Heaggans collects first college TD
Wideout hauls in scoring pass from Luke in fourth quarter
Kansas wide receiver Gary Heaggans couldn’t remember the last time he had made a catch that ended with him celebrating in the end zone.
“High school,” Heaggans said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Yeah, that had to be it,” continued the Kansas City, Kan., native, who was the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year in 1999 as a wideout at Schlagle High. “Maybe we were playing Bonner Springs. But wait, I think I scored on an interception.”
There was no uncertainty about the ceremonious reception for the red-shirt junior Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
“I knew the ball was coming to me,” said a smiling Heaggans, who turned a quick out pass from back-up Brian Luke into a 14-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown — which officially concluded the Jayhawks’ outrageous offensive night and gave KU its final tally in a 41-6 victory over Jacksonville State.
“It’s pretty special, being my first collegiate touchdown. I’m just glad I’m out there in the mix again,” said Heaggans, who almost helped his brother break lose for a score Saturday as well.
Heaggan’s younger brother, Greg, is Kansas’ kick returner. With his brother blocking up front, Greg gobbled up 42 yards on a return at the start of the second quarter before he was gang-tackled at midfield.
While the two are no strangers to scoring on the same night — Greg was quarterback while Gary was receiver at Schlagle — Gary hasn’t seen the field much during his collegiate career.
He took a red-shirt his freshman year at Purdue before making only three grabs for 30 yards his second year as a Boilermaker. Last year, Heaggans had to sit out because of NCAA transfer rules.
Kansas University's Brandon Perkins (59) celebrates a sack in the first half against Jacksonville State. Kansas won, 41-6, Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
KU coach Mark Mangino praised Gary Heaggans’ play Saturday and said he had showed such potential throughout spring and fall practices, but lacked consistency.
Mangino said that might not be the case anymore.
“Gary is a guy that we want to get on the field,” Mangino said. “The only issue with Gary has been his consistency, and he knows — he’s his own critic — that he needs to be more consistent.
“He has improved on the practice field, and tonight he got a chance to make some plays. He just needs to sustain that.”
Fellow receiver Charles Gordon said his “good friend,” Gary, was ready to prove that.
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“He works very hard,” Gordon said. “He always has a smile on his face, always in good spirit. He just carried it on to the field tonight.”
Saturday’s moment was also magical for Luke, who lobbed his first collegiate touchdown pass.
“All I did was get him the ball, he made the play after that,” Luke said. “We both were excited. It was my first touchdown pass, it was his first touchdown catch. It was special, definitely.”
While Gary said his journey into a Memorial Stadium end zone was quite the grind, he’ll be grinning about Saturday’s grab for quite a while.
“It was a wait,” Heaggans said, “but definitely worth it. I just hope many more will come.”