In all honesty, Kansas University assistant football coach Earnest Collins kind of liked that Anthony Webb’s first play in his first start last week didn’t go so well.
South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe dropped back and gave a believable pump fake – and Webb bit badly. The freshman cornerback then was caught three yards behind USF receiver Marcus Edwards, who hauled in a 29-yard reception up the left sideline.
Rats. Some start that was.
But Collins kept an eye on Webb, a true freshman playing high school football a year ago.
In Collins’ eyes, the first play wasn’t the big test – the rest of them were.
“Most of the time you really find out about a corner when something bad happens to him,” said Collins, who coaches the cornerbacks. “And he bounced back and played pretty good.”
Maybe – just maybe – it was a sign that the cornerback position finally is settled, after weeks of playing musical chairs with too many participants. First, Aqib Talib sat out two games because of a disciplinary suspension. During that time, Webb wasn’t quite ready for full-time duty.
Struggles by Raymond Brown and Blake Bueltel made Talib’s return a big relief for the Jayhawk secondary. And slowly, Webb made his way to the top of the depth chart, his talent undeniable and his work ethic and understanding of offenses finally catching up.
“I came in expecting to play early,” Webb said. “But starting? I think that would be pushing it.”
It was considered a possibility from the moment Webb signed, whether he thought so or not. Webb, out of South Oak Cliff High in Dallas, was the highest-rated recruit in KU’s 2006 class according to rivals.com. On top of that, the cornerback position at Kansas was gutted with the graduations of Theo Baines, Ronnie Amadi and Donnie Amadi and the early departure of Charles Gordon to the NFL.
That left Talib, junior-college transfers Bueltel and Mike McCoy, and whatever freshmen could prove ready for the college game.
Webb didn’t prove it right away, and he’ll admit as much.
“Coming in as a freshman, it’s college. You’re not in high school anymore. You can’t just go through the motions,” Webb said. “That was probably what was keeping me from being on the field.”
He did play sparingly in KU’s first three games, and had a nice pass breakup at Toledo while Talib was on the sidelines battling cramps.
Now, one side of the field is Webb’s to roam. After the first play of the USF game – he admitted he was nervous heading in – Webb settled down to get a pass breakup and five tackles. The always-confident Talib even gave Webb the highest of compliments, saying “he looked about as good as me out there.”
Webb was a little more humble around the media, but that might be where the humility ends. After all, a cornerback has to have a little cocky confidence in him.
“I really like the way he’s coming around,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “He’s got a little bounce to him. He’s a confident guy even though he’s a freshman. He did a good job on Saturday, and now he needs to continue to build on that.”
