Kansas football defeated Nevada in a late-night face-off in Reno on Saturday night. We went over the PFF grades and snap counts for the Jayhawks offense/defense.
For the first time in over 30 years, the Kansas Jayhawks have begun consecutive football seasons with a 3-0 record. Lance Leipold’s group has high expectations heading into conference play in 2023, a year after the team reached its first bowl game since 2008.
Although Kansas came out victorious on Saturday night against the Nevada Wolf Pack, it was the worst game the Jayhawks have played. The offense and defense were sloppy, and the proclaimed ‘worst team in the FBS’ put up a fight through all 60 minutes.
Not many players stood out besides Devin Neal, who is quickly entering the conversation as one of the best running backs in the country. He rushed for 89 yards and scored three touchdowns.
We looked over Pro Football Focus grades for each player on both sides of the ball for Kansas football.
Kansas Football Offense: PFF Grades and Snap Counts (Out of 70)
- QB Jalon Daniels — 70 snaps
- 89.1 offense grade, 91.2 passing grade, 53.9 running grade
- LT Dominick Puni — 70 snaps
- 88.8 pass blocking grade, 54.9 run blocking grade
- C Mike Novitsky — 70 snaps
- 74.9 pass blocking grade, 62.5 run blocking grade
- RT Bryce Cabeldue — 70 snaps
- 73.0 pass blocking grade, 77.3 run blocking grade
- RG Michael Ford Jr. — 70 snaps
- 86.7 pass blocking grade, 68.6 run blocking grade
- TE Mason Fairchild — 66 snaps
- 72.9 offense grade, 79.7 passing grade, 59.5 run blocking grade
- WR Lawrence Arnold — 56 snaps
- 69.8 offense grade, 67.8 passing grade, 74.2 run blocking grade
- LG Kobe Baynes — 45 snaps
- 74.0 pass blocking grade, 54.2 run blocking grade
- WR Luke Grimm — 42 snaps
- 75.5 offense grade, 75.2 passing grade, 58.8 run blocking grade
- RB Devin Neal — 38 snaps
- 73.9 offense grade, 73.2 running grade, 63.0 passing grade, 79.0 pass blocking grade
- WR Quentin Skinner — 38 snaps
- 70.3 offense grade, 69.6 passing grade, 60.2 run blocking grade
- TE Jared Casey — 38 snaps
- 57.7 offense grade, 48.8 passing grade, 69.0 run blocking grade
- LG Ar’maj Reed-Adams — 28 snaps
- 20.6 pass blocking grade, 81.0 run blocking grade
- RB Daniel Hishaw Jr. — 25 snaps
- 56.6 offense grade, 57.9 running grade, 55.1 passing grade, 75.2 pass blocking grade
- RB Dylan McDuffie — 15 snaps
- 65.4 offense grade, 64.4 running grade, 56.9 passing grade, 74.8 pass blocking grade
- WR Doug Emilien — 9 snaps
- 59.3 offense grade, 59.4 passing grade, 59.5 run blocking grade
- TE Trevor Kardell — 6 snaps
- 67.5 offense grade, 56.1 passing grade, 72.7 run blocking grade
- WR Tanaka Scott — 4 snaps
- 68.2 offense grade, 74.2 passing grade, 60.2 run blocking grade
- TE Tevita Ahoafi-Noa — 3 snaps
- 60.0 offense grade, 60.2 run blocking grade
- UTIL Torry Locklin — 3 snaps
- 59.3 offense grade, 59.9 passing grade, 60.0 run blocking grade
- WR Trevor Wilson — 3 snaps
- 48.2 offense grade, 57.7 passing grade, 37.3 run blocking grade
- QB Jason Bean — 1 snap
- 54.8 offense grade, 57.6 running grade
- CB Mello Dotson — 61 snaps
- 60.5 defense grade, 64.1 run defense grade, 58.9 pass coverage grade
- FS Kenny Logan Jr. — 56 snaps
- 73.3 defense grade, 86.6 run defense grade, 62.9 pass coverage grade
- MLB Rich Miller — 49 snaps
- 74.1 defense grade, 74.6 run defense grade, 66.9 pass coverage grade
- HAWK Craig Young — 48 snaps
- 66.6 defense grade, 55.9 run defense grade, 67.1 pass coverage grade
- OLB JB Brown — 42 snaps
- 87.5 defense grade, 81.0 run defense grade, 91.9 pass coverage grade
- DE Jereme Robinson — 41 snaps
- 55.4 defense grade, 62.9 run defense grade
- DT DJ Withers — 34 snaps
- 61.7 defense grade, 61.9 run defense grade
- SS Marvin Grant — 34 snaps
- 88.8 defense grade, 69.4 run defense grade, 89.5 pass coverage grade
- FS OJ Burroughs — 32 snaps
- 68.1 defense grade, 51.7 run defense grade, 75.0 pass coverage grade
- CB Cobee Bryant — 32 snaps
- 67.3 defense grade, 63.6 run defense grade, 66.7 pass coverage grade
- DT Devin Phillips — 32 snaps
- 67.5 defense grade, 66.0 run defense grade
- CB Kwinton Lassiter — 29 snaps
- 66.7 defense grade, 62.4 run defense grade, 66.1 pass coverage grade
- DE Patrick Joyner Jr. — 25 snaps
- 59.0 defense grade, 60.5 run defense grade
- CB Kalon Gervin — 20 snaps
- 59.6 defense grade, 44.8 run defense grade, 65.8 pass coverage grade
- OLB Taiwan Berryhill Jr. — 18 snaps
- 62.1 defense grade, 80.3 run defense grade, 46.8 pass coverage grade
- DT Tommy Dunn Jr. — 17 snaps
- 92.9 defense grade, 73.7 run defense grade
- OLB Dean Miller — 16 snaps
- 77.4 defense grade, 70.5 run defense grade
- DE Austin Booker — 15 snaps
- 68.5 defense grade, 83.6 run defense grade
- DE Dylan Brooks — 13 snaps
- 62.4 defense grade, 63.4 run defense grade
- DT Gage Keys — 13 snaps
- 59.9 defense grade, 61.0 run defense grade
- DT Kenean Caldwell — 13 snaps
- 80.3 defense grade, 78.2 run defense grade
- OLB Cornell Wheeler — 12 snaps
- 78.3 defense grade, 60.0 run defense grade, 73.4 pass coverage grade
- DE Davion Westmoreland — 10 snaps
- 59.1 defense grade, 60.0 run defense grade
- DT Caleb Taylor — 5 snaps
- 48.5 defense grade, 54.1 run defense grade
- DE Hayden Hatcher — 4 snaps
- 61.2 defense grade, 60.7 run defense grade
Analysis
Tommy Dunn Jr., Marvin Grant, and JB Brown led the team in defense grades. Grant has earned himself a full-time role this season, and Brown is emerging as a rising star for the Kansas football defense.
It doesn’t surprise me to see most of the D-line with mediocre ratings. Nevada was creating running gaps all night, and Kansas recorded a season-low in sacks. Nobody stood out to me on the front four.
The defensive backs missed Cobee Bryant for one half, but Mello Dotson held his own for the most part. When that unit is at full strength, it can make an extreme impact. BYU and Kedon Slovis will certainly test them next week.
Analysis
At first glance, the grades seem to be in line with Kansas’ performance on Saturday. Although Devin Neal scored three touchdowns and led the team in scrimmage yards, even he had a slow game for his standards.
I’m not entirely sure how the PFF grading system works, but Daniels’ rating seems a bit inflated. There were at least two instances where a Wolf Pack defensive player dropped an easy interception on what should have been a throwaway. He did not perform up to par, but he did throw for 298 yards.
Something to note is the split snaps at left guard. Ar’maj Reed-Adams was subbed out for Kobe Baynes in the 2nd quarter after committing several penalties. It wasn’t a good game for the offensive line overall. Mike Novitsky was blown by a Nevada defensive tackle for an easy sack, and they were not executing run blocks.
Nevada takes on Kansas at Mackay Stadium in Reno on Sept. 16, 2023. Kansas Football Defense: PFF Grades and Snap Counts (Out of 61)