Kerry Meier didn’t even have to do much – just take a snap and hand it off to running back Jon Cornish – for the butterflies to take a hike for good in his first collegiate game.

“I was pretty nervous. I can’t tell a lie,” Meier said. “But after the first play, it was all smooth sailing.”

It certainly was.

Meier passed for 110 yards and rushed for 59 more in Kansas University’s 49-18 football victory over Northwestern State on Saturday.

While those statistics don’t scream Heisman, it was a welcome sight to Meier’s teammates to see game management executed so well by a freshman.

At the beginning of the night, Meier was trying to shake off jitters. At the end, he was finishing a 31-yard touchdown run by leaping toward the corner of the end zone, a move seemingly straight out of a video game.

“I always thought he was a fast guy,” Cornish said, “but he showed me new moves, like a little pony kick. It was pretty interesting.

“He didn’t get any height on his dive, though.”

Meier said he’d consult with the game film before agreeing or disagreeing with Cornish about the dive. But in all seriousness, Meier seemed to do what was expected out of freshman quarterback – don’t burn up the stat sheet, but get the team into scoring position and get the victory.

“I thought he did a great job for his first night out,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “You could see he stayed poised. He made a few mistakes here and there, but he didn’t let it rattle him. You can just see that he has the ability to throw and run.”

Meier had four touchdowns – two passing and two rushing – and threw just one interception, under heavy pressure from Northwestern State’s defense. His first completion as a college quarterback was a 10-yard touchdown to Marcus Henry, after the KU coaches elected to let Cornish carry the load early on.

“We were a little conservative early in the game with him, and I told Nick Quartaro, ‘Let’s let this guy play. Let’s let him loose,'” Mangino said. “There’s no sense in trying to get conservative and ease him in. He has the ability to make plays. Let’s let him do it.”

The praises came from all directions.

Eric Washington compared Meier to NFL quarterback Tom Brady.

Marcus Herford said Meier’s presence in the huddle was “very vocal.”

Cornish said, “I like to call him just simply ‘The Magic’ because he does just that.”

Meier’s biggest critic seems to be himself. Good thing for him, he has 11 more games to give himself better grades.”

“An average performance,” Meier said. “Always looking to get better.”