Tulsa World: Big-play athletes

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Big-play athletes

Oklahoma State sophomore wide receiver/kick returner Dez Bryant (center) celebrates with students following the Cowboys' win over Houston on Sept. 6 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. Bryant enters Saturday night's game at Missouri ranked first in the Big 12 Conference in receiving touchdowns (nine) and average yards per punt return (23.5). STEPHEN HOLMAN/Tulsa World

By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
Published: 10/10/2008 2:12 AM
Last Modified: 10/10/2008 3:44 AM

Cowboys' Bryant, Tigers' Maclin are game changers

Wide receivers Dez Bryant and Jeremy Maclin are among the more athletically gifted performers in college football, and on Saturday they will occupy the same field Missouri's Faurot Field, site of the 7 p.m., ESPN2-televised clash of 17th-ranked Oklahoma State and the third-ranked Tigers.

"It changes games . . . when you put big-play athletes on the field," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "It's going to have a significant impact on the outcome."

OSU's Bryant and Mizzou's Maclin are similar in that both are versatile and outfitted with blazing speed.

Bryant has scored 11 touchdowns nine on pass receptions and two on punt returns (71 and 78 yards). He averages 20.4 yards per catch and a Big 12-best 23.5 yards on punt returns. Maclin averages 15.5 yards on receptions and 30.3 on kickoff returns. He has scored six TDs for the Tigers, who are 5-0 overall, 1-0 in the Big 12.

"We want to score on every play, if possible," Maclin said this week.

Statistics suggest that the Tigers are, in fact, a threat to score on every play. They have gained more than 20 yards on 35 snaps from scrimmage this season. They average 53.4 points, 568.8 yards per game and 8.2 yards per snap.

In last week's 52-17 demolition of Nebraska, Maclin scored on pass plays of 58 and 49 yards.

"I don't know (Maclin) personally, but I'm very familiar with him as a player," Bryant said. "Give the man his props. He's good. He's the real deal."

Said Cowboy safety-linebacker Andre Sexton: "Maclin is similar to Dez, and I know how hard Dez is to contain in practice. It's going to be a big task for our corners and secondary."

OSU (5-0, 1-0) is attempting to reach the 6-0 mark for only the third time in school history. If the Cowboys can record the upset before an expected sellout crowd at Mizzou, it's quite likely that the 6-2, 215-pound Bryant will have been a prominent factor.

To be showcased in a prime-time national telecast is "exciting," Bryant said, "but what motivates me is that we are 5-0. If we keep playing the way we've been playing, we can get through anybody."

The Tigers are quarterbacked by senior Chase Daniel, considered perhaps the current frontrunner for the Heisman Trophy. In December 2004, in a Texas Class 5A Division II state semifinal showdown at Baylor's Floyd Casey Stadium, Daniel's Southlake Carroll team was matched with Bryant's Lufkin High School squad. Bryant was a sophomore, but already a star.

Daniel rallied Southlake Carroll for a 37-30 victory, and the Dragons went on to complete a 16-0, state championship season.

"I saw (Bryant) first-hand. I know the capabilities he has," Daniel said. "I saw him make circus catches over our defensive backs and almost single-handedly beat us. He's a great, great player, and he's starting to get a lot more mention now. We'll have our hands full."

Bryant has a detailed recall of that Southlake Carroll-Lufkin classic.

"Chase Daniel was the best quarterback I had ever seen in my life," Bryant said. "Nobody could tackle him. He was making plays all over the field. I remember (Southlake Carroll) had a fourth-and-15 play, and if we stopped them, we would win the game. Chase Daniel broke three tackles and threw for a first down. They scored and we lost."

Bryant savors the rematch with Daniel.

"It will be good to play against him again," Bryant said. "The stakes are high."

Bill Haisten 581-8397
bill.haisten@tulsaworld.com

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NO. 17 OKLAHOMA STATE AT NO. 3 MISSOURI

7 p.m. Saturday Faurot Field, Columbia Mo. TV: ESPN2-26 Radio: KFAQ am1170 and KRVT am1270

Tale of the tape

A statistical comparison of OSU’s Dez Bryant and Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin. The sophomore wide receivers are showcased in Saturday’s meeting of the Cowboys and Tigers:

Jeremy Maclin	Dez Bryant
6-foot-1, 200 pounds	6-foot-2, 215 pounds
Kirkwood, Mo.	Lufkin, Texas
Receptions: 31 (5th)	Receptions: 27 (tie-6th)
Yards per catch: 15.5 (6th)	Yards per catch: 20.4 (2nd)
Receiving TDs: 5 (tie-4th)	Receiving TDs: 9 (1st)
Yards per kickoff return: 30.3 (2nd)	Yards per punt return: 23.5 (1st)
Kickoff return TDs: 1	Punt-return TDs: 2
All-purpose yards per game: 186.8 (1st)	All-purpose yards per game: 178.4 (2nd)

By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer

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