Junior cornerback Charles Gordon’s list of accolades seems endless; first team All-Big 12, third team All-America, Lott Trophy watch list, Thorpe Award watch list and pre-season All-Big 12 team. But there is one accolade that may not be listed on his biography.

Gordon was listed as an “impact player” in the new EA Sports NCAA Football 2006 video game.

During Gordon’s downtime he likes to play Sony PlayStation, and he admits he’s played the new college game.

“I think they got my receiver skill’s kind of low but my defensive skills are pretty nice,” Gordon said when asked about how realistic the game portrayed him. “I’m not complaining. It’s cool.”

While Gordon thinks that the game didn’t get everything right, it appears he did everything right on the field last year. He won’t be sneaking up on anyone this season; after leading the NCAA with seven interceptions last season, opposing quarterbacks are going to know exactly where Gordon is on the field.

Rylan Howe / KANSAN

Junior cornerback Charles Gordon has received numerous accolades and was named to the All Big 12 preseason team. Gordon is expected to spend time on defense, offense and special teams again this season.

Kansas football coach Mark Mangino said Gordon helped improve the secondary every day during practice.

“He’s a corner, but he’ll tell a safety where to line up,” Mangino said. “He’ll make the adjustments. Charles is the leader back there.”

This year, Gordon has been named to nearly every defensive-awards list, and many expect Gordon to be as spectacular as he was last season. Despite high expectations, Gordon said he wasn’t pressured.

“There are a lot more expectations. But I am just going to approach the season the same way that I did last season: Just go out and have fun and play football,” Gordon said.

As solid as Gordon was at cornerback last year, Mangino may be looking to use Gordon more on offense this coming season.

“I think we have a dilemma, a good dilemma,” Mangino said. “We have some corners that are really developing and getting better. Are we going to use Charles a little more on offense?”

The answer is probably yes for the Jayhawks; Mangino said he hoped to use Gordon at wide receiver to improve an offense that struggled last season.

“In practice, he helps you on one side and kills you on the other side every day,” Mangino said.

Gordon set numerous records as a freshman wide receiver, racking up the most receiving yards, 769, and receptions, 57, of any Kansas freshman in the history of the university. He switched to full-time cornerback last season, and helped the defense become one of the best units in the conference.

The defense led the Big 12 in takeaways, with 27, but Mangino said he wanted the offense to capitalize more on those takeaways.

That may mean using Gordon more as a wide receiver.

“If we need Charles on offense to get that spark, we’ll do that,” Mangino said. “We’ll just count his reps and be careful with him. “We won’t wear him out, and won’t put him in harm’s way. We’ll just have to pick and choose our battles.”

Gordon said he thought the coaching staff did a good job monitoring where and when he should be on the field, ensuring he doesn’t get overworked.

Mangino said moving Gordon back to wide receiver would not be a problem. He added that although Gordon didn’t attend any offensive position meetings during training camp, he still knew what to do.

“He got in the huddle, heard the route, ran it perfectly and got open,” Mangino said. “He knew the adjustments to make against the coverage. That’s a pretty special guy.”

Mangino said when Gordon was working on offense, even the team’s quarterbacks looked better.

“When he is on the field, you know he is going to work hard for you,” said senior quarterback Brian Luke. “I think that everyone we have is going to work hard but Charles is the guy that you can count on.”

Gordon’s repetitions were sparse at wide receiver last season; he accumulated 15 tackles and two touchdowns.

Gordon may see more time on offense because he may be used less as the team’s punt returner this season. Mangino has been working with senior wide receiver Mark Simmons and junior wide receiver Brian Murph to limit Gordon’s time returning punts on the field.

“Where do we reduce reps and where to we add reps to help our team?” Mangino said. “That’s the question the staff and I are trying to answer.”

As for the possibility of making the jump to the NFL after this season, Gordon said he isn’t thinking about the NFL right now.