By ROY CUMMINGS

rcummings@tampatrib.com

TAMPA - The fuel behind the storm of criticism that has been raging since the Bucs made Josh Freeman their first pick in Saturday's draft is a stat line that looks as ominous as a billowing, gray rain cloud.

During his three-year run as Kansas State's starting quarterback, Freeman completed 59 percent of his passes while throwing 34 interceptions against 44 touchdowns.

Freeman and the Wildcats didn't win much, either. He was 14-18 as a starter, and Bucs fans fear that Tampa Bay's record will take on a similar look if Freeman takes control of the offense.

The Bucs and Freeman see things differently, of course, and at the heart of their argument is the knowledge that Freeman will be playing with a much better supporting cast.

Other than Freeman, not one player from the Wildcats' 2008 squad was drafted by an NFL team last weekend. In fact, since Freeman arrived at Kansas State in 2006, the school has produced only six draft picks, including just two - receivers Yamon Figurs in 2007 and Jordy Nelson in 2008 - who were among the first 100 players selected.

The Wildcats ranked 117th in the nation in total defense last season and 110th in scoring defense, so the responsibility for winning usually fell directly on Freeman's shoulders. Freeman didn't shy away from that, but he admits that playing from behind so much forced him into mistakes he otherwise would not have made.

"It came down to me trying to do too much," Freeman said. "I felt like I had to be Superman or had to have some amazing effort if we were going to win. It made me play out of character, and I definitely think it ended up hurting me."

Yes and no. Freeman threw eight interceptions last season, against 20 touchdowns. He had an impressive 136.5 passer rating, averaged 7.71 yards per pass attempt and had a 2.09 interception percentage, better than top-five picks Matthew Stafford (2.61) and Mark Sanchez (2.73).

Freeman's positive stats are frequently tossed out, however, because defenses in the Big 12 were considered weak. Texas, which had the league's top defense, ranked 51st in the nation last year. Nebraska was 55th, Oklahoma was 68th and all others were 78th or worse.

"It is an offense-driven league," Freeman said. "These offenses are putting up huge numbers. You look at the SEC, and you see games that are 3-2 and stuff like that. You'd never see that in the Big 12.

"We played Oklahoma and the score was, like, 55-35 at halftime. You get all these huge numbers. There's a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball in the Big 12. Week in and week out, it's just hard for defenses to handle."

Freeman has handled the criticism well.

Though he seldom had time to set up and throw and was hurt by dropped passes and penalties, he refused to blame his teammates.

"It's kind of interesting, really," Freeman said. "My freshman year, I had 15 interceptions and six touchdowns and 52 percent completions. I mean, I played horrible as a freshman, yet that was the year we won seven games and it could have easily been eight or nine.

"And then my numbers and my play steadily improved, but we weren't winning any games. So I think that it's hard to put it on one thing. All I know is that as an individual player I just need to focus on what I can do to help the team win and me grow as a quarterback."

(CHART) THAT WAS THEN

Josh Freeman's three-year statistics as Kansas State's starting quarterback:

TD Int. Comp. W-L

44 34 59% 14-18

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979.

Copyright ? 2009, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com