Bob Lutz: Kansas State’s offense might be pass-heavy

College football analysts – the guys who would make you believe they know everything – aren’t saying much about Kansas State quarterback Jake Waters.

Boys and girls, you should be.

Waters is primed to have a supercalifragilistic season for the Wildcats. When I saw him throw his first few passes in 2013 after transferring from Iowa Western Community College, I thought the guy had a rocket and he’d be playing in the NFL someday.

Then I became confused and irritated by the way K-State used Waters and fellow quarterback Daniel Sams, never really committing to either until finally Waters won the job. Sams, a superb talentwho never found his niche at Kansas State, has transferred.

But with Waters throwing to Tyler Lockett, and others, the K-State offense should be dynamic and a joy to watch. Waters completed better than 61 percent of his attempts last season for 18 touchdowns. He threw for nearly 2,500 yards, even though Sams got enough snaps to rush for 807 yards and pass for 452.

K-State coach Bill Snyder has named sophomore Charles Jones as the starter at tailback for Saturday’s opener against Stephen F. Austin. To which the reaction universally was: Who?

Jones hasn’t played a down at K-State after being redshirted during his freshman season in 2012 and standing idly on the sideline last season. He rushed for 1,767 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior at Mandeville (La.) High. He’s 5-foot-10 and 197 pounds.

He’ll be backed up, at least initially, by senior DeMarcus Robinson, from Wichita Northwest. Robinson went to K-State with high hopes after an outstanding career at Northwest, but has rarely gotten on the field. The other back in the mix is sophomore Jarvis Leverett, another player with little experience.

It makes you wonder how successful – or even how important – running the ball will be at K-State.

Snyder, we know, loves to pound the football with the running game. K-State has had a 1,000-yard rusher at tailback in 12 of the past 13 seasons he has coached, including last season when John Hubert rushed for 1,048 yards and 10 touchdowns.

If the Wildcats have a back who can approach that kind of production this season, it’ll be news to everyone. It’ll be interesting to see how 6-foot-3, 235-pound fullback Glenn Gronkowski fits into the equation. He was a pass-catching threat last season, but ran only once.

Remember, too, that Waters is a running threat. He rushed 118 times last season for 312 yards and six touchdowns. He’s not as nimble or evasive as Sams, but he has good speed and Snyder is a master at devising ways for his quarterbacks to tuck it and run.

But Waters is a stone-cold thrower with pinpoint accuracy and a powerful arm. His 156.8 passing efficiency in 2013 is the third-best in K-State history. His 2,469 yards are 10th in a single season and he’ll be a threat to Josh Freeman’s record 3,353 yards in 2007.

Provided, of course, that little guy on the outside doesn’t get banged up.

Lockett’s 1,262 receiving yards in 2013 are No. 2 in K-State history, behind Jordy Nelson (1,606 yards in 2007). Lockett might be the most exciting player in college football this season, thanks to his ability to dazzle with dizzying runs into open spaces. I’d buy a ticket just to watch Lockett return a punt or a kick and was frankly surprised that he returned to K-State for his senior season rather than take his enormous talents to the NFL.

Perhaps Lockett thought he was already in the NFL, or at least catching passes from a quarterback who’ll eventually get there.

Waters broke Cam Newton’s junior-college record for accuracy when he completed 73 percent of his passes as a sophomore at Iowa Western. He was 37-2 as a starter in high school at St. Albert in Iowa, a Class 1A school that he helped win two state championships.

There’s a little Kurt Warner in this guy, and it’s not just because both were raised in Iowa. Both have had to pay their dues and that’s something Waters is still doing. He’s on a bunch of watch lists this season, but he’s not really being watched that closely.

Athlon Sports listed its top 25 Heisman Trophy candidates. It includes 13 quarterbacks, none of whom are named Jake Waters. The Athlon list includes Florida State’s Jameis Winston, the 2013 Heisman winner, along with Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, Baylor’s Bryce Petty, UCLA’s Brett Hundley, Auburn’s Nick Marshall, Arizona State’s Taylor Kelly, BYU’s Taysom Hill, Clemson’s Cole Stoudt, Oklahoma’s Trevor Knight, Penn State’s Christian Hackenberg, Michigan State’s Connor Cook, Utah State’s Chuckie Keeton and Oregon State’s Sean Mannion.

What do you want to bet Waters has perused that list?

This story was originally published August 28, 2014 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Kansas State’s offense might be pass-heavy."