Tony Coker has been here before, but he doesn’t want to talk about it.
Coker’s redshirt freshman season at the University of Kansas in 2000 is but a distant memory.
“I was here before but that’s all behind me,” said Coker, who was an all-state selection at Hoisington High School. “I came back here because there was a new opportunity and a fresh start.”
And that’s what Kansas coach Mark Mangino is counting on as he tries to rebuild an offensive line that lost three starters from a year ago.
“He showed up at my door,” Mangino said. “He wanted another chance, and we gave it to him.
“He’s really a guy we need to step up for us. We really need his help on the offensive line. He’s a big, strong, athletic guy that moves around pretty well.”
Coker’s size 6-foot-6, 320-pounds is the most obvious trait he possesses, and if he lands a starting role in the fall he will be the biggest of the big men up front.
But Hutchinson Community College coach David Wheeler warns that while Coker’s size may be intimidating, it’s his speed that makes him dangerous.
“He’s a big kid that can move his feet kind of a rare combination,” Wheeler said of Coker, who started every game last season at Hutchinson. “Talent-wise, yeah, he’s definitely good. And if he can get a little tougher mentally, he could be a heck of a player.”
His play at HCC solidified him as one of the top offensive linemen in the Jayhawk Conference, according to most recruiting services.
But Coker’s used to the honors, he’s also seen them before like his senior year at Hoisington when he was all-state selection and one of the top prep prospects in the Midwest.
Now he plans on proving worthy of those accolades in a Jayhawk uniform.
“It’s just a different atmosphere and I’m excited to be here,” said Coker, who received a phone call from assistant coach Clint Bowen in December asking him if he wanted to return to Lawrence. Coker wasn’t sure at first, but after two weeks of spring drills he’s certain he made the right decision.
“We mesh pretty well as a group,” said Coker of his new offensive line buddies which include seniors Justin Sands and Kyle Grady, the only two returning starters. “Right now were just busting our tails like everyone else.”
While Coker never got a chance to wear a crimson and blue uniform during his first go-round as a Jayhawk, he’s ready to put on those colors now even if they do change a little bit under Mangino’s new look.
“It’s my dream to play Division I football,” Coker said with a smile. “I love this school, and I am glad I’m back here.”
