Kansas will play at offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes’ former stop as the Jayhawks travel to play BYU on Saturday. Grimes talked about what he’ll enjoy in his return to Provo, what he sees from the undefeated Cougars, and how he’s evaluated the offense in recent weeks.
Grimes respectful of BYU’s program, complimentary of their atmosphere
Grimes coached at BYU in two separate stints, working as the offensive line coach from 2004-06 before being the offensive coordinator from 2018-2020. He said he has a lot of respect for members of BYU’s staff.
“I worked with Kalani and a lot of the guys that are on this staff and have a real deep respect and strong positive feelings,” Grimes said. “I mean, guys that I would consider really good friends on that staff and really good coaches. And some of the guys I didn't work with, Jay Hill, I've known for years, just my time being in Utah. And so, there are a lot of guys who do a great job and you see that.”
LaVell Edwards Stadium has been one of the better environments in the Big 12 and all of college football. Grimes was complimentary of the fans and setting. He’s seen firsthand the effects of the crowd as an opponent from his time at Baylor.
“Two years ago, we were down there and in a really tough game, hadn't played particularly well, but found ourselves in overtime with a chance to win it,” Grimes said. “[We] had a first and goal on the five and had two false starts right there in front of their student section and then got backed up and didn't score. And so yeah, we have talked about that with, as a staff and we've talked about it with the players.”
BYU’s defensive success starts up front
The Cougars hold the third-best scoring defense in the conference allowing 19.8 points per game. Grimes said they are physical up front and have a talented system and players.
“I think it starts with what they do up front,” Grimes said. “They get big physical guys who play a rugged brand of football at their first and second level, linebackers and their defensive line, and then they've got some guys in the back end that have experience and can cover and not afraid to come up and hit you. I think their talent is good. I think the system is really good.”
That system comes from defensive coordinator Jay Hill. He was at Utah during Grimes’ first stint at BYU and the two are familiar with each other.
“There's some differences in the way that he's calling it and what they're leaning into now, but very multiple,” Grimes said. “Multiple in their alignments up front. [They] can line up in a variety of different personnel groups and then within those groups line up in different ways, give you about every imaginable front type that you could imagine, a variety of pressures, and then really all types of coverage as well.”
BYU also leads the conference with 16 interceptions. Grimes said the Cougars have been able to get so many takeaways due to their pressure and situational ability.
“I think part of it is the pass rush,” Grimes said. “I think part of it is being in position, whether it be third and long, putting the offense in a third and long position or being up late in the game. And it's a two-minute situation. I mean we've seen that on our end as well. In those situations, you're just more prone to do that because you're more apt to throw the football and you got to push it down the field in those situations.”
Jalon Daniels finally looks comfortable, offense getting more explosive plays
After a rocky start to the season, Daniels looks like he’s turned the corner. He threw for a season-high 295 yards and has only turned it over once in the past four games. Grimes said he’s more comfortable after missing a lot of time.
“I think he's just become more and more comfortable playing the game, playing with these teammates in this system, which kind of sounds a little strange to say for a guy that's been around as long as he has, but I really think when a guy misses as much time as he has, it makes an impact,” Grimes said. “And I think you see a guy that's just continued to work and is playing his best football.”
Daniels averaged 24.5 yards per completion against Iowa State. The Jayhawks’ playmakers and quarterback have gotten on the same page and have been able to execute a higher number of explosive plays.
“I've been on a couple of teams where we didn't really have the sort of playmakers that I felt like were as fortunate to make those kind of plays, and so I kind of quit calling them as much,” Grimes said. “But that's not the case with our team. And so, we just continued to try to find ways to work on it and get it better. And we're still not hitting all of them. We had a couple that we missed, but you don't have to hit them all. If you hit a couple, then I think it has a chance to change the game.”
Grimes said there have been improvements in things that were originally hampering Kansas’ drives early in the season, such as turnovers and costly penalties. When the Jayhawks aren’t doing those things, you see how different the offense looks, both on the field and through statistics.
“I like to look at your points per possession more than your total offense or your total,” Grimes said. “I think total offense means something, but I think yards per play and EPA and some of those advanced stats mean even more… But when you're an offense like ours, if you have some of those big mistakes, especially if you give the ball up, then you're just, you're eliminating those opportunities. I think we're beginning to see really, for the last month, what's happened when we don't do that, give ourselves a chance.”
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