WKU Football: Potential Move to Kevaris Thomas Gives Hope for Future
In the third quarter of WKU’s game against Marshall, head coach Tyson Helton made the decision to bench grad transfer quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome and put in redshirt sophomore Kevaris Thomas.
Pigrome had been in the driver’s seat of the offense since the season had begun but after three lost fumbles (one returned for a touchdown) and only 80 yards of total offense in the entire first half, coach Helton decided to see how someone else would do behind the wheel. The initial look of Thomas bodes well.
In four games with WKU, Pigrome had 559 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a QBR of 48.8. In those four games, he never threw for more than 200 yards and his best game was against a then winless MTSU team in an effort that won him C-USA player of the week for that week.
One of Pigrome’s strongest qualities is running the ball and on the ground, he had 54 rushing attempts with 213 yards (leads the team). So why have things with Pigrome just not worked out?
It’s hard to tell but one of the things he struggles with is staying in the pocket and making big throws. He’s definitely more of a scrambler and at times has kept some drives alive with his legs but when the Tops would need a deep pass on third and long, not much would happen. Opposing defenses knew to look for the run and put him in positions where he had to throw and it seemed to work rather well for them.
WKU last season had a leader in Ty Storey that wasn’t super flashy but was able to control the line of scrimmage and the time of possession. The Tops were able to have successful drives that ended in points while also eating up the game clock. That is something that has been missing this season. WKU returned most of their offensive starters from last season. So what happened?
If I had a dollar for every three and out WKU has had this season I’d have enough for a pretty solid lunch at Local Taco. The offense has been pretty stagnant, especially in the 38–14 loss against Marshall. The quarterback is the leader of the offense and Pigrome wasn’t distributing the ball the way the team or fans are used to. And I think some of the players realized that as well.
WKU lost two of their best and experienced receivers, Jacquez Sloan and Jahcour Pearson, to transfer in September. We can only speculate why they left but they might have come to terms that they were not going to be utilized the way they wanted this season with Pigrome at the helm. Helton had adjusted his offense to fit Pigrome and his running game more than trying to build anything around passing.
So after Pigrome had his third fumble lost in the third quarter against Marshall, it was time to give someone else a shot. The game was basically over at that point anyways so they had nothing to lose. Plus most of the fanbase had already made up their mind on Pigrome and wanted a new direction as well so Helton had to do something or else people just weren’t going to care anymore. And that’s when Thomas got his shot.
Thomas had only played in four games before Saturday and had limited snaps in those four games but in his snaps, on Saturday he did pretty solid. I’m not sure if he gets many first-team reps in practice but you can tell there were little nerves (two of his passes should’ve been picked) but he still ended up going 9-of-18 passing with 148 yards and 2 touchdowns (one in the air and one on the ground) and a nice 51-yard pass to Xavier Lane as well.
In just two-quarters, Thomas had more passing and rushing yards that Pigrome and was responsible for the only points WKU would score. He definitely wasn’t perfect but just seeing the ball go downfield again and seeing some longer passes connect was a breath of fresh air after a motionless first half.
When asked after the game if Thomas was going to be the starter moving forward, coach Helton was reluctant to give a completely straight answer but said he didn’t know for sure and said that he would look at the tape and assess. He was happy with how Thomas did in his minutes but still said Pigrome is “his quarterback today” so we’ll have to wait and see (full interview can be seen here).
After Helton looks at the Marshall game and the season as a whole I’m not sure how Helton could not choose to move forward with Thomas. He provided a spark on offense when the team easily could’ve just laid down and died. Scheme wise he still fits in the offense as well. He can run the ball but looks more comfortable passing than Pigrome.
The Tops now prepare to play one of the best teams in the West with UAB so next week will be another hard test. I hope that coach Helton makes the hard but necessary decision to move on from Pigrome. With fans longing for someone who can throw the ball, Thomas fits that bill more than him. And with Thomas, you’re also building toward the future as well. He’s only a redshirt sophomore and could grow into a strong player by his senior year two years from now.
Time will only tell if it is a good decision or not but after Saturday, it’s pretty clear a change needs to occur.
