LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -Life and football practice would be simpler for Bradley McDougald if the only he weren’t so gifted.
First the Kansas freshman works with the offense. Then he catches his breath and dashes across the field to work with the defense.
Then he does it all over again. And that’s just on the field. There are also intensive learning sessions in meetings with both the offense and defense.
Like talented Jayhawks defensive backs before him, McDougald has been asked to play both ways; to catch passes on one series of downs and then keep enemy receivers away from the ball on another. For the No. 24 Jayhawks on Saturday against No. 25 Oklahoma, he figures he’ll be about 25 percent safety and 75 percent wide receiver.
But he’ll be wherever coach Mark Mangino figures he’s needed most.
s much work as I am.”
It’s more than slightly ironic that McDougald’s switching from wide receiver to safety the past couple of weeks is part of a sizable midseason defensive overhaul for the Jayhawks. An Ohio native, McDougald first committed to Ohio State. But he de-committed when coach Jim Tressel told him he would be a safety for the Buckeyes and not wide receiver.
When Mangino promised him an opportunity as a pass-catcher, he became one of the few four-star recruits Kansas ever signed from a Big Ten state.
It’s not that he bombed out as a wide receiver. Quick and shifty, he’s caught at least one pass in every game for the Jayhawks (5-1, 1-1 Big 12). He had seven catches for 46 yards against Southern Mississippi and six for 37 against Duke.
The problem is the Jayhawks have two of the best wide receivers in their history in senior record-breakers Dezmon Briscoe and Kerry Meier – and need immediate help for a defense which yielded a frightful 512 yards two weeks ago to Iowa State.
While seeing that he needed to shore up the defense, Mangino did not go back on a promise. He merely looked his young freshman in the eye and pleaded his case.
e ball, but he wanted to maybe add on a little bit of defense and see how that worked out for me.”
Like most young athletes, McDougald has his heart set on a professional career. That helped make up his mind. He noticed that many of the young safeties going into the league had a size “that was basically identical to mine, like 6-1, 6-2, 200 pounds.”
“So he said if I wanted a shot to play in the league it might be as a defensive back, because I’m not getting too much taller as the years go on.”
Against Oklahoma, McDougald will be the No. 4 wide receiver and a reserve safety, nearly certain to see action as both.
It’s happened before in Lawrence. In 2007, Aqib Talib was an All-America defensive back for the Jayhawks who doubled as a pass-catcher and kick returner. Going both ways did nothing to hurt his pro career. A first-round draft pick with Tampa Bay, he had three interceptions against Washington this year.
“When coach Mangino sat me down in his office, he told me about Aqib Talib,” McDougald said. “He gave me some time to think about it, and said if I wanted to do it, the opportunity was on the table. I said, `Why not?”’
Also moving from offense to defense is 310-pound freshman lineman John Williams. In another change, D.J. Beshears has been called up from the practice squad to start at left cornerback.
players on defense, here,” Mangino said. “But there are some guys that are extremely talented and they’re not made for defense. Dezmon Briscoe is not built for defense. That’s not what he does. Kerry Meier is not built for defense. He and Dezmon are so strong in what they do on offense that it would be ridiculous to put them on defense.
“There are some kids that have the skill sets to do both. Bradley McDougald is one of them.”
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