Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Football Friday, Presented by the West Virginia Lottery
October 16, 2020 06:40 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The health of Kansas football coach Les Miles is the No. 1 storyline heading into Saturday's game against West Virginia at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Miles, 66, announced late last week that he tested positive for COVID-19 and has been isolating in his home while defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot and offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon have been handling game preparations this week.
Miles posted a short video on his Twitter site last Sunday stating he is doing fine and planned to be at Milan Puskar Stadium with his team this Saturday, but has since reconsidered and will sit out tomorrow's game while he still recovers.
"While my 10-day isolation window was completed (Friday morning), there is too much still unknown about this virus for me to feel 100% confident that I won't transmit it to someone who comes into close contact with me on the team charter, hotel or at the game Saturday," he said early Friday afternoon in a prepared statement.
Eliot replaced Miles on Monday's Big 12 coaches' teleconference but assistant coach Josh Eagle has been tabbed to coach the Jayhawks against the Mountaineers, meaning West Virginia will be facing its first interim coach since 2014 when Kansas fired Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Clint Bowen was promoted to replace him.
The other big Kansas storyline for tomorrow is junior tailback Pooka Williams, a preseason All-Big 12 performer and one of the most explosive players in the conference.
Williams is the first KU running back since the late, great Gale Sayers to rush for more than 2,000 yards in his first two seasons in the program.
Williams went for 1,125 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 7.0 yards per carry, in 2018 before posting a 1,061-yard sophomore campaign in 2019.
The New Orleans resident struck Oklahoma for 252 yards and two scores on just 15 carries during his freshman season, and hit up Texas for 190 yards and a pair of scores last year.
Late last season, he got 154 yards against Iowa State and 116 against Baylor – two outstanding defenses.
Williams has had a lot of success running the ball against just about everybody in the conference except for TCU and West Virginia.
In 2018, WVU limited him to just 65 yards on 12 carries and last year he produced 76 yards on 15 attempts, which is noteworthy considering the difficulties the Mountaineers have had containing Kansas running backs in the past.
Who hasn't forgotten Khalil Herbert's 291-yard performance three years ago, or James Sims going for 211 yards in KU's upset victory in 2013?
Brown calls Williams a "special talent" who is a threat to take it the distance each time he touches the football.
"He has the ability to get yards even when it's not blocked well, and you don't see that too often," Brown said. "It might be a running play to the left and you stuff it and he might bounce it all the way to the right and that's hard to prepare for."
WVU defensive line coach Jordan Lesley said he has spent the last two weeks preaching to his guys the dangers Pooka presents if they get out of position.
Lesley puts Williams in an elite category of Big 12 running backs.
"We go into Oklahoma State and guys are talking about Chuba (Hubbard) and L.D. Brown and Pooka, to me, is as good and maybe one of the best in our league because he can take mistakes and make them look good," he admitted. "He can go way away from where the play was designed to go, and he can score a touchdown on you from anywhere on the field."
On Monday, Kansas announced that 5-foot-10, 205-pound junior Miles Kendrick will be its starting quarterback. Kendrick has tailback size in a quarterback with the ability to run the football, meaning all 11 defenders will be accounted for on Saturday.
That could make Williams doubly lethal. Secondary coach Jahmile Addae explains.
"The old school way of fitting and being sound in the run game is you didn't necessarily have to account for that quarterback and when you add that it changes some things," he said. "They have that number, and he's pretty good at what they ask him to do when he pulls that ball so we've got to be sound and our guys are working to do so."
Brown believes Kansas will also use Williams in more ways than just handing the ball off to him in the backfield.
"I fully expect them to line him up all over the field, motion him out of the backfield, throw the ball to him out of the backfield and line him up in the slot," he said. "They've been creative this year and in the past getting him the football.
"He's also a lot stronger than people give him credit for with really good lower body strength," Brown added. "We've got to make sure we've got a lot of hats going to the football."
Which is exactly what West Virginia has managed to do the last two times it has faced Williams. Addae said some of the dudes the Mountaineers have on defense have played a role in limiting Williams as well.
"First of all, we've got the Jimmys up front," he noted. "We've got some guys that can really make some plays and do some things to really kick up some dust. That's the first thing. The second thing is coach Lesley did a heck of a job last year putting those guys into positions to make plays and make sure we are sound.
"As long as we've got the numbers to fit the schemes that present themselves, it usually fares the way it has in the past," he added.
One other item to consider: Williams' sore foot. He left the third quarter of Kansas' 47-7 loss to Oklahoma State and didn't return. He's also had some durability issues in the Jayhawks' other losses this year to Coastal Carolina and Baylor.
But the Oklahoma State game was two weeks ago, which gave Williams an extra week to get healthy.
It will be interesting to see who is healthier on Saturday – Pooka Williams or his coach.
Saturday's game will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on FOX. Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College radio coverage begins with the Go-Mart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 8:30 a.m.
Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning begins at 11 a.m.
Saturday's game will also be the first time this year fans other than family members and essential game workers will be allowed in Milan Puskar Stadium. In accordance with University, local and state officials, a reduced capacity of 25% will be permitted for Saturday's game, meaning approximately 15,000 fans will be allowed to attend.
There are tickets still remaining and those can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Tonight's Football Friday is presented by the West Virginia Lottery.
Miles, 66, announced late last week that he tested positive for COVID-19 and has been isolating in his home while defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot and offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon have been handling game preparations this week.
Miles posted a short video on his Twitter site last Sunday stating he is doing fine and planned to be at Milan Puskar Stadium with his team this Saturday, but has since reconsidered and will sit out tomorrow's game while he still recovers.
"While my 10-day isolation window was completed (Friday morning), there is too much still unknown about this virus for me to feel 100% confident that I won't transmit it to someone who comes into close contact with me on the team charter, hotel or at the game Saturday," he said early Friday afternoon in a prepared statement.
Eliot replaced Miles on Monday's Big 12 coaches' teleconference but assistant coach Josh Eagle has been tabbed to coach the Jayhawks against the Mountaineers, meaning West Virginia will be facing its first interim coach since 2014 when Kansas fired Charlie Weis and defensive coordinator Clint Bowen was promoted to replace him.
The other big Kansas storyline for tomorrow is junior tailback Pooka Williams, a preseason All-Big 12 performer and one of the most explosive players in the conference.Williams is the first KU running back since the late, great Gale Sayers to rush for more than 2,000 yards in his first two seasons in the program.
Williams went for 1,125 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 7.0 yards per carry, in 2018 before posting a 1,061-yard sophomore campaign in 2019.
The New Orleans resident struck Oklahoma for 252 yards and two scores on just 15 carries during his freshman season, and hit up Texas for 190 yards and a pair of scores last year.
Late last season, he got 154 yards against Iowa State and 116 against Baylor – two outstanding defenses.
Williams has had a lot of success running the ball against just about everybody in the conference except for TCU and West Virginia.
In 2018, WVU limited him to just 65 yards on 12 carries and last year he produced 76 yards on 15 attempts, which is noteworthy considering the difficulties the Mountaineers have had containing Kansas running backs in the past.
Who hasn't forgotten Khalil Herbert's 291-yard performance three years ago, or James Sims going for 211 yards in KU's upset victory in 2013?
Brown calls Williams a "special talent" who is a threat to take it the distance each time he touches the football.
"He has the ability to get yards even when it's not blocked well, and you don't see that too often," Brown said. "It might be a running play to the left and you stuff it and he might bounce it all the way to the right and that's hard to prepare for."
WVU defensive line coach Jordan Lesley said he has spent the last two weeks preaching to his guys the dangers Pooka presents if they get out of position.
Lesley puts Williams in an elite category of Big 12 running backs.
"We go into Oklahoma State and guys are talking about Chuba (Hubbard) and L.D. Brown and Pooka, to me, is as good and maybe one of the best in our league because he can take mistakes and make them look good," he admitted. "He can go way away from where the play was designed to go, and he can score a touchdown on you from anywhere on the field."
On Monday, Kansas announced that 5-foot-10, 205-pound junior Miles Kendrick will be its starting quarterback. Kendrick has tailback size in a quarterback with the ability to run the football, meaning all 11 defenders will be accounted for on Saturday.
That could make Williams doubly lethal. Secondary coach Jahmile Addae explains.
"The old school way of fitting and being sound in the run game is you didn't necessarily have to account for that quarterback and when you add that it changes some things," he said. "They have that number, and he's pretty good at what they ask him to do when he pulls that ball so we've got to be sound and our guys are working to do so."
Brown believes Kansas will also use Williams in more ways than just handing the ball off to him in the backfield.
"I fully expect them to line him up all over the field, motion him out of the backfield, throw the ball to him out of the backfield and line him up in the slot," he said. "They've been creative this year and in the past getting him the football.
"He's also a lot stronger than people give him credit for with really good lower body strength," Brown added. "We've got to make sure we've got a lot of hats going to the football."
Which is exactly what West Virginia has managed to do the last two times it has faced Williams. Addae said some of the dudes the Mountaineers have on defense have played a role in limiting Williams as well.
"First of all, we've got the Jimmys up front," he noted. "We've got some guys that can really make some plays and do some things to really kick up some dust. That's the first thing. The second thing is coach Lesley did a heck of a job last year putting those guys into positions to make plays and make sure we are sound.
"As long as we've got the numbers to fit the schemes that present themselves, it usually fares the way it has in the past," he added.
One other item to consider: Williams' sore foot. He left the third quarter of Kansas' 47-7 loss to Oklahoma State and didn't return. He's also had some durability issues in the Jayhawks' other losses this year to Coastal Carolina and Baylor.
But the Oklahoma State game was two weeks ago, which gave Williams an extra week to get healthy.
It will be interesting to see who is healthier on Saturday – Pooka Williams or his coach.
Saturday's game will kick off at noon and will be televised nationally on FOX. Mountaineer Sports Network from Learfield IMG College radio coverage begins with the Go-Mart Mountaineer Tailgate Show at 8:30 a.m.
Regular network coverage with Tony Caridi, Dwight Wallace and Jed Drenning begins at 11 a.m.
Saturday's game will also be the first time this year fans other than family members and essential game workers will be allowed in Milan Puskar Stadium. In accordance with University, local and state officials, a reduced capacity of 25% will be permitted for Saturday's game, meaning approximately 15,000 fans will be allowed to attend.
There are tickets still remaining and those can be purchased by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
Tonight's Football Friday is presented by the West Virginia Lottery.
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