The comparisons may eventually grow tiresome, but Kennesaw State’s passing game seems similar to what Georgia Tech has used the past few years.
Just as Tech had Demaryius Thomas, Stephen Hill, DeAndre Smelter and Darren Waller, the Owls will feature a pair of supersized wide receivers in P.J. Stone and Justin Sumpter on the edges of an option offense that Brian Bohannon once helped coach as an assistant at Tech, and now teaches as the big whistle at Kennesaw State.
Bohannon said the similarities in size between his group at Kennesaw State (the receivers range from 5-foot-11 to 6-4) and the former Tech receivers are by design. The bigger the wide receiver, the better he will be in helping the running game and the harder he will be to cover in one-on-one situations in the passing game.
“Thomas, Hill, Waller and Smelter, those guys in one on one … he makes the corner miss he has a chance to change the game,” Bohannon said.
But it’s not their sizes that are similar. The jobs, too, are the same, even though the offense won’t be an exact replica of what’s seen on The Flats. Before running their routes, they will first be asked to spring blocks for the quarterback and running backs.
“Nine times out of 10 our block is going to be the touchdown block,” said Stone, at 6-3, 208 pounds the larger of the two. “You have to hustle, be physical and let the running back do what he does.”
The second is to use that size to outmuscle defensive backs for jump balls or speed to go by cornerbacks who may get caught get looking into the backfield because they are expecting a running play.
“We run it down the throat and then throw it over the top,” said Sumpter, who is a handful to tackle at 6-3, 200.
Neither of the projected starters are averse to blocking, though Sumpter said he is trying to become more aggressive. He reasons he has about 30 pounds on the defensive backs he will face, so he should be able to handle the job. Stone blocked as a slot wide receiver and running back at Sprayberry and seems to possess the mean streak that can help take down everyone from the smaller corners to the larger linebackers.
“I like to beat up on the DBs a little bit,” Stone said.
But glory doesn’t come from flattening players smaller than you. Thomas, Hill and Waller were NFL draft picks because of their big-play ability. Bohannon likes his group’s hands and said at least three times that the wide receivers are the unit the coaches feel best about.
Sumpter and quarterback Trey White showed a flash of what may happen this season during a one-minute drill during last week’s scrimmage. Trying to get into field-goal range, Sumpter ran a vertical route, and White hit him with a pass on the back shoulder. The cornerback couldn’t beat him because of the location of the pass combined with Sumpter’s size.
“I won’t take much credit when I can throw it up and he can make play,” White said.
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