More MMQB: How the Dolphins Survived the Bills | Ten Takeaways: Jalen Hurts Dismisses His Doubters | The Jaguars Could Be for Real | The 0–3 Raiders Might Be Wondering What Might Have Been | MMQB Awards for Week 3’s Best Performances
1) The benching of Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke—and this is nothing against the kid, who’s still just a redshirt sophomore—is just another example of people jumping the gun on hyping the draft stock of players at that position. It happened last year with former Oklahoma and now South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler, who was projected by some as a first-round pick, only to be benched in favor of true freshman Caleb Williams before transferring. And it may be happening again with the Hurricanes, who got a spark from former top-50 recruit Jake Garcia late in The U’s ugly loss to Middle Tennessee. The lesson here is simply that it takes a lot more than a few flashes as a young player to make a first-round quarterback.
2) The coach who led Kansas State’s upset win over Oklahoma, Chris Klieman, won four FCS national titles in five years at North Dakota State, and he’s had the Wildcats at a pretty solid level since arriving there in 2019 (K-State isn’t the easiest place to recruit to or win, which is why Bill Snyder was considered such a magician over the years). Klieman is 54, so maybe the ship has sailed on him as an NFL coach. But I’d be fascinated to see how someone like him would translate, jumping straight to the pros. Why? Because he’s had to win without having the advantages that a blueblood at that level would have. I’ve heard both Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell and Iowa State’s Matt Campbell compared to former Celtics coach Brad Stevens, as potential pro coaches, for that reason. Klieman, I think, fits into that box, too.
