Sometimes, he says, it’s hard not to feel overshadowed. The fans love senior Kerry Meier; the highlight reels love junior Dezmon Briscoe.

Then, serving as the third wheel on Kansas’ most stacked unit, there’s junior wide receiver Johnathan Wilson.

On an offense filled with proven players and exciting playmakers, it’s often difficult for recognition to be evenly spread. Sometimes – rarely – Wilson notices.

“Yeah, sometimes it’s hard,” Wilson said. “Last year it was a little hard for me. But at the end of the day, it’s all about winning. If I can do anything to help the team win, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Sure, Wilson may not equally share the spotlight with Kansas’ other receivers. But that doesn’t diminish the role he plays offensively.

After catching just three passes as a freshman, Wilson developed into the third-leading target for quarterback Todd Reesing last season, often providing an option when defense’s eyes focused on Meier or Briscoe.

“He cares about his performance, he cares about getting better,” coach Mark Mangino said. “And he’s going to be an important guy. He will be a guy that’s going to have to be able to make plays for us to have a good offensive team.”

During the third game of the season, with the college football world focused on Kansas’ game at South Florida, Wilson delivered the biggest performance of his season. He caught 10 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns.

Wilson enters this season having shed the unproven label he carried with him at the beginning of last season. Still, for the second consecutive year, teammates voted Wilson the surprise player of the year.

It’s a title Wilson is eager to shed.

“It’s an honor to be the surprise player of the year,” Wilson said. “I’m proud that my teammates voted me that again. But it’s not a surprise for me. I expect that from myself. I expect to go out there, make big plays and help the team. I just want to do that this year.”

Added Meier: “I think John’s ready to make a name for himself.”

That process started this spring, when Briscoe was suspended from the team. Without Kansas’ big-play threat on the field, Wilson slid into Briscoe’s shoes, something Meier said he thought would only make Wilson better this season.

In the spring game, Wilson looked to be one of the fastest players on the field, continuually creating openings for quarterbacks to throw him the ball. He finished the day with 133 receiving yards.

“I mean, in the offseason, I feel like John is one of the hardest working players we have on this team,” Briscoe said. “He went to the weight room and felt that he needed to get stronger and he did. His blocking on the perimeter — I’m telling you he got stronger, and I feel like he’s gotten better as a player.”

Now that Briscoe has returned, Kansas’ offense is once again loaded at the wide receiver position. And it creates an interesting questions for defenses: Focus on a certain individual, such as Briscoe, or attempt to slow the unit as a whole, a move that carries the risk of thinning out the coverage?

“This year is going to be exciting to see what happens because last year, to me, was Dez’s breakout year,” Wilson said. “I’m going to be excited to see what defenses do and how they guard him. Maybe that opens me up for a couple more passes or opportunities.”

If there’s any aspect of Kansas’ offense that’s certain, it’s this: There will be plenty of opportunities for wide receivers to make plays. With Reesing and his top targets all back this season, the Jayhawks high-powered attack could actually improve this season.

And although Wilson was voted as the projected surprise of this season, the label seems misleading.

“Johnathan has been a steady hand here now,” Mangino said. “He’s a guy that’s kind of been back in the shadows a little bit, but he’s made some big plays for us. He continually gets better.”

— — Edited by Amanda Thompson