Wide receiver Cam Pickett’s first half as a Jayhawk gave a strong indication he could be one of Jalon Daniels’ top weapons throughout the 2025 season.
In Kansas’ season opener on Aug. 23, Pickett scored the first touchdown in the new David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium after leaking out of the backfield on a run-pass option — and then scored again for good measure on the opposite end of the field on a similar play.
But after his sixth and final catch of that opening game, which came in the second quarter, a Fresno State cornerback tackled him awkwardly and he hobbled off the field. Hampered by injury and playing at less than 100%, Pickett was still a periodic inclusion in the Jayhawks’ lineup as a slot receiver, but he caught the ball just seven times over his next four games.
Now, he’s “finally feeling good,” as he put it on Tuesday, and it paid off in KU’s 27-20 win over UCF on Saturday with five catches for 64 yards, including a juggling 38-yarder up the seam to spur the Jayhawks’ game-tying drive in the third quarter.
“Wish I would have stayed up, scored a touchdown,” Pickett said, “but it’s just good to be able to make another play.”
He said he knew he was going to be involved entering the game and was ready to contribute.
“I definitely feel like it’s more things that I can do on the field as opportunities come,” he said.
Offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski said the redshirt junior from Chicago was “probably the healthiest he’s been since game one.” In Pickett’s absence, teammate Emmanuel Henderson Jr. has emerged as the Big 12’s leading receiver, with 488 yards and four touchdowns for good measure.
“So it’s good to be able to take some of the plays off him too and give different looks to the defense so they just can’t always zone in on ‘Hey, Emmanuel’s there,'” Zebrowski said. “Now you put Cam back there and kind of move him around, so it’s really fun to see. And he does really good things when he has the ball in his hands, so it’s great.”
Pickett had largely faded to the background in the intervening weeks. He played only sparingly against Wagner, Missouri and West Virginia, a stretch that included big contributions from Henderson, Levi Wentz and KU’s tight ends.
“Of course you always want to be on the field, but I knew they need to put the players out there that do what the team needs,” Pickett said, “and just kept doing what I needed to do in the training room and just got ready for when my number was called again.”
Pickett actually played a season-high 35 snaps in the Jayhawks’ 37-34 loss to Cincinnati on Sept. 27, but only caught two passes on four targets even as KU aired it out quite a bit. The UCF game had him lined up all over the field, including a dozen snaps in the slot, seven out wide and two in the backfield, according to Pro Football Focus. He got a carry as a running back, something he received quite frequently at Ball State.
“Through the week in practice, we have our game plan, and however I’m involved in that, I’m prepared to do that,” Pickett said. “Of course I try to learn every position so that wherever I might be needed I’m prepared to go in the game, but we kind of go through that throughout the week so we already know what the plan is for Saturday.”
This Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium, Henderson, Pickett and the rest may need to plan to make themselves available to quarterback Jalon Daniels extremely quickly. Texas Tech has PFF’s No. 3 pass rush in the country. David Bailey leads the nation with 33 pressures, and Romello Height has 23.
“As a receiver you always want to get open as soon as possible, so whether (you) might have to get open sooner or not, we’re just always prepared to just get open when we need to,” Pickett said.
Pickett’s found himself open quite a bit. Even with the reduced action, he’s second on the team in catches with 18, and third in yards with 227. He’s still looking for his first touchdown of Big 12 play after snagging three before the start of September.
