photo by: AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast
The Nebraska defense tackles Illinois running back Kaden Feagin during the first half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Champaign, Ill.
Illinois running back Kaden Feagin certainly stands out on film to the Kansas defense, for one simple reason.
“He’s like the same size as me back there,” defensive tackle D.J. Withers said with a laugh.
While the sophomore Feagin may not quite reach Withers’ stature of 6-foot-4, 295 pounds, he’s closer than just about any other running back out there, and certainly close enough to reinforce the axiom that every joke has a grain of truth. The sophomore from Atwood, Illinois stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 250 pounds.
Last time KU played Illinois, it was the first appearance of Feagin’s career, and he got one carry in a game when none of the Illini backs accomplished very much. Midway through the 2023 season, Feagin earned the opportunity to start at running back and had a stretch of 270 yards on 65 carries with two touchdowns across three conference games. He did not get tackled for a loss in the first 74 carries of his career.
Now, he’s opened the 2024 season as the Illini’s primary back with a 108-yard showing against Eastern Illinois, and made himself a threat to the Jayhawks’ defense ahead of Saturday’s rematch in Champaign.
“He’s not slow,” defensive coordinator Brian Borland said. “He’s probably more of a one-cut kind of a runner. For us, I think it’s pretty important, we better get to him before he turns the corner and gets a head of steam, because that’s where he can do a lot of damage. But they’ve got a really good combination of some different backs that play as well.”
Indeed, the veteran returnee Josh McCray, who had his 2023 season cut short by injury, is pretty imposing himself at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, and Aidan Laughery, who got the start in Illinois’ opener against Eastern Illinois, is a threatening speedier back, among a couple other options in the room.
This variety of options allows the Illini to deploy Feagin — who Illinois coach Bret Bielema told reporters has the highest one-step vertical jump in the program — in other ways. In the EIU game he served as a lead blocker on some of his teammates’ runs, and also made a tackle on kickoff coverage.
“When I had great running backs at Wisconsin, they may have played some special teams but they didn’t play a lot,” Bielema said. “… Then I go to the SEC and then I’m playing against LSU, Alabama, whoever, and you got a tailback that’s running for a touchdown or an early-down run and then you’re also trying to block him on punt, right and you’re trying to block him on punt return.”
The foremost concern for KU, of course, will be dealing with him out of the backfield, a responsibility that will be shared not just among linemen like Withers but throughout the entire defense.
“Just make sure 11 hats get to the ball,” middle linebacker Cornell Wheeler said. “That’s what we need this week.”
One encouraging sign for the Jayhawks is that even its smaller defenders are rising to the occasion when it comes to tackling. After the Lindenwood game, head coach Lance Leipold said it demonstrated the best tackling he had seen from KU’s corners. Borland expanded on that subject on Tuesday, several days removed.
“Every day, they’re doing some kind of tackling drill,” he said. “I feel like (they) just made more of a commitment to it. I think our corners probably feel a little bit more confident with some added size and muscle and some strength and things like that, which always helps, and I don’t think they liked kind of being thought of as people (who) can only cover, you can’t really tackle.”
Of note, beyond the running-back room, KU struggled to prevent quarterback runs in the early stages of last season, as an opposing quarterback led his team in rushing each of the first three games of the year. That included Illinois’ Luke Altmyer, who carried the ball 13 times for 70 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Withers said that limiting quarterback scrambles has been a recent point of emphasis, with defenders focusing on maintaining their pass-rush lanes.
photo by: AP Photo/Colin E Braley
Oklahoma running back Gavin Sawchuk (27) is brought down by Kansas safety Marvin Grant (4), linebacker JB Brown (28) and defensive lineman D.J. Withers (52) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 in Lawrence.
photo by: AP Photo/Colin E Braley
Oklahoma running back Tawee Walker (29) is tackled by Kansas linebacker Cornell Wheeler (44) after a 8-yard gain during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023 in Lawrence.
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Publish date : 2024-09-04 02:27:00
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