FEATURE 5
Huldon Tharp
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 215 lbs.
Number: 34
Key Stat: Tharp has 43 tackles, 23 solo, and has become a regular starter on a constantly changing defense.
Best game: The freshman linebacker picked up 10 tackles and hit the quarterback twice in Kansas' 44-16 victory against Duke.
**Season summary:** Tharp provides much-needed speed to the linebacking band and has made several key steps, including a goal-line tackle against Texas Tech. Mangino said Tharp improves every single week.
Quote: "Most of my learning happens when I make big mistakes and you get in trouble, more learning comes from that than anything else"
— Clark Goble
Bradley McDougald
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 195 lbs.
Number: 24
Key stat: 263 receiving yards
Best game: McDougal recorded just one catch for he and against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. But he also recorded an interception to become the first Kansas player to do so since Agib Talb in 2007.
**Season summary:** Before the season started, coach Mark Mangino called McDougault the best freshman he has called. And McDougault hasn't disappointed. He has played offense, defense and returned both punts and kickoffs.
Quote: "Right now, if I could get playing time early, that it was going to be on the offensive side of the ball. That eliminated a lot of schools that were recruiting me early in the process."
— Jayson Jenks
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 205 lbs.
Number: 25
Darrell Stuckey
Best game: Stuckey returned the game's opening kickoff for 67 yards against Kansas State. He also recorded six tackles, including a touchdown-saving tackle in the first half.
Season summary: Before Kansas game at Colorado on Oct. 17, Stuckey said he wasn't pleased with his play. But the senior safety has made a bigger impact as the season has progressed. With a defense that has shuffled its personnel, Stuckey has remained consistent and reliable.
Quote: "At the beginning of the season the ball wasn't thrown toward me at all. They wouldn't even come into the boundary feel like it was useless, and that's when I really got frustrated with not making plays and helping my team."
Jayson Jenks
Quote: "It is what it is. They came to play. We didn't" — after Kansas' loss to Colorado
Clark Goble
Best game: Despite dropping the game-winning pass in the end zone, Briscoe was the focal point of the Kansas's comeback effort against Colorado. He caught 11 balls for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Key Stat: Briscoe is a constant threat in the Kansas passing attack, averaging 114.6 receiving yards for the season.
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 200 lbs.
Number: 80
Season summary: Though the Kansas offense has fallen off recently, Briscoe is still putting up stellar numbers. He is a semifinalist for the Bieletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation's best wide receiver.
Dezmon Briscoe
35
Toben
Opurum
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 235 lbs.
Number: 35
**Season summary:** While Opurum hasn't busted a big run quite yet, he has a tendency to absorb contact and fall forward instead of crashing backwards. As Kansas' running game has slowed considerably, his stats have fallen off, but he remains a key part of the offensive attack.
Key Stat: Opurum has nine rushing touchdowns on the season (116 carries for 498 yards)
Quote: "You can't show that you're intimidated. I think if you deliver the blow instead of taking it, he leaves them intimidated—" after Kansas 41-56 victory against Iowa State when Opurum played key role in pass protection
Best game: Filling in for an injured Jake Sharp.
Opurum rushed 28 times for 109 yards, caught two passes for 21 yards and scored two touchdowns in Kansas' 35-28 victory against Southern Miss.
— Clark Goble
Maxwell Onyegbule
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 252 lbs.
Number: 90
Key Stat: Two defensive touchdowns
**Best game:** Onyqbale recorded three tackles, a sack and returned an interception for 48 yards for a touchdown in Kansas 44-16 victory against Duke. He was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
**Season summary:** Onygebule entered the season as a question mark on Kansas' defense, but he has been a solid contributor throughout the year. He has four squares and has consistently applied pressure on opposing backbacks.
**Quete:** "This training camp I just had the worst practice I could ever have. The coaches sat me down and my position coach sat me down and told me you have so much potential and you just have to get your mind right, focus and concentrate. His big thing was just focus. Don't think, just play."
Clark Goble
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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THE WAVE NOVEMBER 13,2009