Wednesday, September 2, 2009
By all accounts, senior wide receiver Kerry Meier is one of the friendliest and most well-liked individuals on Kansas’ roster. Those who know him say he’s selfless and admirably humble despite his on-field success.
“Kerry, he’s just an awesome guy,” friend and former teammate Tyler Lawrence said.
Freshman wide receiver Bradley McDougald (24) talks to sophomore wide receiver Willie O'Quinn during media day at the Anderson Family Football Complex practice fields last month. McDougald has received praise for his skill from Mark Mangino and his new teammates.
But even the notoriously easy-going Meier couldn’t resist taking a crack at Kansas’ latest offensive weapon: freshman wide receiver Bradley McDougald.
After hearing that coach Mark Mangino publicly heaped praise on McDougald last week, Meier playfully ribbed Kansas’ talented and rising young playmaker.
“I had to just give him a little bit of trouble,” Meier said, smiling.
It’s all in good fun, though, as Meier and Mangino both said McDougald will be a significant piece of Kansas’ offense and special teams this season.
In his short time on campus, McDougald has continually impressed coaches and teammates with his natural athleticism and smooth transition from the high school level to Division I.
With coaches unable to attend summer workouts or seven-on-seven games, McDougald’s potential bounced around the different parts of the football program through word of mouth.
Eventually the talk reached the ears of Mangino, who couldn’t watch the scrimmages but instantly saw the reason for excitement when practices resumed in early August.
“As soon as we got him on the field, just a few days into practice, we realized he was a talented guy,” Mangino said.
McDougald has been on a steep rise ever since; Mangino said he’ll see the field on both offense and special teams this year.
During training camp in mid-August, McDougald joined the first team receiving corps — a unit generally viewed as the strength of the offense.
Alongside proven big-time playmakers Meier and junior Dezmon Briscoe, McDougald has thrived as Kansas’ fourth receiving target.
“It kind of scared me at first because that’s the position I’m playing,” Meier said. “But he’s a smooth individual and when he stepped foot on campus in the summer, I knew he had potential to play right away.”
On Saturday, McDougald will run onto Kivisto Field in front of 50,000-plus fans wearing blue. At one point, though, McDougald seemed set to play in one of college football’s most storied venues: the Horseshoe at Ohio State.
But McDougald, who played high school football just 20 miles from Ohio State’s campus and was suspended for three games for disciplinary reasons during his senior season, rescinded his initial verbal commitment to the Buckeyes.
Instead, McDougald evaluated his remaining options with one desire: to stay on the offensive side of the ball. Many schools viewed McDougald as a better fit at defensive back.
“Right now, if I could get playing time early, I felt that it was going to be on the offensive side of the ball,” McDougald said. “That eliminated a lot of schools that were recruiting me early in the process.”
McDougald started considering Kansas after a teammate from high school, redshirt freshman linebacker Josh Richardson, committed to the Jayhawks while McDougald was attending Dublin Scioto High School.
Two weeks after Richardson’s commitment, McDougald received a scholarship offer from Kansas — one he eventually accepted.
“Coach Ed Warriner, the offensive coordinator, is the person who recruited me out of high school,” McDougald said. “He mentioned possible (early) playing time but I never thought it would be like it is now. I thought I would be rotating.”
Upon arriving at Kansas, McDougald was issued a “Big Brother,” which is essentially a teammate assigned to help a new player adjust to college. McDougald was paired with Meier.
Meier, along with Briscoe and quarterback Todd Reesing, guided McDougald through offseason practices. That preparation, McDougald said, was a big reason he adjusted so smoothly to the college level.
And he’ll get his first public showcase in a Kansas uniform Saturday against Northern Colorado.
“It’s just his knack to play ball,” Meier said. “Usually, with incoming freshmen, they have to worry about so much other than football. His ability to put that stuff behind when he’s on the field has enabled him to be where he is.
“He’s a guy that I think everything comes very smoothly for him.”
— — Edited by Samantha Foster
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