Five years ago, Derek Fine was enjoying Florida.
Wearing a now-old-school navy-blue Kansas University football jersey, Fine stood on the sideline throughout the 2003 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando and did absolutely nothing.
Fine plans to relish the Orange Bowl experience a little more this year.
“Dude, why not?” Fine said. “I don’t even like tangerines.”
Fine is one of the few grizzled veterans dotting the Jayhawks’ roster as they prepare to go to Miami for the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl against Virginia Tech.
Many KU players have experienced living the postseason life from the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl. But Fine is one of the few who has been through it twice, even though he didn’t play in the Tangerine Bowl because of a red shirt.
Regardless, no player has seen this program grow first-hand quite like Fine. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound tight end was a part of KU coach Mark Mangino’s first recruiting class in 2002, but he delayed his enrollment because of an infection related to appendicitis.
He was at home in Oklahoma – still a Jayhawk-to-be – when Kansas went 2-10 in Mangino’s first dismal season. Fine then came back in the spring. His enrollment clock didn’t start ticking until then, which makes his contributions in 2007 possible.
He has seen uniform changes, assistant-coaching changes and talent-level changes. But there’s one change that Fine stresses most when asked how Kansas has come this far over the last five years.
“The biggest thing is the attitude of the team,” said Fine, a team captain. “I can’t even stress that enough. I think you can tell that on the field.”
Fine has established career-best receiving numbers in this, his college football swan song. He has caught 44 passes for 380 yards and four touchdowns, starting all 12 games. They’re not star-status numbers, but they’re needed in an offense that spreads the field and thrives by favoring nobody.
Perhaps just as important, Fine has proven to be a solid blocker even as those opportunities decrease slightly. Though he used to consider himself half-lineman, half-receiver, Fine has lined up out wide several times a game this season, perhaps tilting the balance more toward receiving.
“Whatever they want me to do is fine,” Fine said. “But I still like to get in there and do all the dirty work with the heavy boys.”
Obviously. Two of KU’s most memorable blocks this year were executed by Fine:
¢ Against Toledo on Sept. 15, Fine leveled a Toledo defensive back, allowing Aqib Talib to somersault into the end zone for a 58-yard touchdown.
¢ At Colorado on Oct. 20, Fine pushed a Buffalo defender 20 yards downfield (and out of the play) while quarterback Todd Reesing scrambled for a 53-yard gain behind him.
Fine, like always, plans to have a key role when Kansas plays Virginia Tech next month, as his versatility helps KU’s spread offense work as well as it does.
The trip to Miami will be Fine’s final days as a college football player.
It’s quite a way to go out.
“I’ve never been to Miami,” Fine said. “I’m excited to see what it’s all about.”