http://www.oregonlive.com/vikingsfootball/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/sports/1187150125117180.xml&coll=7
Extra year, new offense just perfect for Kirkland
He couldn't be happier to get a chance to play in PSU's run and shoot Wednesday, August 15, 2007JIM BESEDA The Oregonian Staff
Portland State's Tremayne Kirkland had been on the football practice field for about two minutes Tuesday morning when he went into some scissors steps and caught a short, bullet pass from wide receivers coach Kevin Strasser.
There wasn't anything extraordinary about the warm-up drill or the fact that Kirkland caught the first ball that was thrown to him on the ninth day of the Vikings' preseason training camp at the Stott Community Field.
What is remarkable is that Kirkland, a rare sixth-year senior, not only gets to play another season of college football, but he also has a chance to star in an offense -- new offensive coordinator Darrel "Mouse" Davis' pass-happy run and shoot -- that is almost every receiver's dream.
"I'm not supposed to be out here," Kirkland said. "Being able to play longer than guys who graduated from high school behind me is weird. The craziest thing is getting a year with this coach.
"I mean, that's the best thing that could have been cookin'."
Davis, who gained national attention during his high-scoring stint as PSU's coach from 1975-80, said the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Kirkland is a little on the skinny side compared to most receivers he has coached, "but it doesn't matter to me, as long as he's durable enough to take a smack."
Kirkland, who had a team-high 38 receptions for 533 yards and seven touchdowns last season, probably will be one of the Vikings' two starting slot receivers in Davis' four-receiver attack. Davis' offense is a proven scheme that most recently saw record outputs at the University of Hawaii.
"Tremayne has excellent athletic ability, but he's struggling a little now trying to get it all learned," Davis said. "If he gets it all learned and starts playing fast, he could be a real, real plus for us. He's what you're looking for in terms of speed, but he's got to get to the point where he can execute."
Three months ago, the Vikings hadn't made any plans for Kirkland, because they still didn't know if the NCAA would approve his petition for an additional season of eligibility.
The NCAA normally allows players five years to complete four seasons of eligibility, but occasionally grants an extra year in cases of extraordinary medical trauma that forces athletes to miss school for rehabilitation.
Kirkland originally went to UNLV after graduating from Sacramento's Hiram Johnson High School in 2002. He sat out his first season at UNLV that fall as a redshirt freshman, played in 2003 and then missed the 2004 season after suffering a separated right shoulder in the Rebels' final preseason scrimmage. Kirkland returned to UNLV to play in 2005 and transferred to PSU before the start of the 2006 season.
It was the season in which he was injured at UNLV that Kirkland wanted reinstated.
Kirkland remembers the day late in May when PSU assistant Jim Craft left a message on his cell phone, asking him to swing by the Vikings' football offices, ASAP.
"Coach Craft didn't say there was a problem, but . . . I thought it was something bad," Kirkland said.
He found Craft, the Vikings' receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, sitting at his desk and alongside Strasser, the team's other receivers coach.
"Coach Craft asked Coach Strasser, 'Do you want to tell him?' " Kirkland recalled. "Coach Strasser is like, 'No, why don't you tell him?' And that was when Coach Craft said, 'You got your year back.'
"I almost started crying."
Kirkland is on pace to graduate next spring with a double major in social science and sociology. And that's significant, not only for what it could mean for Kirkland, but also for what it could mean for his 2-year-old daughter, Talyn, from a previous relationship.
"I have a child now," Kirkland said. "I'm not even thinking about stuff for myself anymore. It's really all about her. So, being able to get a degree from here is going to benefit her more than it will benefit me. That was the biggest thing. She's my motivation."
Kirkland said his daughter lives with her mother and her family in Sacramento. He probably would be in Sacramento, too, if the NCAA hadn't approved his petition.
"It was THE biggest blessing I've ever had, as far as having an opportunity to graduate from Portland State, and having an opportunity to play football again and try to get to the next level," Kirkland said.
Between UNLV and PSU, Kirkland has worked under four coaches (John Robinson and Mike Sanford with the Rebels, and Tim Walsh and Jerry Glanville with the Vikings), five offensive coordinators, and six position coaches.
"Having all those different types of offenses and coaching perspectives has helped me, but by far the run and shoot, and Coach Davis, has the most to offer," Kirkland said. "If you can't fit into the run and shoot, you're either too slow or you don't like football.
"With me being my size and having been blessed with the ability to run a little bit, this offense is perfect."
Davis has said he wants PSU's offense to mirror last season's Hawaii offense, which averaged 559.2 yards per game and featured two slot receivers -- Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen -- who combined on 142 catches for 1,990 yards and 26 touchdowns.
That could translate into some impressive statistics for Kirkland.
"I'm not going to set a goal of like 1,000 receiver yards or 'X' number of touchdowns, because you might be able to achieve way beyond that," Kirkland said. "I'm just trying to concentrate on making a play every time I have an opportunity."
Notes:
Portland State is ranked No. 13 in The Sports Network's preseason Football Championship Subdivision poll released Tuesday. The Vikings finished the 2006 season ranked 19th. Three teams on PSU's 2007 schedule also are in the preseason top 25: No. 2 Montana, No. 10 McNeese State and No. 21 Montana State. . . .
The goal-post crossbar that the Vikings ordered to replace the one that was vandalized the week before camp arrived Monday, but turned out to be the wrong size. As a result, the Vikings ended up taking the damaged crossbar, which had been snapped off at the joint where it meets the standard, and were preparing to weld it back together.
Extra year, new offense just perfect for Kirkland
He couldn't be happier to get a chance to play in PSU's run and shoot Wednesday, August 15, 2007JIM BESEDA The Oregonian Staff
Portland State's Tremayne Kirkland had been on the football practice field for about two minutes Tuesday morning when he went into some scissors steps and caught a short, bullet pass from wide receivers coach Kevin Strasser.
There wasn't anything extraordinary about the warm-up drill or the fact that Kirkland caught the first ball that was thrown to him on the ninth day of the Vikings' preseason training camp at the Stott Community Field.
What is remarkable is that Kirkland, a rare sixth-year senior, not only gets to play another season of college football, but he also has a chance to star in an offense -- new offensive coordinator Darrel "Mouse" Davis' pass-happy run and shoot -- that is almost every receiver's dream.
"I'm not supposed to be out here," Kirkland said. "Being able to play longer than guys who graduated from high school behind me is weird. The craziest thing is getting a year with this coach.
"I mean, that's the best thing that could have been cookin'."
Davis, who gained national attention during his high-scoring stint as PSU's coach from 1975-80, said the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Kirkland is a little on the skinny side compared to most receivers he has coached, "but it doesn't matter to me, as long as he's durable enough to take a smack."
Kirkland, who had a team-high 38 receptions for 533 yards and seven touchdowns last season, probably will be one of the Vikings' two starting slot receivers in Davis' four-receiver attack. Davis' offense is a proven scheme that most recently saw record outputs at the University of Hawaii.
"Tremayne has excellent athletic ability, but he's struggling a little now trying to get it all learned," Davis said. "If he gets it all learned and starts playing fast, he could be a real, real plus for us. He's what you're looking for in terms of speed, but he's got to get to the point where he can execute."
Three months ago, the Vikings hadn't made any plans for Kirkland, because they still didn't know if the NCAA would approve his petition for an additional season of eligibility.
The NCAA normally allows players five years to complete four seasons of eligibility, but occasionally grants an extra year in cases of extraordinary medical trauma that forces athletes to miss school for rehabilitation.
Kirkland originally went to UNLV after graduating from Sacramento's Hiram Johnson High School in 2002. He sat out his first season at UNLV that fall as a redshirt freshman, played in 2003 and then missed the 2004 season after suffering a separated right shoulder in the Rebels' final preseason scrimmage. Kirkland returned to UNLV to play in 2005 and transferred to PSU before the start of the 2006 season.
It was the season in which he was injured at UNLV that Kirkland wanted reinstated.
Kirkland remembers the day late in May when PSU assistant Jim Craft left a message on his cell phone, asking him to swing by the Vikings' football offices, ASAP.
"Coach Craft didn't say there was a problem, but . . . I thought it was something bad," Kirkland said.
He found Craft, the Vikings' receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, sitting at his desk and alongside Strasser, the team's other receivers coach.
"Coach Craft asked Coach Strasser, 'Do you want to tell him?' " Kirkland recalled. "Coach Strasser is like, 'No, why don't you tell him?' And that was when Coach Craft said, 'You got your year back.'
"I almost started crying."
Kirkland is on pace to graduate next spring with a double major in social science and sociology. And that's significant, not only for what it could mean for Kirkland, but also for what it could mean for his 2-year-old daughter, Talyn, from a previous relationship.
"I have a child now," Kirkland said. "I'm not even thinking about stuff for myself anymore. It's really all about her. So, being able to get a degree from here is going to benefit her more than it will benefit me. That was the biggest thing. She's my motivation."
Kirkland said his daughter lives with her mother and her family in Sacramento. He probably would be in Sacramento, too, if the NCAA hadn't approved his petition.
"It was THE biggest blessing I've ever had, as far as having an opportunity to graduate from Portland State, and having an opportunity to play football again and try to get to the next level," Kirkland said.
Between UNLV and PSU, Kirkland has worked under four coaches (John Robinson and Mike Sanford with the Rebels, and Tim Walsh and Jerry Glanville with the Vikings), five offensive coordinators, and six position coaches.
"Having all those different types of offenses and coaching perspectives has helped me, but by far the run and shoot, and Coach Davis, has the most to offer," Kirkland said. "If you can't fit into the run and shoot, you're either too slow or you don't like football.
"With me being my size and having been blessed with the ability to run a little bit, this offense is perfect."
Davis has said he wants PSU's offense to mirror last season's Hawaii offense, which averaged 559.2 yards per game and featured two slot receivers -- Davone Bess and Ryan Grice-Mullen -- who combined on 142 catches for 1,990 yards and 26 touchdowns.
That could translate into some impressive statistics for Kirkland.
"I'm not going to set a goal of like 1,000 receiver yards or 'X' number of touchdowns, because you might be able to achieve way beyond that," Kirkland said. "I'm just trying to concentrate on making a play every time I have an opportunity."
Notes:
Portland State is ranked No. 13 in The Sports Network's preseason Football Championship Subdivision poll released Tuesday. The Vikings finished the 2006 season ranked 19th. Three teams on PSU's 2007 schedule also are in the preseason top 25: No. 2 Montana, No. 10 McNeese State and No. 21 Montana State. . . .
The goal-post crossbar that the Vikings ordered to replace the one that was vandalized the week before camp arrived Monday, but turned out to be the wrong size. As a result, the Vikings ended up taking the damaged crossbar, which had been snapped off at the joint where it meets the standard, and were preparing to weld it back together.
