Kedon Slovis brings experience to the BYU offense from years of being around "really good schemes and coaches"
It would be unwise to look at the statistics and think the BYU offense will not be capable of moving the ball when the Cougars square off against No. 7 Texas on Saturday afternoon in a key Big 12 Conference game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
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Yes, BYU – who has typically fielded a quality offense under head coach Kalani Sitake – gains just 301.9 yards per game and is ranked only 122nd in total offense out of 130 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Cougars also are just 73rd in scoring with 27.6 points per game.
But somehow, BYU has managed to win five of its seven games and sits on the cusp of bowl eligibility as it heads to Austin.
Given the fact that the Cougars have struggled to run the ball, have an offensive line that’s just now starting to gel and have been battling injuries in the receiver corps, the best from BYU is likely to come from the quarterback of the BYU offense.
That’s Kedon Slovis, a transfer from Pitt who can make the needed throws and provides the heartbeat of the Cougars’ offense.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian knows a good quarterback when he sees one and is impressed by what he’s seen of Slovis on film.
“BYU’s got good schemes and Slovis gets the ball out,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “He’s got a lot of experience. They utilize a lot of different people. They’ve got multiple receivers they throw it to. The tight end is a definite factor. They utilize the running back in the pass game.
“You have to defend everybody. It’s not like they’re just throwing it to one guy. Then, they’ve got multiple personnel groupings, formations, and shifts.”
Slovis has passed for 11,492 career yards in three years at USC (2019, ’20 and ’21), last season at Pittsburgh, and seven games in Provo. That total would be second all-time on the passer list at BYU. Only Ty Detmer, with 15,031, has more.
Slovis has hit on 128 of his 226 passes for 1,519 yards this season, with 12 TD throws and only four interceptions. In comparison, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who is out this weekend, is 151 of 213 for 1,915 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.
“He’s been around some really good schemes and coaches throughout his career, from USC to Pitt and now to BYU,” Sarkisian said about Slovis. “They tax you that way, then when he can get his indicator on coverages he can get the ball out of his hands really quickly. He’s got the skill set to make all the throws.”
As far as a comparison against other quarterbacks the Longhorns have faced, Slovis’s passing yards would rank behind Rice’s JT Daniels (11th in FBS with 2,173 yards), Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel (14th, 2,131), Houston’s Donovan Smith (17th, 1,979), and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (51st, 1,617).
Slovis’s stats have been produced despite the fact that wide receiver Keanu Hill, one of Cougars’ top receivers from last season, has just 10 catches this year. Chase Roberts, with 29 catches for 430 yards and four touchdowns, leads BYU’s wide receivers. Isaac Rex paces the Cougars’ tight ends with 316 yards and 1 TD on 23 receptions.
