It’s a sunny day at the biggest football venue in the state of Oklahoma, and the most electric player on the field is too quick and elusive for the defense to truly contain.

There’s a completion for 25 yards, then 40 and then a 69-yard touchdown dash. In total, the receiver catches 12 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. And with top-level athletes roaming the field, the toughest player to catch is wearing crimson and blue.

Oct. 8, 2008 is the best receiving day in the history of Kansas football.

“It was a big game for me,” junior wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe said. “Todd (Reesing) came to me before the game and told me, ‘run hard and I’m going to find a way to get you the ball.’ I was like, ‘Alright, just throw it my way and I’m going to make a play for you.’”

Yet throughout the spring, Briscoe’s athletic ability was sidelined for disciplinary reasons. He didn’t practice with the team and his status remained murky leading up to the start of fall practices.

First comes the explanation – the reason why the No. 80 jersey hung in a locker instead of strapped to Briscoe. Faced with off-field issues involving academics, coach Mark Mangino suspended one of his team’s biggest playmakers for the entirety of spring practice, including the annual spring game.

“I did some things that coach Mangino didn’t really approve of, so he had to dismiss me from the team,” Briscoe said, declining to elaborate. “But I feel like I learned from it and coach Mangino let me back on the team.”

Mangino reinstated Briscoe in time for the start of fall practices on Aug. 7. Now, after the waiting and uncertainty, it’s time to move forward.

With Briscoe back, the Jayhawks once again possess one of the most talented receiving corps in the Big 12. Serving as Kansas’ primary big-play threat a season ago, Briscoe caught 92 passes for 1,407 yards and 15 touchdowns.

“He feels good and realizes that it is behind him now,” Mangino said. “His attitude has been good, and he has been having a really good camp. He learned a valuable lesson like everyone does in life every once in a while.”

One of those lessons – the one that many athletes may take for granted – hit Briscoe in his time away from the team. Unable to practice with teammates and without the ability to use Kansas’ facilities, Briscoe was relegated to life without the perks.

Briscoe was forced to adapt to life as a normal, sport-less student.

“Throughout that break that I wasn’t with the team it made me feel like I wasn’t a student athlete,” Briscoe said. “I felt like I was just a student. Just the privilege of being a student athlete is something most people would love to do. I mean, I really appreciate it a lot more.”

Senior receiver Kerry Meier said: “I think he learned his lesson that if you don’t take care of business off the field, football isn’t going to be there. To be a student athlete, you have to be able to do the academics. The love Dezmon has for football and the game — he definitely learned his lesson. He’s going to be better from it now.”

Therein lies a question worth asking: Without practicing for such an extended period of time, how much catch-up does Briscoe have to play?

At practice last Tuesday morning, Briscoe appeared as smooth and in-tune as before. During one play, he even leapt to grab a pass high out of the air – something Kansas fans grew accustomed to watching last season.

For his part, Briscoe said that any time away from the practice field results in a little early-season rigidness. But teammates and Mangino were quick to note that the receiver hasn’t lost too much in his time away.

“He’s made some mistakes that he normally doesn’t make, but I think he’s fine,” Mangino said. “If you see the plays he’s made on the field, he doesn’t look like he’s lost too much.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Briscoe filtered into the Mrkonic Auditorium, located in the Anderson Family Football Complex, with many of his teammates. He took a seat at a desk near the front of the room and waited for the questions.

It was Briscoe’s first interview since Mangino announced the suspension and despite the repetitiveness of the day’s events, Briscoe was eager to be back.

“I just missed being around my team,” Briscoe said. “Those guys are like my brothers. They’ll do anything for me and I’ll do anything for them. Not being around them is something that really hurt me the most.”

— -Edited by Jonathan Hermes