they return Charles Jones, Justin Silmon and Dalvin Warmack. But a rebuild isn’t necessarily a bad thing, given the unit’s struggles.

K-State returns much more on defense. If safety Dante Barnett returns for a fifth year, as is expected, he will lead a promising unit that returns Charmeachealle Moore, Duke Shelley, Elijah Lee, Will Geary and Jordan Willis. It will need to add talent at defensive back, but should be in good shape otherwise.

It would have been fascinating to see Barnett in action this season. K-State’s defense was all over the place, allowing three points over its first two games and limiting high-powered West Virginia to 23. But it could do nothing to stop TCU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Arkansas. Could Barnett, the man defensive coordinator Tom Hayes describes as the quarterback of K-State’s defense, provide consistency?

The Wildcats are excited to find out.

“This season was a setup for us to have success in the future,” said Willis, a junior defensive end. “Just to go through as much as we went through and to fight back from it, obviously, we didn’t get what we wanted, but we fought all year long. It is going to push us forward.

“We will get back to winning again. There are a lot of relentless people in that locker room. I know that if we have a good offseason, we can do some pretty good things.”

That starts with the coaching staff as it tries to add talent before signing day in February. Then returning players take over in the spring.

“Guys are really looking forward to spring practices,” Lee said. “It will be nice to finally get everyone back healthy.”

Injuries ravaged K-State’s roster this season, but you won’t hear anyone using that as an excuse for a losing record. Nor will it be the rallying cry during the offseason.

Snyder viewed this season as a learning tool. Not a fluke.

The Wildcats need to improve across the board, and that process starts at quarterback.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 11:42 AM with the headline "Improved quarterback play a must for Kansas State in 2016."