<table> </table> LAWRENCE | To understand why the Kansas Jayhawks wouldn&#8217;t be the same without Kerry Meier, you have to take a trip to the golf course. It was there that Meier&#8217;s friend and teammate, center Ryan Cantrell, truly came to appreciate the man they now call &#8220;Slash&#8221; for what he is.</p><p>&#8220;An amazing athlete,&#8221; Cantrell said. &#8220;A couple of years ago, he was out on the golf course with us, and he said he hadn&#8217;t picked up a golf club in like a year or something. Lo and behold, he knocked the (heck) out of the ball right down the middle of the fairway, while I&#8217;m trying to find my ball in the woods.&#8221;</p><p>Cantrell came to the same conclusion that the KU coaches arrived at last season when they tried him out at wide receiver:</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got so many abilities,&#8221; Cantrell said, &#8220;you have to find a spot for him.&#8221;</p><p>Or three spots. Meier, a junior, has become a depth-chart stuffer as he enters his fourth year in Lawrence. He has spent most of fall camp to this point working behind incumbent Todd Reesing under center to ensure that there won&#8217;t be a major drop-off if Reesing is injured. Soon, Meier will start taking more repetitions at receiver, where offensive coordinator Ed Warinner expects him to start in the opener Aug. 30 against Florida International.</p><p>Then there&#8217;s that third spot &#8212; punter. Meier, who says his average is more than 40 yards per punt now, is currently trailing junior-college transfer Alonso Rojas. Keep in mind, Rojas&#8217; only job is to punt the football.</p><p>&#8220;Alonso has got a lot of leg,&#8221; Meier said, &#8220;but I think I&#8217;m punting well enough to win the job.&#8221;</p><p>When you&#8217;re Kerry Meier, you just assume that you&#8217;re the best. That&#8217;s why it was such a shock to Meier last year at this time when Reesing beat him out for the starting quarterback job. Never mind that Meier was playing through injuries most of that camp.</p><p>Meier was the golden boy growing up in Pittsburg, Kan. He was the best athlete in his class, and, of course, that meant he played quarterback. Meier was recruited to KU to bring stability to the position. He redshirted his freshman year because of a heart condition that forced him to have surgery but was immediately thrust into the starting role the next year.</p><p>That&#8217;s when the injuries started. Meier hurt his shoulder in the third game of the season at Toledo and was never the same player.</p><p>KU coach Mark Mangino elected to lift the redshirt off Reesing in the ninth game of the season, and the little guy from Austin, Texas, led a comeback victory over Colorado. He was coming after Meier&#8217;s job. Eventually, he&#8217;d take it.</p><p>Now, Reesing is asked about which player will make the biggest impact on offense. His answer? Kerry Meier at wide receiver.</p><p>KU first-year wide receivers coach David Beaty can&#8217;t wait until Meier can spend more time taking orders from him instead of Warinner, the quarterbacks coach.</p><p>&#8220;When I came here I was so excited that we had Kerry Meier,&#8221; Beaty said. &#8220;It puts a lot of pressure on defenses when you got a guy that can play several different positions. You gotta account for him defensively at all those spots on every snap.&#8221;</p><p>After moving to wide receiver in KU&#8217;s fourth game of 2007, Meier caught 26 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns. As Reesing&#8217;s backup, he completed 25 of 29 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns. He certainly looks ready to slash up defenses again this fall. He even cut his hair, opting for a closer-cropped style over the flowing mane of past years. Perhaps it&#8217;s a matter of aerodynamics in helping him move through the daily juggling act at practice.</p><p>Of course, Meier says that handling his many responsibilities is no big deal.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not too bad actually,&#8221; he said. &#8220;From the outside, it may be viewed as something tough to do, but as you get in rhythm and flow of things, you feel comfortable.&#8221;</p><p>Mangino doesn&#8217;t view Meier&#8217;s efforts as lightly.</p><p>&#8220;Let me put it to you like this,&#8221; Mangino said. &#8220;Not every player is capable of doing that. It takes a special player, an intellectual guy that learning is not a difficult process for him. He&#8217;s able to pick up things quickly. He&#8217;s the type of guy who can do it. But it&#8217;s not for everybody.&#8221;