Wildcats coach wants bigger role for Dylan Edwards
The numbers speak for themselves.
Dylan Edwards has touched the ball 12 times since he joined the Kansas State football team this season, and he has made the absolute most of his limited opportunities. The Colorado transfer running back has already amassed 114 yards of offense and scored three touchdowns. He leads the Wildcats with an average rush of 10.8 yards. And his 18 points on the year trail only kicker Chris Tennant in scoring.
“He’s explosive with the ball in his hands,” K-State quarterback Avery Johnson said.
Those statistics and that explosiveness have led many K-State fans to wonder why
Edwards isn’t a bigger part of the offense.
It sounds like head coach Chris Klieman is pondering the same question.
“We need to find ways to get him the football more,” Klieman said. “That’s a pretty simple concept that I’ve challenged, or addressed, with our offensive guys.”
On paper, creating more opportunities for Edwards appears simple.
In reality, it’s not so easy. Giving a bigger workload to Edwards means taking something away from other players. That can be a complicated process when there are so many other talented players in the K-State backfield.
Starting running back DJ Giddens has been far and away the best player on the team through two games, as he has piled up 307 yards of all purpose-yardage and reeled in a touchdown pass. Taking the ball away from him might not be the best idea.
Joe Jackson had a touchdown catch nullified against Tulane because of a penalty from the offensive line. Let’s not forget La’James White has 12 yards and a touchdown on just one carry. They are also capable playmakers.
Oh, and quarterback Avery Johnson is a threat in the running game.
Klieman thinks the best solution is to simply get more plays for everyone. The Wildcats were only able to run 56 plays in both of their first two games. That number is down significantly from last season when they were routinely topping 70 plays and had one game where they reached 102.
“We’ve got to get more plays,” Klieman said. “Because
I would like to see Avery with the ball more in his hands. I would like to see Dylan with the ball more in his hands. I would like to see what you guys want to see. Let’s get the ball downfield to our wide receivers. Well, our sample size is so small.”
There is a good chance that K-State will have more opportunities to score this week when it takes on Arizona at 7 p.m. on Friday inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Arizona will bring a high-octane offense to Manhattan, and K-State could be in for a shootout.
K-State will need to prioritize getting the ball to Edwards if that game script plays out. After two games it’s already clear that he is an offensive weapon.