Briscoe expected to step up

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Dezmon Briscoe is fast — Kansas’ sophomore wide receiver proved as much when he caught 43 passes and seven touchdowns last season.

But Briscoe’s speed couldn’t make up for his hands’ follies during last month’s spring game, when he dropped two catchable passes, one of which resulted in an interception. Briscoe’s juxtaposition of talent and inconsistency is common among the Jayhawk wide receivers — a group which added a junior college star but lost leading receiver Marcus Henry this offseason.

“As a receiving corps, we left a lot of balls on the field,” Briscoe said. “This year, I plan on bringing a lot of those balls in and keeping them off the ground. I think that’s where my weakness was.”

Photo by Jon Goering

Sophomore wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe tries to fight out of a tackle during the first half of the game. Briscoe made eight catches for 92 yards in the game.

Briscoe seems the heir apparent to Marcus Henry, the Jayhawks’ top receiver and sixth round NFL Draft choice. Last year, Henry reeled in 1,084 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches, both team highs. Briscoe’s lean frame resembles Henry’s, and his first-year numbers easily trump Henry’s production as a freshman. Briscoe caught a Kansas freshman record seven touchdown passes in 2007, but dropped passes during several games.

Kansas brought in Rod Harris Jr. a sophomore wide receiver from Blinn Junior College in Texas to take some pressure off of Briscoe. Harris caught 23 passes last year at Blinn, his only season in junior college. At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Harris has the size to line up as an outside receiver, where he played in the spring game.

“I think I can run up to the catch and be a distraction to the secondary to help the other receivers get open,” Harris said. “I just need to play my part and fill my role — whatever my role may be — week in and week out.”

The Jayhawks’ most sure-handed receiver, senior Dexton Fields, should fill his usual role as the starting option in the slot. Fields wasn’t a big-play threat last season, averaging just 13.2 yards per catch, but he hauled in a team-high 63 receptions and six touchdowns.

Junior Kerry Meier will assist Fields in the slot, lining up at tight end and wide receiver in the same way he did for much of last season. Meier displayed the best hands of any Kansas receiver, snaring 26 receptions for 274 yards in his first year doing double duty as a multi-purpose player. Meier caught four passes for 40 yards in the spring scrimmage.

Many of the same wide receiver reserves will return in 2008. Junior Raimond Pendleton, who caught four passes last year, is the team’s main backup in the slot. Sophomore Johnathan Wilson and senior Gary Green could also see playing time. Wilson contributed as a true freshman reserve last season, and Green is learning the receiving ropes after converting from defense to offense in the offseason.

— Edited by Kaitlyn Syring

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