Ed Warinner, the mastermind behind the Kansas University football team’s no-huddle, spread offense, gets high grades for innovative thinking.
An offensive coordinator’s job can grow pretty complicated, but Warinner’s most brilliant move to date was right in front of his face. Warinner saw a tall, big, fast athlete who had played quarterback and punted all his life and wondered if he might make a good receiver for Todd Reesing, the guy who beat him out of his job.
KU junior Kerry Meier makes Warinner look smarter by the week.
Meier came into the week tied for the national lead in catches per game (9.67), a testament to his route-running and velcro hands. He ended the week running away from the Sam Houston State secondary for a 68-yard touchdown reception in a 38-14 KU victory, a testament to his underrated speed.
“It did creep into my mind a couple of times,” Meier said of switching to receiver.
The thing about Meier, though, he lets his coaches do the talking. It might have stayed in his mind forever.
“A lot of those games I came in late in the fourth quarter just getting some reps at quarterback,” Meier said of early last season. “I kept thinking, ‘Man, I wish I was out the first couple of quarters, see what I can do.’ Sure enough, coach Warinner came up with it.”
Meier might have the makings of an NFL tight end, the position his brother Shad Meier played for five NFL seasons after leaving Kansas State.
“Obviously, to play tight end I’d probably have to put on a couple more pounds,” Meier said. “Right now, it’s not in the picture, but if it should happen to come up down the road, I’ll try to give it my best, and if the team needs me to do it, I’ll step up and do it, but right now I’m going to stick with receiver.”
That doesn’t mean the thought never has surfaced.
“It has,” said Meier, who still spends most of his practice time at QB. “Shadley, my brother who played tight end, has brought it up, maybe putting my hand on the ground and playing some tight end, but it’s up to the coaches what they want me to do.”
For now, more of the same would suffice.
“When we throw the ball to Kerry, as soon as it’s near him, it’s caught,” KU head coach Mark Mangino said.
How does Meier get so open so often?
“He’s smart enough to understand the coverage,” Mangino said. “When he’s in a zone defense. He knows where to sit, knows where the holes are. … And he’s quick, he’s fast. He’s a big guy. He lines up at receiver, and guys see him and say, ‘Boy, he’s an awfully big receiver,’ so they don’t expect him to have a good takeoff off the line. … His takeoff is great, and then he can catch the ball and run away from you, and then with his size and strength, he’s not going to go down on first hit.”
When pressed, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Meier acknowledged he has been timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.5 seconds.
Said Reesing: “He finds a way to get open, and he really understands when I’m scrambling how to get to those soft spots in the coverage. He’s Old Faithful, man. He’s always there when you need him.”
Old Faithful had eight receptions for 136 yards Saturday night, pushing his four-game totals to 37 catches and 389 yards, remarkable production.
