Fifteen for '20: Baylor's top 15 individual offensive skill matchups

In the second installment of our yearly “Fifteen for ‘20” series, SicEm365’s Colt Barber looks closely at a variety of different categories related directly and indirectly to Baylor’s 2020 football season. Today he takes a close look at the offensive skill position players on Baylor’s 2020 schedule and picks what he believes the top 15 will be through the course of the upcoming season.

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15. Running Back Jerrion Ealy — Ole Miss

Benefitting from Plumlee’s mobility is Ealy. The sophomore has a smaller build, but can take advantage of space which he will receive in the new offensive scheme. Ealy had runs of 78, 69, 52 and 49 yards last fall and that explosive ability should remain this fall. 

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Vasher is set to be Texas Tech’s No. 1 receiver in 2020. 

14. Wide Receiver T.J. Vasher — Texas Tech

There is massive turnover around the Big 12 at the receiver position which allows for lesser known products to emerge onto the stage. Vasher’s name has been around for a bit, but he’s not had the true breakout year that everyone keeps expecting him to have despite some highlight reel plays. He has a great chance to be Texas Tech’s No. 1 receiver this fall and the 6-foot-6 former basketball star has the ability to be a pick in the 2021 NFL Draft if he puts it all together. 

13. Quarterback Skylar Thompson — Kansas State

Thompson isn’t going to have the numbers that make you look twice, but he will be dang consistent in the KSU offense. Baylor corralled him pretty well in 2019, but not all teams were so lucky... including Oklahoma. Kansas State is a dark horse to compete for the Big 12 Championship next fall under second-year head coach Chris Klieman and Thompson’s ability to manage the offense while being an occasional game breaker is a big reason why. 

12. Running Back Breece Hall — Iowa State

It took Hall awhile to get into the lineup as a true freshman, but when he did, he exploded. Hall finished No. 5 in the Big 12 in rushing with 897 total yards and nine touchdowns. The majority of that came after the middle part of October when he posted at least 97 yards in five of six games and scored eight touchdowns during that stretch.  

11. Running Back Pooka Williams — Kansas

Very good player, pretty bad but improving team under Les Miles. Kansas showed flashes of being very competitive a year ago and Williams was a major part of that. He didn’t improve on his freshman season, but he did post his second 1,000-yard season in two years in Lawrence with 1,042 yards and three touchdowns. The quick accelerator with a powerful punch shouldn’t be underestimated by his slight frame at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. He plays much more like a 6-foot-0, 220-pounder with elite speed.

10. Running Back Keaontay Ingram — Texas

Ingram came into the league as a true freshman in 2018 and immediately totaled 878 offensive yards and scored five touchdowns. He was expected to build off of that in a big way in 2019 as a sophomore and he did just that. Ingram totaled 1,095 yards and 10 touchdowns last fall and once again is expected to build off of those numbers in his junior season. 

9. Quarterback John Rhys Plumlee — Ole Miss

If you’re worried about athletic quarterbacks and their ability to run the football from the quarterback spot, you’ll be scared to death of Plumlee. Despite not being the primary starter for the Rebels last fall, Plumlee still totaled 1,023 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns including 123 and 141 yards against LSU and Alabama. Now, his passing accuracy was lacking at 52.7% on the season, but that should improve in his sophomore season in Jeff Lebby’s offense. 

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The Ole Miss offense is now led by former Baylor assistant Jeff Lebby.

8. Quarterback Spencer Sanders — Oklahoma State

Sanders had an up-and-down redshirt freshman season, but there is no denying his talent and the talent he has around him to reduce the pressure. The strength to his game comes in the rushing game where he used his feet to total 628 yards and two touchdowns in 11 games played on the season. Sanders will need to work on his ball protection as a sophomore, but his ceiling is too high to not include on this list. 

7. Tight End Charlie Kolar — Iowa State

Kolar finished the 2019 season as the biggest pass catching threat in the league from the tight end position with 51 receptions for 697 yards and seven touchdowns. Baylor fans will remember him well as he caught five passes for 72 yards and a score against the Bears during a late game rally that nearly cost the Bears a victory. 

6. Wide Receiver Charleston Rambo — Oklahoma

This isn’t a list without an Oklahoma wide receiver and Rambo looks to be the guy at the spot especially with the recent injuries to Sooner receivers. Rambo caught 43 passes for 743 yards and five scores as the No. 2 target for Jalen Hurts last fall. At least one OU receiver has totaled at least 1,000 yards dating all the way back to 2015. I don’t expect that to change this fall. 

5. Running Back Kennedy Brooks — Oklahoma

Like Williams, Brooks has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two years for the Sooners. He will be the starting running back in 2019, but will be the focus of the defense as the Sooners look to break in a new and unexperienced quarterback for the first time in a quite awhile. He’s plenty talented to build on his first two seasons, but quarterback play could be the driving factor behind a bigger year than his first two. 

4. Wide Receiver Tylan Wallace — Oklahoma State

Without suffering an injury in 2019, Wallace is very likely on an NFL roster at this time. An ACL tear has him at Oklahoma State for his senior year, however. Like Hubbard, Wallace is arguably the top player at his position in the Big 12 and nationally having put up 2,394 yards and 20 touchdowns over the last two seasons despite only playing eight games last season. He is the final piece to the Oklahoma State trio that looks to be the best in the league preseason. 

3. Quarterback Brock Purdy — Iowa State

Purdy led the Big 12 in passing yards last fall with a tremendous 3,982 yards, arguably the quietest 3,982 yards ever at the national level. The Cyclones missed their expectations, but Purdy did not as he added 249 additional yards on the ground and posted 35 total touchdowns. His entire slate of play makers on offense return for the most part and Purdy should be in line for a repeat performance as an individual while he hopes he can lead the Cyclones to a better overall year.

2. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger — Texas

Ehlinger has a case as being the top quarterback in the Big 12 preseason as he enters his final season with the Longhorns this fall. He did lose his top two play makers on the outside in Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson, but the Longhorns always have a wealth of talent up next to make his life easier. The four-year starter has improved in nearly every single category in each of his first three years and unless he takes a drastic step backwards or his team crumbles around him, he has a great chance to be the best QB in the league. 

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Hubbard led the country in rushing in 2019 as a sophomore. 

1. Running Back Chuba Hubbard — Oklahoma State

The best running back in the Big 12 and arguably the best running back in the country. Hubbard rushed for 2,094 yards and 21 scores a season ago, both tops in the Big 12 and good enough for No. 1 and No. 3 nationally. Hubbard is a bit of deceiving runner in style, but his production is never lacking. He takes advantage of an athletic quarterback by his side, but he’s plenty talented on his own.