5. Austin Kendall will emerge as a top Big 12 quarterback
Kendall’s overall numbers look solid for a first-year starting quarterback, especially with the schedule he’s had to endure. He’s thrown for 870 yards while completing 65 percent of his passes, in addition to tossing six touchdowns. And that’s come against some stiff competition: James Madison (4-1), Missouri (3-1), NC State (3-2) and Kansas (2-3).
The 6-foot-2 junior will continue to improve, though, especially after a week to prepare for the upcoming game against the Texas Longhorns.
A bye week can do plenty of great things for a football team, but in particular for the quarterback. It gives him more time with the coaches to iron things out — what they expect of him, what he feels comfortable with, an opportunity to implement new plays. And until the season started, Kendall and Allison were most likely splitting most of the reps; no more is that the case.
Kendall currently ranks 8th among Big 12 quarterbacks in total passing yards, but he’s also played one less game than most of them. In addition, Kendall’s been sacked eight times, tied for the lead among the conference’s gunslingers. He does, however, have the sixth-best completion percentage among Big 12 starters and will continue to get better with extra work with his receivers.
His improvements won’t reach Jalen Hurts or Sam Ehlinger heights, but Kendall has the talent to become one of the league’s top signal-callers. He’s shown an ability to pull the ball down and run in recent games, and as the offense continues to find itself, we could see Kendall use his legs even more. That threat could open things up for his running backs and make things easier on his struggling offensive line.