LAWRENCE, Kan. — Aqib Talib’s goal coming into the season was to intercept 10 passes.
But two games into Kansas’ 2007 schedule the junior cornerback is on pace to reach double digits in a different category. Talib, a team captain, already has two touchdown catches as a wide receiver.
“He’s such a talented guy and you’ve got to get your best guy on the field,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “There’s no question about his ability and you can’t help but use him on offense.”
Talib has lined up on offense for only a handful of plays this season, but he’s gotten the ball almost every time. He has three catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns, making him the Jayhawks’ fourth-leading receiver.
Mangino said if it were up to Talib, he would never come off of the field. His attitude and playmaking ability put Mangino in a tough situation because he has to balance Talib’s playing time on both sides of the ball.
“We’ve got to be smart and pick and choose our battles because he’s a key guy on defense,” Mangino said. “Every once in a while, I get the urge to pull him back up and I’ve just got to fight it.”
One Jayhawk who certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Talib on offense more often is sophomore quarterback Todd Reesing. Although Reesing is already blessed with one of the Big 12’s deepest receiving corps, no one on the roster is quite like Talib.
After all, none of the other receivers score 75 percent of the time they catch a pass, as Talib has done since last season. Reesing said it’s more than Talib’s attraction to the end zone that makes him a valuable asset to the Kansas offense. Talib helps the offense even when he’s not catching the ball, including serving as a great decoy to draw defenders away from other receivers.
“His presence on the field really gets people alerted,” Reesing said.
Opponents aren’t the only ones noticing when the Richardson, Texas, native trots out to his position at slot receiver. It also grabs the attention of all the Jayhawks.
“We usually don’t pay that much attention to the offense because we are trying to figure out what we need to do, but when Aqib goes in we all look up and say ‘All right, we’ve got Aqib in, we’ve got to watch,’ ” senior linebacker Joe Mortensen said. “I’m excited for him.”
The Jayhawks began tinkering with the idea of putting Talib at receiver at the end of last season. He recorded his first reception in the final game against Missouri, scoring a 42-yard touchdown on a screen pass. Instead of catching a deep pass in stride, as he has done on his two 2007 touchdowns, Talib juked his way through the Tigers defense.
Against Central Michigan in the season opener, Reesing launched a 49-yard pass that Talib caught on a seam route. In the second quarter of a 62-0 romp against Southeastern Louisiana, Talib similarly took off toward the end zone, caught the Reesing pass around the 5-yard line and scored.
“I think it was the exact same play we called last week and it was the same result,” Talib said. “Todd threw a nice ball and I made a play on it.”
Mangino has no plans to stop now.
“Aqib’s number one priority is defense but there are some appropriate times that we think he could be helpful,” Mangino said. “There will be days where we will need him for a few more snaps on offense. No question.”