It didn’t take Bradley McDougald long to win over the Kansas University coaching staff.
Less than two weeks after the start of summer training camp, Kansas coach Mark Mangino indicated that McDougald would not only contribute as a true freshman this season, but that the receiver from Dublin, Ohio, has performed better than any true freshman he’s had in the program.
“I have not really had a true freshman come in and do what he could do since I’ve been here,” Mangino said Wednesday. “He will play, he’ll be in the mix, he’ll be out on the field — both on the line of scrimmage and on special teams.”
McDougald, a four-star prospect according to Rivals.com, originally committed to play at Ohio State last summer before opting to sign with Kansas. Previously listed as a defensive back, a position he played along with running back in high school, Mangino indicated in the spring that McDougald would play receiver for the Jayhawks.
And apparently, he’s picked the new position up quite nicely.
“(He’s) just had a phenomenal training camp,” said the coach, who also singled out true freshman cornerback Tyler Patmon.
Meanwhile, Mangino added that senior cornerback Justin Thornton has been moved back to safety, the position he played during the Jayhawks’ 2007 Orange Bowl season. Thornton was shifted to cornerback last fall as part of the team’s massive secondary overhaul.
“The reason we did that is because he kind of directs the traffic, he’s an old hand back there,” Mangino said. “He’s been in a bunch of big games at that postition, and we’re starting to feel more comfortable with him there because the corners are starting to develop really well.”
The coach also said Wednesday that Julian Jones, a true freshman linebacker from Lawton, Okla., did not report to training camp and is no longer with the team.
“We talked to him and he wanted to just go somewhere to college close to home,” Mangino said. “And I think he made a good decision.”
