KU football receivers celebrate every touchdown with a ‘Hang Loose’ sign. Here’s why
Andrew Parchment took a few steps into the end zone, completing his 70-yard touchdown against Texas Tech the same way he’d celebrated every other score this year.
Parchment raised up his hand with thumb and pinky extended, making a phone symbol with his fingers.
Surfers might know this as a “Hang Loose” sign.
KU’s receivers, meanwhile, have a different saying for it: “HR.”
“Our equipment guys started calling us that, and it just stuck,” Parchment said. “So every time we score, we always put the call up.”
The origin story of “HR” is fuzzy at best. When three KU receivers were asked about it this week ... well, all gave different versions of how it came to be.
Parchment’s recalling, though, seemed the most reliable. He credited student managers — that appears to include Andrew Edrington — for first coming up with the abbreviation when the receivers were searching for an identity before training camp.
At first, “HR” stood for “human resources” ... though that quickly morphed into “highlight reel.”
“You’ve gotta call human resources, so you gotta call ‘HR,’ which is highlight reel and everything,” Parchment said. “As long as everybody keeps calling us, we’re good.”
The big-play gesture has stuck. Stephon Robinson used it multiple times Saturday, and even once before he’d been able to put his shoe back on after losing it during a reception.
“We define our group off of highlight plays — making plays that are going to impact the game,” Robinson said. “So when we throw ‘HR’ up, or when we comment ‘HR’ on social media or anything, it’s just ‘highlight reel.’”
The receivers also received an unexpected shoutout late in the game. When true freshman running back Velton Gardner broke free for a 32-yard touchdown run that helped tie it in the fourth quarter, he raised his hand like a phone afterward.
KU receivers coach Emmett Jones texted a screenshot of Gardner doing that to his wideouts this week. “Look at what we started,” he wrote.
“Everybody’s trying to get on the ‘HR’ train,” Parchment said with a smile. “We’ve got room.”
There’s one group, though, that’s often not as happy to see the signal.
Cornerback Hasan Defense says whenever KU’s secondary gets burned on a long pass in practices, it can expect to see “HR” from the receivers.
“Even scout team, every once in awhile, they’ll catch a ball and call a guy,” Defense said with a laugh. “We kind of go back and forth like, ‘You’re not doing that.’ But, yeah, they do it.”
Defense’s main thought, though, is this: The motto has given the receivers extra cohesion, which has led to increased production on gamedays.
“It helps their confidence,” Defense said. “If that’s what they’ve got to do to keep this streak going, I say, ‘Do it all the time.’”
KU’s receivers certainly have lived up to the “highlight reel” moniker the last two weeks. Daylon Charlot’s fourth-quarter, fourth-down catch against Texas ended up as the top play on ESPN’s SportsCenter, while Robinson’s 186 receiving yards last week were second among all FBS players.
“We’re going to keep building on it,” Robinson said, “and keep improving to make more plays.”
If that happens ... be sure to look out for more hand phones from the KU receivers.
“It’s pretty cool,” Parchment said. “I’m just happy that it stuck around.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2019 at 4:39 PM.
