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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2008 PAGE 1B
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THREE'S A TOUGH CROWD
Sophomore wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe, senior wide receiver Dexton Fields and junior wide receiver Kerry Meier have high expectations for 2008 on their shoulders.
Wide receiver trio set to lead Jayhawks
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
BY B.J. RAINS rains@kansan.com
rains@kansan.com
Darrell Stuckey knows just how good the Kansas wide receiving corps will be this season. Heck, after practicing against them for four weeks during training camp, he's ready to let another team's defense try and stop them.
"They could be one of the best wide receiver corps in the nation," Stuckey said. "I firmly believe that. They are very competitive and aggressive and just have a passion for trying to help each other out and get the most yards possible. They are a phenomenal unit."
The trio of senior Dexton Fields, sophomore Dezmon Briscoe and junior
Kerry Meier should form at least one of the top wide-receiving groups in the Big 12 Conference, but it's Fields who is set to potentially be in for a record-breaking year.
Fields needs only six touchdowns to become the Kansas career touchdowns leader, and he needs 962 yards receiving to become the school's all-time leader in receiving yards. His 837 receiving yards last year were the most ever by a lavwhack junior.
Meier wasn't even a wide receiver when last season began but became one of the team's most consistent weapons by the end of the year. He had 26 catches for 274 yards and two touchdowns, one of which came against Nebraska and earned him a spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Then there's Briscoe, who had one of the best freshman seasons in school history in 2007. He started 11 of the team's 13 games and was third on the team with 496 receiving yards. His seven touchdowns were a school record for a freshman in a single season.
"My coaches helped me improve one of my weaknesses last year, which was dropping a lot of balls," Briscoe said. "I have been working a lot on that in practice, catching balls when I'm tired and."
A year ago, Fields, Briscoe and Meier joined Marcus Henry, who was drafted in the sixth round by the New York Jets.
when I'm tired, and drills like that."
@ KANSAN.COM
to help lead one of the top offenses in the nation. The Jayhawks ranked second in the nation in scoring offense and eighth in total offense in 2007, a number that could be even higher in 2008.
For video of Tuesday's news conference, go to www.kansan.com/videos
and could play a lot because the layhawks spread the field often with four and five receiver sets. Patterson, who won the job at punt returner, has impressed coach Mark
In addition to Fields, Briscoe and Meier, sophomore Jonathan Wilson and freshman Daymond Patterson could both see time at wideout as well. Wilson is listed as a starter in the four-wide receiver set on the depth chart
Mangino with his speed and also could see some time at wideout.
Stuckey and fellow safety Justin Thornton have been facing the challenge of covering the wide receivers during training camp. Like Stuckey, Thornton knows that opposing defenses aren't going to enjoy lining up against Kansas' receivers.
"We're going to be real good at wide receiver," Thornton said. "We run that spread offense, and it doesn't even really matter who is in there at wide receiver because we have a handful of guys who can come in and make plays. Who ever is in there is going to have a chance to make plays."
Edited by Brieun Scott
FOOTBALL
Running back strives for 2,000-yard season Crawford counts on strong offensive line
BY B.J. RAINS
rains@kansan.com
Don't tell Jocues Crawford, but only 13 times in NCAA Division I football has a running back rushed
for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
The junior college transfer, who rushed for 1,935 yards on 283 attempts last year at Cisco Junior College, has his sights set on that elite number.
Crawford
"When I talk to my family, a personal goal I set for myself is that I want to rush for 2,000 yards," Crawford said. "I don't know if
I'll achieve it, but that's my goal."
Crawford, who once had 45 carries during a game at Cisco, will split carries with junior jake Sharp, similar to how Brandon McAnderson and Sharp shared the job a year ago. Still, Crawford knows that whether he does it by
FIU quarterback Wayne Younger attemptps to evade Kansas defenders during last year's 55-3 loss on Sept. 22 at Memorial Stadium. Younger and junior Paul McCall are still competing for the starting quarterback position under FIU's new offensive coordinator.
Jon Goering/KANSAN FILE PHOTO
running backs," Crawford said. "But after working with my offensive line and seeing the holes that they are opening up against our ones, I just feel that it's something that we or lake can accomplish — getting 2,000 yards together. We have a good line so we're going to have a lot of rushing yards this year."
The depth chart released by the football team Monday listed Sharp as the starter over Crawford, but coach Mark Mangino confirmed Tuesday that both will see significant playing time this Saturday against Florida International.
"Jake Sharp is a veteran guy who knows the system and knows what to expect," Mangino said. "Jocques is new with us. He's still learning. But he's going to play,
"I can only imagine how many yards I can rack up with an offensive line like this."
"That's a special, high number for college
himself or not, he and Sharp are both capable of reaching that elite 2,000-yard mark together after having success during practice against Kansas' starting defense.
JOCQUES CRAWFORD Junior running back
believe me. He's going to get a lot of carries and he's going to play and play a role in this game. But based on maturity, dependability and understanding the offense right now, we feel like jake Sharp can handle that load of being the starter at this point. But don't worry.
Jocques will play a lot. He will play significantly.
The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Crawford
SEE CRAWFORD ON PAGE 6B
FOOTBALL
FIU's offense could pose challenge New offensive coordinator from Purdue changes play strategy
BY TAYLOR BERN
thorn@kansap.com
tbern@kansan.com
Kansas has had plenty of time to size up its opening weekend opponent, FLU, but has little idea how to best do so.
That's because the Golden Panthers have a new offensive coordinator, which means there's no film of their new system in a real game. Furthermore, there still a quarterback battle down in Miami.
Sophomore Wayne Younger, who started against Kansas last season, and junior Paul McCall are each vying for the starting job. Coach Mario Cristobal might have an idea who his guy will be, but he told the Miami Herald on Thursday that he wasn't going to tip his hand.
"Both present a couple of different packages, so we'll let Kansas prepare for both," he said.
At his press conference yesterday, coach Mark Mangino said his team was preparing to combat all different styles of
play and admitted he was keeping an eye on FIU.
"We have followed their program very closely, and all indications are that they're a highly disciplined team," Mangino said. "They're well-coached, well-organized and they have some talented players."
"We don't really know what to expect. We're kind of going into this game blind."
JUSTIN THORNTON Junior safety
Mangino said the first game of the year made him more nervous than any bowl game ever could, simply because he didn't know what to expect from his team. This
intensified, because although his team thrashed the Golden Panthers 55-3 last year, he doesn't know what to expect from them.
"We know to a degree, but we don't know completely because we haven't seen them since they changed coordinators." Mangino said.
The new coordinator is Bill Legg, who was at Purdue for the past five years and spent the past two seasons as its co-offensive coordinator. All the unknown factors
surrounding Saturday's tilt haven't been lost on Kansas' defense.
"That's tough. It really is," junior safety Justin Thornton said. "We don't really know what to expect. We're kind of going into this game blind.
"We watched Purdue for the schemes, then we watched Florida International for what kind of players we're going to be matched up against."
Mangino said he thought the Golden Panther attack would closely resemble the Boilermakers' in the way they spread the field, but Legg had more running backs at his disposal and could rely on them heavily.
SEE FIU ON PAGE 6B
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