The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Michigan State's Kenneth Walker & Breaking Down Klatt's Heisman favorites

Episode Date: October 21, 2021

On this week's Breaking the Huddle, Joel Klatt talks to Michigan State's Kenneth Walker about the Spartans' 7-0 start and being in the center of the Heisman trophy conversation. Joel also goes through his Top 10 Rankings, and breaks down plays from his Heisman favorites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's up, everybody. Welcome into Breaking the Huddle. I'm Joel Clatt. This show is brought to you by Dr. Pepper. It is the one fans deserve. Lots to get into with college football, heating up towards the end of October. I'm going to bring you my top 10, my almost top 10. We've got Kenneth Walker from Michigan State on the show. We're going to talk to him. And I'm going to break down my kind of top five Heismann guys in our X's and O segment. So we're going to take a look under the hood at those players. Let's get into right away, though, the almost top 10. These teams that didn't quite make my top 10. They were close. Oregon. They survived. Ole Miss survived that crazy game at Tennessee. That's unbelievable. Knoxville, come on, you got to do something about that. Notre Dame 5 and 1, Kentucky, 6 and 1. So Kentucky fell out of that top 10 after their loss to Georgia. Let's get into the top 10, though. This is how I see the top 10 right now through week 7 in college football. Penn State goes down to 10, even in an off week, but that's because of where everything had to fit ahead of them. Iowa went to nine, but they needed to stay ahead of Penn State. So I've got Iowa at number nine right there at six and one after that loss to Purdue. Wild game David Bell went totally

off in that game. At number eight, I've got a newcomer to the top 10. Mike Gundy's Oklahoma State team, six and O, saw them live in Austin, Texas. That Oklahoma State team, I got to tell you, defensively they were really strong. They got the pick six early to keep them alive a little bit. And then the run game. How about the run game with Jalen Warren was fantastic? I, I, I I love what Jalen Warren was able to do offensively. They only gave up one yard of offense in the fourth quarter, gained well over 140 yards, came back and won that game against Texas.

Texas ran out of gas, no pun intended. At number seven, I've got Michigan State. Mel Tucker is doing business there with Michigan State. Remember, we've got Kenneth Walker on the show in a little bit. At six, I've got Michigan. They've got Northwestern this weekend. Gus and I and Jenny will be there in order to call that game. Michigan State off this week before a potential undefeated matchup

between the two Michigan schools. We'll be there, by the way, in East Lansing next week for that one. At five, we stay in the Big Ten East. It's Ohio State resurgent offense. The defense is playing better. C.J. Stroud looks healthier. He looks better. They look explosive.

That's a scary team coming down the stretch. There's no doubt. At number four, I've got Alabama at six and one. After that loss to Texas A&M, they ride the ship a little bit. At number three, I've got Cincinnati at three, because I moved Oklahoma up to two, and then Georgia at number one. Oklahoma at two. I just want to rest here for just a moment because

OU is a different team now than they were a couple of weeks ago. Folks, what Caleb Williams now has brought to Oklahoma has totally changed them. Okay, so last week against TCU, that's the first time that against an FBS opponent, they've won by more than a score. So something's going on, I think it was the run game. Caleb Williams' ability to run the football and his threat as a runner with his legs, not to even mention his dynamic ability to throw the ball, But his threat of running, he makes their entire offense better.

Here's the evidence. Kennedy Brooks last week against Texas. After Williams went into the game, he started going off the running back for Oklahoma, well over 200 yards. This last week, well over 100 yards. In those two games, TCU and Texas, Kennedy Brooks has run for more yards than he did in the five previous games. So that's where this offense is going to find their explosive plays. They found them down the field.

They threw for touchdowns. Williams has clearly got a strong enough arm and provided a spark. This Oklahoma team is just flat different. This is the team that we expected to see early this year. This is a team that right now you would expect to win the Big 12. Again, you would expect them to find their way into the playoff. And it's a team that could threaten maybe even some of that power that we see from Georgia on the defensive side because of the new quarterback Caleb Williams.

He was fantastic. And just a quick aside, Oklahoma fans, I know you were upset at me, because I defended Spencer Rattler back when you were chanting for Caleb Williams. And here's the deal. You were right. You were right. I was wrong. Now, I don't think Spencer Rattler is not a talented quarterback. I think he's probably going to emerge somewhere and hopefully have a very good career. But you were right. What Caleb Williams brought with his legs to that offense has totally transformed them. And when they can run the football, they can get explosive down the field. You were right. I was wrong. Boomer sooner. Oklahoma at number two.

Let's talk about Heisman, right? It's October. We're getting there, although it's been a weird Heisman year. To be honest with you, I really wanted to include more guys in this segment, but we just don't have time. So I'm going to go with kind of my top five right now, although I think legitimately you could have six or seven guys that could actually win the award.

Let's start with what I think that the Heisman represents. We always argue about, like, well, is that the MVP of the best team? Is that the most outstanding player in college football? It's supposed to be the most outstanding player. So for me, that means a player that plays above the X's and O's. It's not just about the numbers for me, although you have to have great numbers.

It's also about your ability to make your team right, even when the opposition does everything right. Those are rare players, those are special players, to be above the X's and O's. It doesn't matter what's going on. You can still excel in the middle of a football game. So let's take a look now, a few of the guys. Let's start with Michigan State running back, Kenneth Walker.

First of all, this is what Kenneth has been able to do from a numbers perspective. He leads college football with those close to 1,997, 142 per game. That leads the country, only Power 5 player with multiple 200-yard rushing games this season. He's been fantastic. But is it more about the offensive line

or is it about Kenneth? Now, while it's both, let's show you a play where he goes way above the X's and O's. The defense is going to do everything right. This is just a nondescript handoff against Youngstown State. And I want you to watch early in this play, as soon as Kenneth Walker, who's in the backfield, is going to get the ball, you're going to see some unblocked players.

Guys get off of blocks. First of all, he's got a guy right in the backfield. Now you've got other guys that are pursuing that are getting in there. He's still breaking tackles. There's other guys with chances. The defense has done everything right here. They have gotten into the backfield. They've got a chance to tackle him several different times,

and he's able to make a bad play great. He makes this an explosive run. You're telling me, after the onset of the, this play. The ball is snapped to the quarterback. The offensive line gets absolutely beat right here. They're beat. Totally beat. The defense has won. No, they haven't because Kenneth Walker is above the X's and O's. He makes people miss. He gets to the edge and he creates an explosive play. That's one of the reasons why I love Kenneth Walker is that he is an above the X's and O's player. And by the way, we're going to talk to him next segment. I can't.

I can't wait to talk with Kenneth and have him share what his year has been all about so far this year. Let's move on. Okay, the next player that we're going to evaluate is Bryce Young, quarterback at Alabama, leads to Power 5 with those 24 passing touchdowns. He's got 297 passing yards per game, only three interceptions, number one scoring offense in the SEC. He's got all the numbers. But does he play above the X's and O's? Yes, he does.

Let's take a look at Bryce Young on the field. Here's a play against Old Miss in which the defense does everything right in the red zone. He's got nowhere to throw the football right here. Great coverage, but he does what he's supposed to. He scoots up in the pocket and he's able to then find a wide receiver late. But look, he doesn't even have his platform. His platform being his legs, your legs are what generate the power to your throw as a quarterback. Check out the talent that he has.

So again, everybody's covered. And as soon as Bryce Young gets the snap, he does what he's supposed to do. He moves up in the pocket. This is the perfect position to throw from. But right here, his legs. These are just parallel. He's got no platform to throw with, and he still throws a dart into the back of the end zone, and he's able to create a touchdown. That's above the X's and O's play right there from Bryce Young.

Let's go to the next play for Bryce Young. He can do it with his arms. What does he do when the defense calls a great coverage? He's going to get the snap. There's only three guys rushing from Mississippi State, which means there are eight guys in coverage. Very tough to throw the ball against inside the red zone. Now you get a win from those three defensive line, but he's still. sudden enough to get away. He pumps the football to freeze the defense just a moment. And again,

he runs down the sideline and is able to get all the way into the end zone. This is a play in which the defense is right. They do everything right. They only rush three. They take away all the passing windows with the eight guys in the secondary. They win up front with only three. And he still gets away. Now he's able to pump, provide just a moment of hesitation from the defense to where he gets the edge and gets into the end zone. That is above the X's and O's play from Bryce Young. Let's move on. Bejohn Robinson. Let's break him down. Leads the Big 12 in scrimmage yards per game. Look it down here. By the way, since last December, 174 scrimmage yards per game, 19 touchdowns. That's both the most in college football. He is special and he's getting it done. There's

no doubt. Let's take a look at a couple of those above the X's and O's place. What happens when the defense is right? They do it. They call the right defense. They play a right. Here he gets the ball. He's got two defenders, eyes on him. He's going to use speed to beat the first defender. Now he's going to jump cut after using speed, get away from the second defender. Now he's got to regather, use speed again to get away from the third defender. That's insane. That's insanity, folks. This is not supposed to happen. The defense is supposed to tackle him right here for a loss of one, maybe no gain, maybe a yard at the most. They've got two players right there, eyes on him, speed. Now it's the jump cut.

He gets away from both guys. But it's not just that. It's the balance and it's the explosiveness to get back to top speed and beat everyone to the end zone. That's stupid. That's ridiculous run right there next play. We've seen that one. What does he do against Oklahoma?

This has become kind of the iconic play of this game, even though Texas didn't win. Speed around the edge, almost like a track star. Ooh, you see that little jump cut. Now it's about division. He gets away, he gets away. Favorite part right here. Get off me, son.

Get off of me, son. He's not a huge guy, but bam. He throws the stiff arm. Defender goes feet overhead, gets all the way inside the one yard line. So again, every element is there. While it was blocked well, every element is there. He's got the speed and the burst to run the edge. Now the little jump cut, now it's all about Bijan.

Look at all of these Oklahoma defenders that have a shot. This defender right here, he's got the angle, he's got everything, boom, and he's just thrown to the ground. Thrown to the ground by Bijon Robinson. That's above the X's and O's play. Gotta love what he brings to the table. brings to the table. All right. Next, let's move on to a couple of quarterbacks. Desmond Ritter from Cincinnati, 64 percent, 260 total yards per game, 16 touchdowns, only two interceptions.

Led Cincinnati, by the way, to 50 plus points in each of his last two games. And since last year, last 13 games, 41 total touchdowns, only four interceptions, taking care of the football, doing what he needs to do? But what happens when the defense is right? Can he go above the X's and O's? Let's take a look at the film. Here's Desmond Ritter, a grant, It's great defense against UCF. Okay, the defender on the outside here plays this perfectly. He's got the position. That's terrific coverage.

And yet Ritter makes him wrong with great ball placement. There's not a lot you can do as a defender when the quarterback can do this with his arm. Watch the accuracy. First of all, the wide receiver stacks the defender, so he's got to go over the top, but still under the end line and not out of bounds. And he throws that in basically like the window, like throwing it through my arms like this. That's the type of window that he has to throw that ball. That was just an excellent throw.

You can't defend that. That's above the X's and O's. Let's go further into this game and check out what he can do with his legs. Because here they're going to run a little zone read. Now, this is third down. You've got to stay on the field and move the chains. UCF does everything right. Three defenders there to stop him.

Nope, he's able to stop, burst, get north and south, which means upfield, and he's able to move the chains and create a nice little gain for Cincinnati. So again, it's a zone read play. He comes out there. does everything right. They've got three guys there to stop him. What's the coordinator supposed to do when you can't get him on the ground?

There's not much you can do. Ritter, he's able to move the chains. That's above the X's and O's. But that's still not quite my top guy. And the top guy is going to be Ole Miss quarterback. Matt Corral. He's been exceptional. 22 total touchdowns, only one interception.

He leads the SEC in total yards for game this season at 360 and all SEC quarterbacks, with 75 rush yards per game. I hope he can play this week. We'll see about his health. That's the kind of risk you run when you run him 30 times against Tennessee. Probably shouldn't do that.

But let's take a look at what Matt Corral can do on the field. This is above the X's and O stuff right here. All right, first of all, you're going to get Matt Corral, and this is a terrific blitz design from Tennessee. They do everything right. They get the free rusher right in his face. But he waits long enough in order to get away. There's the pump that we also saw from Bryce Young,

young quarterbacks. Utilize that pump. it freezes the defense. Now it's the athleticism and it's the speed to get to the sideline and move the chains. That's third and long, folks. Third and long, the defense did everything right and he's still able to move the chains. Let's go to the next play now because Matt Corral, while he's special with his legs, he's more special with his arm.

Here, great protection. Watch this. Just goes way up and over the top. You can't defend that. You can't defend that. That's not a blown coverage. That's nothing but just an absolute missile from Matt Corral. So he can beat you with his legs, and then he can do this up and over the top.

Wide receiver does not even break stride, and he can hit you with the explosive pass play. This is one of the reasons why I think he's your front runner right now, is because he can do it all, and he can do it all very well. Run the football, he can scramble, he can also beat you over the top with that big arm. He throws for a high completion percentage. He doesn't turn the football over, and that's one of the best offenses in America. Matt Corral, well done. Everybody on the list.

You're above the X's NOs. So happy to be joined now by the nation's leading rusher guys, put them right in the center of that Heisman Trophy conversation for a resurgent Michigan State team. I'm talking about Kenneth Walker from Michigan State. Kenneth Walker, what's going up? How you doing, man? I'm good. I'm good. Thanks for having me. How you doing? Dude, thank you for being with us. I want to take you back to the first game. We were just talking before we got started. Your first carry of the season, right? First play of the season, you took at the distance against Northwestern. And it was like, man, that should have been an omen for what this season was going to be. Man, you guys have been fantastic so far. You're in your off week. You're undefeated.

But that carry got things started off on the right foot. Yeah, yeah. We've been, it's been a great team effort. You know, we've been grinding hard in practice. And I'm glad the season has been going the way it's been. Okay. So, Kenneth, those of us that know Mel Tucker. And I knew Mel, you know, some of them, some people played for him or knew him at Georgia

and or when he was coaching with Coach Sabin, I got to know. know him when he was at the University of Colorado as a head coach. We know that this dude is all about toughness, right? And there's nothing he wants to do more than impose his will and his team's will on the opponent. How much pride are you guys taking in the fact that you're able to run the football and in particular you leading the country? Yeah, we take a lot of pride in that. You know, coach South even before games, he says the name of the game is hit.

So you know, we always talk about being physical and practice. We always have physical practices. But yeah, we take pride and running the ball hard. And our offensive line, we have a good old line, and they do a great job up front. Did you see this coming? I think those of us on the outside looking in, you know, Michigan State was not a very talked about team

in the preseason. It wasn't an in vogue pick, and yet here you guys are. You're in the top 10. You're in your off week getting set to play Michigan next week. Did you guys have a sense that this could be a special year? Yes, sir. Yes, even at the beginning, like when I first got here in the winter, you know, we work out in the winter, spring. And, you know, during camp, we built that culture and that bond with each other.

And, you know, we grind it and we expected the season to go the way it is. Lots of transfers, you know, there were a lot of new faces. You talked about coming and getting in in December. How is that gelled? You know, normally, because that can go one of two ways, right? It doesn't work at all or it just gels together. You guys are a unique modern college football team, you know, in terms of transfers, COVID seniors, you know, all these different elements.

And yet here you guys are making it work. Why does it work? Right. I believe the guys that were here already did a great job of taking us in, you know, the transfers. You know, I'm in the room with Eli, Jordan Simmons, not Harold, because he was a transfer as well. But Jordan Simmons, Donovan, and they did a great job of like helping us learn the ropes

and telling us how things go here. And Coach Tuck did a great job as well. He even had us come in for a talk and asked for things. Like, I got here a little earlier than some of the other transfers. And he asked, like, what could we do differently to make it much easier for those guys when they get here? You know, and that made things a lot easier for us to come in. And, like, I know we've established a brotherhood here. And it's been great.

Why did you pick Michigan State? You know, you're trying to find a spot to land, to show out, to shine. right you I mean you need your shine on that's why like we're all trying to get on the field we're all trying to play but you found it so what were you looking for when you were looking for a spot yeah um I felt like this offense when I I was able to get on the phone with coach cap actually and then I talked to him a little bit and then I would talk to them each day so I end up getting the chance to talk to coach Johnson coach P's and coach cap on a phone call on a zoom actually um you know we weren't allowed to come here time because I'm of COVID, so I did a little virtual and things like that. And it was able to show me the offense and how things worked here. And after that talk, I ended up talking to Coach Tuck and I loved the pitch he gave

about the culture he's building here and things like that and I was very interested in that. And I felt like this was the best place for me. So the question I have is that on that conversation with Coach Tuck, did he smile? Because we don't see a lot of smiles

out of Coach Tuck. But he smiled. Yeah, he smiled. Yeah, he actually he actually he actually was eating a salad while he was talking to me and he was just smiling away because he got he had just got done with something and yeah he was smiling well i mean coach has done a great job you have done a great job you've been a joy to watch so far gus and jenny and i are going to be up in east lansing next week as you guys get prepared to face michigan we'll see if they can get by northwestern this week and make that an undefeated top ten matchup which would just be i mean what anyone could only dream of in particular in a position like like you guys are in. So hey, congratulations this year. You're playing great. Stay healthy and keep it up, man.

Yes, sir. I appreciate you. Let's get a little clad back here, take a look at what's going on on the internet, even though I loathe the internet. But let's take a look. Gorski Lion, first of all, can you guys zoom in on this? Like, my man is just rocking the one overall strap,

chest out, amazing. sunglasses, the long hair, and he's not even grilling. He's like making eggs, which is, I wanted to do this sweet just so we could look at that picture. Like, Brozif is rocking it at breakfast with one overall strap. Amazing. It was my understanding that you were knowledgeable about college football keeping Iowa in the top 10 is absolutely absurd. They have no offense and their defense cannot cover. You're spending a little too much time in the sun, Gorski. All right, my man. Guy, here's the problem with your take, is that you do not take into consideration that they beat Iowa State. They beat Indiana, and the week previous, they beat Penn State, which is a great team.

And what? They can't cover? Listen, they failed to cover David Bell, but David Bell is the leading wide receiver in the Big Ten right now. David Bell could be in the Bolitnikov conversation, and he's done this to Iowa before. The problem with Iowa is that they turned the ball over when they got into the scoring area. That was the problem with the game. But Gorski, keep cooking those eggs, my man, but maybe put it on a shirt. That's going to do it for breaking the huddle today. Gus and Ginny and I are going to be in Michigan for Michigan Northwestern this week. Next week, same time, same place right here, breaking the huddle.

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