Wide receivers key to Saturday’s victory

Kansas offense shines in season home-opener

By Asher Fusco

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

As Kansas players trickled out of the locker room to meet the press after defeating Central Michigan on Saturday, Todd Reesing was clearly the main attraction. Media relations employees shuttled Reesing to the corner of the room where the note-scribbling hoard surrounded the diminutive quarterback.

Reesing’s 261-yard, four-touchdown showing was certainly worthy of attention, but the wide receiving corps may have been an equally important cog in Kansas’ offensive machine.

“All of us receivers have been pretty good just coming in and adding a spark to the offense,” freshman wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe said. “The receivers were already good, but we’re just building on what they’ve done. We’re just trying to come in and do our part.”

Catches, Yards

Marcus Henry: 7, 103

Derek Fine: 5, 30

Dexton Fields: 4, 49

Raimond Pendleton: 3, 34

Aqib Talib: 2, 52

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Briscoe is the centerpiece of an explosive and versatile group of young Jayhawk receivers. Briscoe, along with sophomore Raimond Pendleton and redshirt freshman Tertavian Ingram, saw plenty of action in the season-opener.

Briscoe made an outstanding 16 yard touchdown catch, Ingram started the game and played quite a few snaps, and Pendleton returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown and pulled down three receptions.

The influx of young talent at wide receiver and the move toward a wide open offensive scheme have coincided nicely for the Jayhawks in 2007. In its inaugural game under offensive coordinator Ed Warinner, the Kansas offense was unpredictable, efficient and nearly perfect.

Most formations included four wide receivers and some involved creative new wrinkles – wide-outs stacked at the line of scrimmage or placed into a diamond-like group near the sideline. Instead of falling back on more conservative tactics, Kansas used misdirection and draw plays to keep Central Michigan off-kilter.

“We want to be able to attack the field both downfield and horizontally,” coach Mark Mangino said. “We want to be able to mix it up with the run and the pass. We need to be a team that can get the ball down the field.”

Kansas’ flock of young receivers substituted in and out throughout the game to keep a fresh set of legs on the field at all times. While Briscoe and Ingram shared the spotlight on one side of the field, while senior Marcus Henry and junior Dexton Fields remained constants as the other two downfield threats.

Fields was his normally steady self, gaining 49 yards on four catches as the slot receiver. Henry enjoyed his most productive day as a Jayhawk, recording seven catches, 103 yards, one touchdown and a breath-taking circus catch.

Late in the first quarter, Reesing heaved a pass high in the air toward the left sideline, where the 6-foot-4 Henry was matched up against 6-foot outside linebacker Tim Brazzel. Problem was, Reesing had underthrown his target by several feet. Henry solved the problem by tipping the ball out of Brazzel’s outstretched hands, over the defender’s helmet and into his own hands. The 21-yard gain gave Kansas a first down.

“On the ball I threw to Marcus Henry - on a fade - I had underthrown the ball and it wasn’t the best pass,” Reesing said. “It’s good to know we can get big plays when I don’t make the best of throws.”

The most telling testament to the receivers’ performance came from Reesing. Surrounded by reporters asking for his thoughts and feelings on his first career start, he tossed some of the credit to his teammates – mainly the ones to whom he tossed the ball just hours earlier.

— Edited by Amelia Freidline

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