Column: CB Boateng received trial by fire

West Virginia receiver Kevin White catches a touchdown pass over his shoulder as he leaves Kansas cornerback Matthew Boateng behind during the first quarter on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014 at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Dexter McDonald, Kansas University’s talented senior cornerback, ran off the field with his shoulder stinging, and the West Virginia announcers were on it immediately.

“Keep an eye out now on the matchup between Kevin White and a true freshman, Matthew Boateng,” the play-by-play man said.

Two plays later, White got a step on Boateng not far off the line of scrimmage, and Boateng never came close to catching up. Clint Trickett threw it 40 yards in the air and hit White in stride, putting him on his way to a 63-yard touchdown pass.

Boateng joined a long list of cornerbacks to make White’s highlight film.

“It’s a learning experience,” Boateng said. “One day, a couple of receivers will be on my highlight film.”

That’s the perfect way for a cornerback to look at a negative outcome. The position does not treat players with damaged psyches kindly.

“I feel like I can do a better job as far as comparing my speed to another player’s speed and adjusting to that,” Boateng said. “I learned that the hard way this past week going against Kevin White. He’s definitely a great player, and it was a great learning experience going up against a guy like that.”

Boateng said he would play White differently if given another chance.

“I definitely should have played off coverage on him, adjusted to his speed,” Boateng said. “Playing corner is all about adjustments.”

If he covers a receiver against whom he has the speed advantage, he said he can “get more physical with him, get my hands on him at the line, and it’s easier to slow down his routes.”

White’s touchdown purely was a matter of speed, not a case of Boateng being star-struck. Having spent his final two years of high school at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, where draft prospects train every year, Boateng is used to chatting up famous instructors as well as prospects.

“Right after I committed to Kansas, I talked to Michael Irvin,” Boateng said of the former Dallas Cowboys receiver. “I was asking him about coach (Dave) Campo (former Cowboys assistant and head coach).”

Boateng called Campo “a great coach, probably the best corners coach I’ll ever have.”

The freshman from Toronto said that Irvin told him “pretty much everything I’m experiencing now with coach Campo. He’s a great coach, probably the best corners coach I’ll ever have.”

What did Irvin tell him about Campo?

“He’s very wise, and he’s very energetic,” Boateng said. “Some people might try to knock that he’s older, so they’ll think maybe he’s low energy. It’s the total opposite of that. He has the energy and excitement of a 20-year-old coach. He’s been great for me.”

So too have McDonald and JaCorey Shepherd, Boateng said: “Learning from them and just watching them has been a great experience. They’re both almost equally as quick, and their long-field speed is great. They can keep up with anybody in the nation.”

Offered scholarships by Indiana, North Carolina State and USF, Boateng said his decision to come to KU was influenced by how impressed he was with the way Paul Buskirk explained the academic support athletes receive from the department Buskirk heads.

Boateng said he is intrigued with the idea of attending law school. Tutors are available to help him on the road to goals such as that, if he chooses that path.

Coaches and teammates help him with adjusting to the speed of the college, but there is no teacher like experience. Boateng’s mature reaction to getting schooled by White last weekend will help prepare him for the stiff challenges playing Big 12 football presents cornerbacks with on a weekly basis.