Manhattan ? His speed and moves in the open field make Leon Patton a threat to break big rushing gains.

But it’s what Patton does before the holes open up that makes the freshman running back so effective, his Kansas State teammates and coach Ron Prince said.

“Leon knows how to follow his blocks, and knows when to attack and when not to attack,” freshman right guard Brock Unruh said. “He can definitely do some amazing things.”

Patton, bumped to the top of the depth chart before last week’s game against Oklahoma State, responded by rushing for 151 yards and one touchdown and returning a kickoff 95 yards for another score in the Wildcats’ 31-27 comeback victory.

After the victory, he tried to deflect the praise to his offensive line.

“I couldn’t do it by myself,” he said. “There were big blocks made everywhere.”

But it was when and how he hit the holes that made Patton so hard for the Cowboys to contain.

Knack for position

On many of his running plays, especially to the outside, he displayed a knack for positioning himself behind a blocker until he could squirt by into the open field.

That and his return skills, which made Patton the Big 12’s special teams player of the week, got the attention of Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, whose 21st-ranked Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) visit the Wildcats (4-2, 1-1) today.

“The backs that have speed – especially this young man, who has the speed to bounce – you can be in perfect position, but if it becomes speed against speed, he can beat you,” Callahan said.

Part of it, Prince said, is that Patton sees the game differently. The first-year coach called it “slow eyes.”

“There are some running backs who run and make multiple cuts in the backfield, or make multiple cuts based on what they see from the blocking schemes,” he said. “But the very best running backs have good anticipatory vision.

“They have slow eyes and they are not looking at a lot of places at one time,” Prince added. “They have very calm vision. He knows he’s fast and doesn’t have to rush.”