LINCOLN — Brandon Kinnie doesn't think lessons learned during two years of junior college make him tougher or stronger-willed than other Nebraska receivers.
He understands that others may have received their reality check in other ways.
But Kinnie needed a life transformation, and that's why he considers his time at Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College so important to his development as a player and person.
Without his stint at Fort Scott, Kinnie says he certainly wouldn't be who he is now — a vocal locker-room leader who's the No. 1 receiver and kickoff returner for the nation's sixth-ranked team.
“I'm not knocking any guys, calling them weak. Everybody has their own story,” Kinnie said. “But when you go to junior college, you learn something different. ... I know I learned a valuable lesson. It taught me how to work hard, how to become a man and take responsibility.”
Fort Scott is where Kinnie grew up and eventually overcame his immaturity, once his greatest flaw.
But it wasn't easy.
Two days before his junior college career was supposed to begin, Fort Scott coach Jeff Sims sat Kinnie down and told his gifted receiver that he was going to redshirt.
Kinnie didn't say a word. He charged out of his head coach's office and dialed up his mom to see if she'd take him home. Mom told him to stick it out.
Grudgingly, Kinnie listened, though he didn't stop acting like the “knucklehead” kid he was in high school, the big shot who never focused on academics until it was too late. He lost out on a scholarship to Kansas State because of that, effectively failing to capitalize on any exposure gained by playing with touted quarterback Josh Freeman at Grandview (Mo.) High School.
So during the fall of 2007 at Fort Scott, Kinnie followed his mom's advice and practiced as a redshirt, but he spent half the season sleepwalking through practices and drills.
“He just wouldn't speak to me, for like six weeks. And I'm the head coach, his position coach,” Sims said. “But I kept telling him that it was going to pay off, that he'd understand one day.”
Sims was right.
The season on the sidelines refocused Kinnie, who made a substantial jump in the ensuing spring practices. Teams such as Kansas, Kansas State, Arkansas and Nebraska started showing interest.
And that year off allowed Kinnie to take three years of eligibility to the Division I level. That proved key last season, because when he finally grasped the NU playbook midway through the year, the coaches had no hesitancy to play Kinnie.
“I'm glad I took this route,” he said.
The NU coaching staff is, too. Kinnie has emerged as a valuable contributor.
He caught three passes for 34 yards against South Dakota State, but Martinez targeted him four other times and Cody Green threw his way twice. Kinnie now has had at least one reception in 12 straight games.
On running plays, defensive backs have difficulty maneuvering around his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame. Kinnie cleared the sideline for Roy Helu on a 65-yard touchdown run at Washington.
Assistant coach John Papuchis asked Kinnie to field kickoffs. He's averaging 26 yards on four returns.
But Kinnie's still not satisfied.
He is pushed every day for his spot, and the coaching staff demands perfection. Plus, his phone will buzz a few times each week, displaying a humbling text message from his junior college coach.
“He would catch the ball, break three tackles, run 40 yards and then he'd fumble — that was Brandon Kinnie his freshman year,” Sims said. “His hands are so big, he palms the football and carries it by the laces. He's still doing that.”
Kinnie appreciates the reminders. It helps to recall the days when he boarded a bus lugging his duffel bag, packed with his pads, to play a junior college game at a high school stadium. Fort Scott didn't give him scholarship checks, access to a nutritionist or brand new socks whenever needed.
Kinnie doesn't take anything for granted, not any more. It's why the hard-working junior believes he will keep getting better as time goes on.
“You just have to embrace (junior college) and say, ‘Look, this is what I've got to do,'” Kinnie said. “I'd be running and doing all this ridiculous stuff that Coach Sims would have us doing and I'd tell someone, the other players, ‘Man, this better pay off.' ... And it did. It still is.”
Contact the writer:
402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com
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