AT&T Cotton Bowl NFL Draft Preview: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Kansas State Wildcats

When the Razorbacks and Wildcats get together, NFL Draft fans might be more excited about the prospects who will be available in 2013 or later than anything else, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some guys who intrigue us for the 2012 draft as well.

Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette has battled injuries, but he has a great work ethic. He played only nine games this season and had eight sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles. I will be really interested to see how he attacks this Kansas State offense, which features a ton of running from the quarterback position and Colin Klein.

Bequette has a couple of really good linebackers playing behind him in junior Alonzo Highsmith and senior Jerry Franklin. Franklin is a really underrated prospect at 6’1″ 245 pounds and leading the team with 93 total tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, and a fumble returned 94 yards for a touchdown.

Kansas State has a linebacker of their own in Arthur Brown who could make an impact on this game. Brown leads the team with 95 tackles and has 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as well.

This game, though, will be all about the offensive fireworks. Kansas State quarterback Colin Klein has 26 rushing touchdowns (only 12 passing) and is close to breaking Ricky Williams’ Big 12 record in that category. He is a big dude at 6’5″ 225 pounds, and he has a little help offensively from a steady offensive line and junior wide receiver Chris Harper (6’1″ 225) who leads the team with 39 catches, 536 yards, and five touchdowns.

He might have to get more involved in things offensively with the offensive attack of the Arkansas Razorbacks not directly contrasting, but vastly different. The Razorbacks put points on the board via their aerial attack and junior quarterback Tyler Wilson, a guy who some think could leave school a year early because of the current state of the quarterbacks in the 2012 draft.

Wilson has completed over 63 percent of his passes and has 3,422 yards, 22 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Wilson has some top notch targets in the passing game, specifically Jarius Wright who has 63 catches for 1,029 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s been a huge playmaker all year long in the passing game, and has huge speed and can score any time he touches the ball.

Behind him are guys like Joe Adams, Cobi Hamilton, and Chris Gragg, and even Greg Childs who has not made nearly the impact he was expected to as a senior.

Joe Adams is a guy who will make an impact on this game not just offensively, but on special teams as well. He can return punts as well as anyone in the country, and also has made an impact offensively out of the backfield.

Defensively, Arkansas has a guy in the secondary named Tramain Thomas who has 87 tackles and five interceptions, which leads the team. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact he can have on the Kansas State offense.