Kansas defensive tackle Caleb Blakesley grimaces after a South Florida extra point during the third quarter Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Thanksgiving in the Blakesley household has reached legendary proportions. Well, make that very, very large proportions.

Patricia Blakesley (or, Mama, as she refers to herself) sets out a spread big enough for an army with all the fixin’s: a 22-pound ham, 21-pound turkey, dressing, gravy, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, jello salad, rolls, pies …

“Pretty much everything is from scratch,” Patricia said proudly. “The only thing I probably don’t do from scratch is my pie crust. By the time I get done with them, you can’t even tell they’re from scratch.”

With all apologies to Anthony Collins, this Mama’s gotta make others eat.

It’s the ultimate conundrum for a guy like Caleb Blakesley, Kansas University’s starting football left defensive tackle and son of Patricia. Indulge too much and pack on a few pounds on excursions home to Ottawa, and face the consequences of cardio workouts when football practices resume.

“Caleb is a good eater,” his father, Gregory, said. “There’s no doubt about that. He has to kind of contain himself when he comes home because he says, ‘Well, I don’t want to go back and have to do cardio.'”

Said Patricia: “It just bugs the dickens out of me that they have to watch their diet so they don’t gain too much weight. I just love to bake, and I want him to eat.”

The food at the Blakesley house is so good that Patricia’s cooking has become somewhat famous among players. Defensive end Russell Brorsen was one of the fortunate ones who came home with Caleb to take part in the Thanksgiving festivities at the Blakesley house this year.

“You can tell how big he’s got, ‘cuz his mom cooks good food, and there’s a lot of it,” Brorsen said. “It’s understandable how he’s 300 (pounds).”

Linebacker Joe Mortensen hasn’t made the trek to Ottawa yet, but he has heard stories.

“I’m definitely thinking about it,” said the 250-pound Mortensen, “but I don’t know if I can gain that much weight.”

Yes, Caleb Blakesley is a big boy, and he has heard plenty of ribbing about it. But the 6-foot-5, 292-pound junior also knows what to do with his powerful frame on the football field. And he didn’t bulk up just for fun.

“I gained all that weight because I had to, because I changed positions,” he said.

Caleb trained himself enough to turn into a defensive force, switching from defensive end to defensive tackle following a red-shirt season his first year at Kansas. After slimming down to roughly 240 pounds to play on the end, he built back up to hover around 300 pounds and wreak havoc at his new position, left defensive tackle. This season, he has played in 11 of 12 games for the 7-5 Jayhawks, only missing one because of a minor injury to his left knee. He started 10 of those games, with seven solo tackles and 14 assists.

“He’s one of those guys that does his job,” Brorsen said. “He’s not going to go out and get four sacks in a game, but he’s not going to be the guy that’s out of his gap every play, either. I think that’s carried him to where he’s at.”

Where he’s at is among the upper echelon of players at his position in the conference. He earned an honorable-mention selection on the All-Big 12 defensive unit for his play at left tackle.

And he’ll look to continue his stellar play against Minnesota on Wednesday at the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz.

“This year, we’re just kind of battling through stuff, had a lot of guys banged up, but we’re fighting,” Caleb Blakesley said. “We’re going to go out and end the season on top.”

If that happens at the Insight Bowl, it would mean Blakesley was a part of the first back-to-back bowl victories in Kansas football history.

That’s cause enough for celebration. So, too, is the refrigerator he’ll finally be able to raid back home in Ottawa when the season ends. There, he’ll be free to eat all Mama’s cooking he can get.

Until spring practice begins, at least.