Showing some love for Khalid Duke.
Stat comparison: Oklahoma's Isaiah Thomas is a preseason All-Big 12 selection, but Duke's pass-rush performance was every bit as good. Duke had a pressure rate of 12.8% compared to Thomas' 12.5%. Duke's rate of getting first pressure per pass rush was 11.1%, just a tick behind Thomas (11.2%). Duke had pressure on 13 plays that resulted in an incomplete pass, same as Thomas. The difference? Much of Duke's effort was wasted, as K-State recorded just a single sack on his pressured snaps, while Oklahoma had 10 on Thomas'.
Why he's poised for a breakout: Astonishingly, Duke finished the 2020 campaign with just three tackles for loss to go with his lone sack. Those numbers simply don't match his underlying performance. Indeed, his own linemate, Wyatt Hubert, racked up 13 TFL despite a far lower pressure rate of 9%. Duke's offseason has been strong, according to K-State coaches, however, and eventually the increasingly productive input is going to translate to a better stat line, too. It also suggests something about Duke that his best game of 2020 -- nine tackles, two QB hurries and a TFL -- came against Oklahoma.
What they're saying: "He's still polishing things up, all the things that make you a great football player. He has a lot of ability. He loves football, and that's a big thing. It's about attention to the details. When you become a guy people are going to game-plan for, you're only going to have so many opportunities, and you can't afford not to take advantage of them. But he's very talented and has all the physical ability to be a really good pass-rusher." -- Kansas State line coach Buddy Wyatt
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Stat comparison: Oklahoma's Isaiah Thomas is a preseason All-Big 12 selection, but Duke's pass-rush performance was every bit as good. Duke had a pressure rate of 12.8% compared to Thomas' 12.5%. Duke's rate of getting first pressure per pass rush was 11.1%, just a tick behind Thomas (11.2%). Duke had pressure on 13 plays that resulted in an incomplete pass, same as Thomas. The difference? Much of Duke's effort was wasted, as K-State recorded just a single sack on his pressured snaps, while Oklahoma had 10 on Thomas'.
Why he's poised for a breakout: Astonishingly, Duke finished the 2020 campaign with just three tackles for loss to go with his lone sack. Those numbers simply don't match his underlying performance. Indeed, his own linemate, Wyatt Hubert, racked up 13 TFL despite a far lower pressure rate of 9%. Duke's offseason has been strong, according to K-State coaches, however, and eventually the increasingly productive input is going to translate to a better stat line, too. It also suggests something about Duke that his best game of 2020 -- nine tackles, two QB hurries and a TFL -- came against Oklahoma.
What they're saying: "He's still polishing things up, all the things that make you a great football player. He has a lot of ability. He loves football, and that's a big thing. It's about attention to the details. When you become a guy people are going to game-plan for, you're only going to have so many opportunities, and you can't afford not to take advantage of them. But he's very talented and has all the physical ability to be a really good pass-rusher." -- Kansas State line coach Buddy Wyatt
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