The Morning Brew: Receivers steal show during season opener
By Asher Fusco (Contact)
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008
Kansas football’s 40-10 thrashing of FIU didn’t seem much different than any of the lopsided victories the Jayhawks piled up last season. But Kansas has changed — for the better — in one very important department.
The ’08 Jayhawks have some serious talent at wide receiver.
We’re not talking Mark Simmons talent (steady but unspectacular), Marcus Henry talent (uber-athletic but inconsistent), or Brian Murph talent (couldn’t block worth a darn). We’re talking youth, excitement, speed and a surplus of skill at what is a crucial position in Kansas’ spread offense.
Sophomore Dezmon Briscoe hauled in nine passes, scored three touchdowns and showed no hint of the poor hands that plagued him as a freshman. Senior Dexton Fields, the group’s even-keeled elder statesman, caught a pass for the 25th consecutive game before leaving with a leg injury. Sophomore Johnathan Wilson enjoyed one heck of a coming-out party by catching five balls, and junior Kerry Meier displayed his soft hands, recording nine receptions.
The biggest winner among the receivers was the smallest of them all. 5-foot-9, 175-pound freshman Daymond Patterson made a grand debut, burning 75 yards down the sideline to turn a punt return into six points. His other punt returns went for 11, 19 and 30 yards. That isn’t bad, considering Anthony Webb tallied just 16 punt return yards all of last season.
Patterson is the kind of player Kansas couldn’t have recruited early in coach Mark Mangino’s tenure: Supremely talented, fast, and ... well, fast. How a stud such as Patterson escaped his home state of Texas without being snatched up by Texas Tech, Texas or Texas A&M is a mystery, and an epic victory for Kansas football.
Louisiana Tech
lookahead
Think Louisiana football, and you tend to think about Louisiana State University. But Louisiana Tech, a school of about 10,000 students in tiny Ruston, La., isn’t short on gridiron history.
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw directed the Louisiana Tech offense in the late 1960s. More recently, quarterbacks Tim Rattay and Luke McCown launched their less-than-prolific pro careers after playing at Louisiana Tech. Former Kansas City Chiefs standout lineman Willie Roaf also donned the Bulldog blue in the early 1990s.
Other big-name alums include former NBA star Karl Malone, USC basketball coach Tim Floyd, and fiery-yet-fashionable Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey.
Another year of
eligibility, please
Kansas cross country coach Stanley Redwine said last month at media day that the graduation of last year’s top two Jayhawk runners would give his young team an opportunity to “step up.”
After his team’s season-opening meet, Redwine might be wishing for the return of his departed veterans. The current Jayhawks fared well, placing seven runners in the top 15, but the Kansas Alumni team one-upped the current team.
Paul Hefferon and Colby Wissel, who graduated last spring, finished first and third, respectively. The best showing by a current Jayhawk was freshman Don Wasinger’s fifth-place finish.
— Edited by Mary Sorrick
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