The player responsible for arguably the greatest Kansas football moment of 2021 doesn’t even show up in the box score.
Walk-on tight end Jared Casey caught the game-winning two-point conversion in Austin to stun Texas in overtime but he did not officially record any stats. No catches. No yards. And yet it started an obsession around Lawrence and Kansas football.
The redshirt freshman from Plainville, Kansas was the center of attention in Lawrence. Reporters couldn’t wait to talk to him and his parents. Applebees jumped at the chance to get him on TV as part of an NIL deal. He was the type of player fans couldn’t wait to celebrate and the dream scenario for what name, image, and likeness could provide.
Then he kept going. Four catches for 34 yards and a touchdown the next week at TCU. Four catches for 67 yards and a touchdown to end the season against West Virginia.
Casey was not a one-game wonder, and now we wait to see if there is a second act. His performance in the spring game this April led to quarterback Jalon Daniels reiterating that the best hands on the team belong to Casey.
We don’t know how big of a jump—if any—he will make this year. Only time will tell. But it would be incredibly fitting if Casey is one of the breakout stars of 2022 as Kansas as a program tries to break out of its decade-plus-long slump. The parallels between program and player aren’t hard to find.
The recent history of Kansas football features known names from football-rich places that failed to deliver. Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps were bringing Notre Dame and BYU-level arm talent. Daylon Charlot caught passes on a title-winning Alabama team. Charlie Weis was bringing Patriots pedigree and Les Miles a national championship ring. This is not to say that the Jayhawks shouldn’t have taken those shots and shouldn’t in the future (at least on the players—I think we’re ok without the next Weis or Miles).
But Kansas is in the midst of one of the more optimistic offseasons with a coach that dominated away from the limelight in Wisconsin and Buffalo, New York; a quarterback whose other offers were Middle Tennessee State, Bryant, Army, and Eastern Washington; and hometown running back.
Then there’s Casey, the Kansas native in the underdog role for an underdog team that might finally have the competency and plan that the flashy predecessors lacked.
He won’t—and shouldn’t—be the most talented or most productive player on the team. But he can serve as the heart of the team and the feel-good story that helps strengthen the bond between the program and a new generation of fans.
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