Zach Kittley's offense ranked third

Texas Tech going back to explosive offenses

Zach Kittley finished up his first season with Western Kentucky on Saturday as the WKU Hilltoppers defeated Appalachian State 59-38. During the game, we saw his quarterback Bailey Zappe, who followed him from Houston Baptist, set not one but two FBS single-season records. Zappe broke BJ Symons’ record for most passing yards in a season and Joe Burrow’s mark of 60 passing touchdowns. He will return home to lead the Red Raiders offense in 2022.

According to 247Sports, Kittley’s air raid attack was the third-most explosive offense in college football.

The Hilltoppers find themselves near the top of this list after totaling 6,857 yards of total offense, most in the country by a team that played 13 games during the season. Western Kentucky defeated Appalachian State, 59-38, in Saturday's Boca Raton Bowl. The Hilltoppers averaged 527.5 yards per game (second-best) and 7.07 yards per play (third-best). Of course, their success stems directly from quarterback Bailey Zappe, who led the nation in virtually every passing statistic. Zappe completed 69.2% of his passes for 5,545 yards with 56 touchdowns and 11 interceptions before the bowl game. He also had three rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Jerreth Sterns led the nation in receptions (137) and receiving yards (1,718) while catching 14 touchdowns. 

Kittley will have even more talent at his disposal. He developed a quarterback with only one FBS scholarship offer into a household name at WKU. Currently, Texas Tech has a plethora of quarterbacks and offensive weapons. Tyler Shough hasn’t announced whether he is coming back yet but they also have Donovan Smith, Behren Morton, Maverick McIvor, and Parker McNeil at quarterback. Should Shough and Colombi decide to move on, the team will be in good hands with the guys already on the roster.

Running Backs should be heavily involved as well. This bodes well for SoRodorick Thompson, Xavier White, Tahj Brooks, and freshman Cam’Ron Valdez. Tight ends such as Mason Tharpe should see plenty of action, and we haven’t even discussed the wide receivers. Erik Ezukanma could return next year to increase his draft stock. Likely he would be the feature receiver who can snag 100 passes in this offense. Miles Price is an emerging name and let’s not forget about the youngsters like Jerand Bradley, who stands in at 6’5”. The team also added Brady Boyd from the transfer portal that can play inside or out.

The bigger question will come down to how does the offensive line perform? Stephen Hamby returns home to coach the unit after making WKU one of the better offensive lines in all of college football. Can he fix what has derailed this offense in recent years? That is what will determine how successful this offense can be in 2022.