Young guns: Freshman WRs make plays for Kansas

By Matt Tait Oct 10, 2015

Nick Krug

Kansas wide receiver Steven Sims Jr. (16) runs in the Jayhawks' lone touchdown past Baylor cornerback Tion Wright (3) during the first quarter on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015 at Memorial Stadium.

The Kansas University football team seems to get younger by the week, and Saturday’s 66-7 loss to No. 3 Baylor continued that trend.

Three true freshmen accounted for 38 percent of KU’s completions to wide receivers (6 of 16) and more than half of KU’s receiving yardage (56 percent) during the loss.

Jeremiah Booker, playing in his first career game, led Kansas with 39 yards on three receptions.

Steven Sims Jr., added one reception for 36 yards and the lone KU touchdown — a first-quarter strike from true freshman quarterback Ryan Willis.

Emmanuel Moore chipped in with 14 yards on two receptions.

This, on a day when KU was without leading receiver Tre’ Parmalee (242 yards, 1 TD on 15 receptions), who is out indefinitely because of a concussion. Receiver Bobby Hartzog Jr., also missed Saturday’s game with a knee injury. Both players are listed as “out indefinitely.”

The Willis-to-Sims TD hook-up marked the first freshman-to-freshman pitch and catch score since 2003, when Adam Barmann hit running back John Randle for a 39-yard TD pass against Texas A&M.

Willis also became the first true freshman to throw a TD pass at Kansas since Todd Reesing threw two against Colorado in October, 2006.

— See what people were saying about the game during the KUsports.com live blog.

More news and notes from Kansas vs. No. 3 Baylor

Taylor Cox plays for first time in more than two years

Show/Post Comments

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.