Texas Tech football: 5 best offensive players Red Raiders face in 2019

No. 4: RB Pooka Williams

Kansas football and offense have not necessarily gone hand in hand in the last decade.  After all, KU was just No. 109 in the nation in total offense last year with 350.8 yards per game.

But most of that was due to the ineptitude of the Jayhawk quarterbacks.  Next to whichever spare part KU tried at QB last year was one of the most electric talents in the conference, running back Pooka Williams.

As a true freshman, he went off for 1,414 total yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns.  That included 1,125 yards on the ground.

But it looked for a time like he might not be part of the KU team this fall after a December arrest for domestic violence.  Last week though, he was reinstated to the program and handed a one-game suspension, which he will serve in the season opener against mighty Indiana State.

Whether or not one believes that punishment is sufficient (and most do not), there’s no arguing William’s talent.  The 5-foot-10, 170-pound back is a threat in both the passing and running games and could be to the Big 12 what Penn State alum Saquan Barkley was to the Big 10.

However, the lack of playmakers around him is likely to keep Williams from being the conference’s most productive back.  Teams are able to build their entire defensive game plan around stopping him and that is not likely to change until KU makes teams pay through the air with any type of regularity.

Last fall in Lubbock, Williams had just 107 total yards (81 rushing) on 19 touches.  Meanwhile, the Jayhawks passed for a scant 221 yards as Peyton Bender completed just 19-41 passes in Tech’s 48-16 win.

Willaims had four 100-yard rushing games last year but only two in Big 12 play.  However, those two came in the final two games of the year when he went for 252 yards at Oklahoma and 103 against Texas.  Now, after taking the Big 12 by storm as a freshman, he will be one of the most dangerous players in the conference as a sophomore.