 "Photo: Charlie Riedel/The Associated Press")
Texas fans might not remember much from last season’s win against the Kansas in Lawrence.
After the loss to Texas Tech on Nov. 1, 2008, the rest of the 2008 season was one to forget, but Kansas’ wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe gave everyone a highlight reel catch to remember on Nov. 15 — one that ultimately cost the Longhorns a chance at a shutout on the road for the first time since Nov. 5, 2005, when they faced Baylor.
With the Jayhawks down 21-0 in the third quarter on a brisk day, head coach Mark Mangino gambled on a fourth down and 11 at Texas’ 32-yard line and decided to go for it instead of kicking the field goal. Briscoe broke down the Longhorn sideline with double coverage from Deon Beasley and Blake Gideon.
Reesing lobbed a pass to the stud wide out, who reached back to make a play on an under-thrown ball. He didn’t just make a play; he made a New York Giant David Tyree-esque Super Bowl catch by tipping the ball to himself and catching it on the top of his helmet at Texas’ 6-yard line. Two plays later, Reesing threw a pass to Dexton Fields for their only seven points of the game. Without the Briscoe play, the Jayhawks would have been staring dead aim at a goose egg on their scoreboard.
And 360 days later, the same receiver from Cedar Hill, Texas, is back and ready to showcase his talent in Austin for the first time in his career. And the statistics he has put up thus far prove he is still out to make an impact on a team that has struggled mightily over the last five weeks.
Cornerback Curtis Brown remembers the play from a year ago vividly and now knows from the past that star receiver is no slouch.
“He’s probably one of the premier wide receivers that we’re going to meet this year, one of the best,” Brown said. “He is going to be a challenge.”
A homegrown Texas product, Briscoe is out to prove something after he was passed up by Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech despite leading his high school team to a state championship in 2006.
A three-star recruit coming out of high school, he was scouted by Boise State, Houston, Iowa and Oklahoma State along with a variety of other low-profile schools.
A big-time program never came calling, so Briscoe took his ability North to play for Mangino after catching 37 balls for 708 yards and 11 touchdowns during his senior year under Cedar Hill head coach Joey McGuire.
Now with two years under his belt in Lawrence, Briscoe is beginning to show signs of what a five-star recruit does for a college program. In his first season at Kansas, he started in 11 games and played in all 13. He was fourth on the team in receptions and second in touchdown receptions with seven, a school record for a freshman. He was a key contributor in Kansas’ 24-21 Orange Bowl victory against Virginia Tech.
In 2008, he followed up his rookie performance with a sequel, catching 92 passes for 1,407 yards and 15 touchdowns — both school records.
And now, the present is showing many glimpses of the past.
Thus far in 2009, Briscoe is the team’s leader in receiving yards average with 15.3 yards per catch. He also leads the team with seven touchdown receptions and is averaging 110.4 receiving yards per game. Couple all of that with the other productive receiver in Kerry Meier, and the Jayhawks have a perfect one-two punch.
“What they do is put extreme pressure on a defense,” Mangino said. “You’re dealing with two pretty high-level players that run well, have good ball skills, and they’re going to be able to catch a ball in the crowd.”
But dropped balls have consistently plagued Briscoe since he arrived on campus in 2007. Briscoe says it’s something he pays close attention to in practice.
“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 drills like that.”
The true test comes this week. Can the biggest receiving weapon in Kansas’ history cause fits for the Goon Squad? Anchored by Sergio Kindle, Sam Acho, Earl Thomas, Chykie Brown and Blake Gideon, the defense has been the most consistent element for the Longhorns all season — and the players don’t plan on changing that.
“Briscoe is a good receiver, and the coaches have done a good job of keeping us focused on the task at hand,” Acho said.
With an offense averaging only 18 points per game in its last five contests, Briscoe must make something happen.
“They have some great receivers, and they can move the ball,” said Texas head coach Mack Brown. “They’ll come in here pumped up and ready to go.”
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