Expect Bill Snyder To Utilize Daniel Sams Against Oklahoma

Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-US PRESSWIRE

The first chapter in the legend of Collin Klein was written November 6, 2010 against the Texas Longhorns. After sporting a more modern offense behind the arm of Chase Coffman the first two months of the season, Bill Snyder surprised Mack Brown and laid down an old school smack down in devastating fashion. The secrets to success were a phenomenal defensive effort and a surprise start by Klein over Coffman. Although Snyder had briefly experimented with Klein as the signal caller earlier in the year, there was no indication the Wildcat receiver would become the center of attack. There are few advantages more powerful than the element of surprise, and Snyder’s surprise forced Texas to rewrite their game plan on the run. The approach ended with resounding success.

This surprise was so effective because it was so extreme. The previous week, K-State attempted 39 passes compared to 37 rushes in a loss to Oklahoma State. Against Texas, Klein went 2-of-4 throwing while the team rushed 50 times (my favorite stat of that game: Texas QB Garrett Gilbert, with five interceptions, threw more passes caught by Wildcats than Klein). Then the Wildcats were the victim of surprise last year when Bob Stoops introduced Blake Bell to the league against K-State and the Sooners blew out the ‘Cats as the burly ‘Belldozer’ subbed in at quarterback in goal line formations to punch in short yardage touchdowns.

The lesson here is that the team best able to stun on Saturday stands the best chance of winning. Forget K-State’s secondary that churns out and gives up big plays or beastly defensive line – I want to see how Snyder utilizes heralded redshirt freshman Daniel Sams. Klein rushed for 27 touchdowns and over 1,000 yards, and I still want to see him under center. All the same, there’s no reason a dynamic player such as Sams shouldn’t be on the field during the game. Klein first saw the field as a wide receiver. Kerry Meier moved from quarterback to receiver for KU and recently concluded an outstanding career for the Jayhawks. Michigan experimented with the pistol (specifically, the diamond) formation last year to feature both phenom Denard Robinson and freshman Devin Gardner to keep defenses off balance with the threat of two running quarterbacks in backfield.

The point is, I don’t know how Sams should be utilized. The Wildcats are pretty solid at wide receiver, and I’m not sure Sams would provide an upgrade here. Michigan’s diamond formation produced limited success and never really caught fire. But if there’s one thing I know about the old ball coach, it’s that he will maximize every opportunity he can find. Maybe there’s a Statue of Liberty play lurking in the third quarter with number four’s name on it. Maybe K-State can pull off what Michigan couldn’t with two quarterbacks able to throw and run in the backfield. Snyder has never been a fan of inserting freshmen at quarterback due to the complexity of his playbook, but this doesn’t exempt Sams from making an impact elsewhere. If the game gets ugly early the Silver Fox may keep his cards close to the chest in anticipation of the October 20 showdown with West Virginia. Assuming it doesn’t, be on the lookout for Sams to show up in the box score.