FanHouse KerryMeier

A few weeks ago, Kansas head coach Mark Mangino was touting senior quarterback Todd Reesing as a should-be Heisman Trophy candidate.

The 5-0 Jayhawks, themselves, were looking like the best team in the Big 12 North and maybe as a team that could give the South division a run for the conference championship as they ran roughshod over the likes of Northern Colorado, UTEP, Duke and Southern Miss.

But three weeks later, Kansas is stuck in reverse on a three-game losing streak and Reesing found himself yanked during Saturday's 42-21 loss to Texas Tech.

It's not like Texas and Oklahoma ever needed a reason to make their annual Red River Rivalry game in Dallas any more intense.

The tradition of the two programs, the bordering states and the fight for superiority in fertile recruiting ground of Texas use to be enough. Who knew this early season game would take on so much more meaning when both teams joined the Big 12 in 1996?

This game has become about so much more than school pride and bragging rights, as one of these two teams has won the South each of the last 10 years, and it has sometimes set the stage for the national championship picture.

We all knew the Kansas Jayhawks offense had a chance to be lethal this season with quarterback Todd Reesing and wide receivers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier setting the pace.

Well, the trio took it to a ridiculous level Saturday as the receivers bested each other during the Jayhawks' 41-31 win over Iowa State. First Briscoe set the school record for career receptions, then Meier jumped ahead of him. Meier, a converted quarterback, has 167 career catches while Briscoe sits at 165 after making 12 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns Saturday.

The Kansas Jayhawks opened spring practice looking for a way to replace the impact of running back Jon Cornish, who is currently preparing for the NFL Draft. Cornish carried the offense a year ago, rushing for 1,457 yards and 8 touchdowns as KU finished the season with a 6-6 record. With a new offensive coordinator in Ed Warinner, the Jayhawks are hoping for better production from their receiving corps. One player that has already been singled out is 6-4, 200 pound senior Marcus Henry (pictured at right) who will line up at the X-receiver spot.

"The only guy that's a constant," Mangino said of Henry. "His abilities fit that position to a T. X is a guy that can stretch the field. He's a guy that, if you a roll a corner up to him, he should be able to get off the press coverage. Not neccesarily your fastest guy, but a big, rangy guy."

Henry was fourth on the team with 25 receptions for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2006. He joins fellow receivers Dexton Fields, Derek Fine, and Marcus Herford who all return in 2007. With the graduation of leading receiver Brian Murph, Henry expects the wideouts to take on a bigger role.

"Our role is pretty important," Henry said. "Once we get our offense situated and everything, we've got to go out there and make plays and be in the right spot at the right time."

Henry seems to have the size and body that you look for in a go-to receiver. Should he come into his own in 2007, the development of sophomore quarterback Kerry Meier is sure to benefit.