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Dezmon Briscoe Turns 21 August 14, 2010...

He became a bit of the fall guy following the Jayhawks first losing season since 2004. Kansas is hardly a once proud franchise, but they did have a good little run highlighted by a 12-1 season in 2007. Making a sweeping generalization, but, fans of recent risers seem especially harsh when their team fades. Maybe it's something about the unvarnished contender that attracts coquettish fans, ready to drop a glove and see if Todd Reesing picks it up, only to take it and turn towards Tony Pike with a shrug, but fans of the nouveau riche are especially Virginia Woolf when things go Arthur Miller.

So you're liable to read Briscoe is a bit of a bum. I didn't watched enough Kansas football to refute that. I do know that fans often confuse a poor pass for a drop, and though Reesing excelled in Mangino's pass wacky offense, he's not built to squeeze the ball down field. It would be interesting to audit every drop. That's not my endeavor.

Regardless many receivers struggle their age 19 and age 20 seasons. Most don't start. Few receive for 1,300+ yards in consecutive seasons. Kansas is pass wacky, but that can be overstated. Kansas averaged 310.33 yard per game in 2009 (7), 3,724 yards total; 305.62 (8) and 3,973 in 2008; Briscoe received for 35.9% and 35.4% of that. Kansas isn't an efficient offense. I don't know whether to pin that on Briscoe, Reesing or other, and other is big, complex and possibly unquantifiable.

Knowing what you don't know can be a powerful tool. Briscoe won't be current again until the Combine. He has a heck of a shot of becoming a Workout Wonder. We don't like those. That Mike Mamula guy, he was, oh wait, he was pretty decent. But running ain't receiving or whatever. Briscoe has Snap-on tools and nearly three years on Brandon Lafell. Whatever contract he gets is going to be a speck on his team's cap. And after five years in the league, maybe Pete Carroll could make something out of this: