His 1st offensive snap for KU Jayhawks was vs. Texas. Then he caught the game-winner
Kansas fullback Jared Casey could sense he was open on the final play in KU’s 57-56 overtime victory at Texas on Saturday.
So he waved his left arm, hoping Jalon Daniels would see him.
The KU QB did.
“It seemed like it took forever to get there,” Casey said with a smile.
The redshirt freshman walk-on secured the pass, clinching KU’s victory with the two-point conversion catch just before teammates dogpiled on him.
Perhaps there couldn’t have been a more unlikely hero for the Jayhawks in their monumental upset.
Here’s why: Before Saturday, Casey had taken zero offensive snaps for KU. He was only forced into action against Texas following injuries to teammates Spencer Roe and Mason Fairchild.
And now? He’ll be a folk hero in Lawrence after giving the Jayhawks their first win over the Longhorns in Austin ... ever.
“It just popped in my hands,” Casey said of the catch. “A surreal moment.”
Casey immediately knew where had to go next. After celebrating with teammates, he ran 100 yards across the field over toward his parents Karen and Jerry, who’d made the 11-hour drive to watch him play.
“They know I have it in me,” Casey said, “and I do too.”
Casey said he grew up in a KU fan in Plainville, a town of about 2,000 in northwest Kansas. One of his favorite childhood memories was listening to the radio in his parents’ van when Kerry Meier caught a touchdown pass against Missouri in 2008. He also went to multiple games growing up.
When it was his turn Saturday, he delivered. Daniels said he had full confidence Casey would come through after throwing the pass his way.
“Jared has (some) of the best hands on the team. I’ve seen him make some miraculous catches, just with one hand,” Daniels said. “Walk-on or not, a ballplayer is going to be a ballplayer when it counts.”
KU coach Lance Leipold joked afterward that, given what Casey showed Saturday, the team had been “under-utilizing him all year.”
“And since the play-caller’s his position coach (offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki), that’ll be something I’m sure he’ll address right away on Monday,” Leipold said with a laugh, “that he needs more touches.”
In a serious moment a few minutes later, Leipold said Casey getting his Rudy-like moment against a Texas team filled with four- and five-stars was memorable.
“When you have a walk-on step up, make a catch like that, it’s a pretty neat deal,” Leipold said.
Casey said Leipold and Kotelnicki had preached all year for the reserves to always have a “next man up” mentality. He said he took that to heart.
“We rotate and rotate, and I get my reps. You don’t really know when it’s going to happen,” Casey said. “ ... I took my opportunity, and there it was.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
