Most Crucial Jayhawks 2016: No. 2 – WR LaQuvionte Gonzalez
photo by: John Young
Kansas receiver LaQuvionte Gonzalez takes off after catching a pass during the first day of spring practice on Sunday afternoon at the practice fields north of Memorial Stadium.
We’ve reached the Top 2 spots in our summer countdown and one of them comes from the offense and the other comes from the defense.
In all, our list of the Top 25 most crucial Jayhawks for the 2016 season includes 13 offensive players and 12 defensive players, which speaks to the balance needed for the Jayhawks to become competitive, but also to the fact that it’s the offense that has a little farther to go and the most room for improvement.
No player on the roster should help with that as much as the No. 2 athlete on our board. And his positioning near the top of this list clearly illustrates his importance.
Reminder: This is not a list of the 25 best players on this year’s team. That would be much easier to pinpoint and, although still key, would not exactly demonstrate the full value that each player has in regard to the 2016 season.
This is a list of the 25 players who need to have strong seasons in order for the Jayhawks to have a chance to compete.
Tom Keegan and I came up with the list by each making our own list of 25 and then combining the results. We did the same thing for the last two years, but the amount of fresh faces made this list much tougher to put together.
Track the list every weekday at KUsports.com, where we’ll unveil the list one-by-one in reverse order. And, in case you miss some, be sure to check the links at the bottom of each entry for an up-to-date look at the list of 25.
2. LaQuvionte Gonzalez, Jr. Wide Receiver
There have been a few exciting play makers come through the Kansas football program during recent years, even though KU’s rough record during that time may have overshadowed their talent.
Tony Pierson was electric, lightning fast and a threat to score every time he touched the ball. Nick Harwell, though only eligible for one season, had a knack for making plays all over the field. Daymond Patterson and D.J. Beshears also both played bigger on the field and in the highlights than their frames suggested they would.
But if everything we’re hearing is true, it’s possible that all of them will pale in comparison to finally-eligible Texas A&M transfer LaQuvionte Gonzalez, who figures to be both the focal point and one of the leaders of the Kansas offense in 2016.
Gonzalez, as has now been well documented, carries a couple of nicknames that hint at his top skill — Speedy Gonzalez and The Streakin’ Puerto Rican. And it’s those nicknames and that skill that have the KU coaching staff dreaming up all kinds of different ways for Gonzalez to touch the ball on offense this season.
You name it, he’ll probably do it. And that’s not giving anything away to opposing defenses because, with all of that versatility, no one will ever know exactly how and when KU plans to utilize Gonzalez.
From lining him up out wide to putting him in the slot, he’s a threat at several receiver positions. From those same spots, Gonzalez can — and likely will — come in motion and take direct snaps or run reverses. The possibility even exists that he’ll actually line up in the backfield and take some direct snaps out of the Wildcat formation and/or possibly even look to throw while streaking out to the edge after getting the ball.
His usage is limitless and he’s in such good shape — mentally and physically — that it’s easy to expect and predict him to be on the field as often as humanly possible.
The key to all this, of course, will be finding the right quarterback to get him the ball and, perhaps more importantly, finding an offensive line that can protect that QB. If those two positions hold up even just reasonably well, Gonzalez should have a terrific opportunity to put up some big time stats. Opposing defenses clearly will have something to say about it, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to see a scenario in which Quiv — that’s another of his nicknames — touches the ball on average 10-12 times per game this season.
He showed in the spring game, beyond a shadow of the doubt, what he is capable of, turning a seemingly easy and harmless completion into a big play. And he’ll be asked to do a lot more of that when the Jayhawks line up against the 12 teams on their 2016 schedule this fall.
Some within the program have called him the most dynamic player in a KU uniform since Aqib Talib and Gonzalez’s ability to impact the game as a kick returner as well, puts him in position to have a dual-impact much the way Talib did during his days as a Jayhawk.
It’s hard to know exactly where to set the bar of expectations for Gonzalez, but this much is clear: KU’s offense needs him to be as good as advertised in order for the whole thing to click. Because if he is, that puts all of the other wideouts on the roster in a better position to make plays and also takes some of the burden off of the QBs and opens up the running game, as well.
Top 25 Most Crucial Jayhawks of 2016: