KU’s Corey Avery successful in shouldering load

The test of durability was not by design, but Kansas’ Corey Avery passed it anyway.

Avery, a freshman running back, carried the ball 17 times for 58 yards in Saturday’s loss to West Virginia, shouldering the bulk of the load after junior De’Andre Mann left the game early because of an injury. Avery emerged unscathed, the latest positive sign for the young running back.

Avery (5-foot-10, 195 pounds) has thus far survived the physicality of college football, rushing 71 times for 304 yards in five games.

Kansas offensive coordinator John Reagan has been impressed with Avery’s durability. But don’t expect the freshman to start carrying the full load in the backfield.

“That’s not what we want to do,” Reagan said. “I don’t think that when you’re an offense in the Big 12, you want one guy taking that many snaps. You’re not set up for that.”

So it was good news for the Jayhawks on Tuesday, when interim coach Clint Bowen announced that Mann should be healthy and ready to go for this Saturday’s game against Oklahoma State at Memorial Stadium.

As the Kansas passing attack has struggled, both Mann and Avery have performed well. A junior-college transfer, Mann has averaged 5.7 yards per carry. But as the Jayhawks enter the heart of the Big 12 season, their depth at running back could certainly be tested.

After season-ending injuries to seniors Brandon Bourbon and Taylor Cox during fall camp, the KU backfield was essentially down to Avery and Mann. To add depth, freshman Joe Dineen was moved from safety to running back. And senior receiver Tony Pierson, who began his career at running back, has seen some time in the backfield during certain personnel packages.

On Tuesday, Bowen also mentioned little-used fullback Ed Fink, who came in during pass-protection purposes against West Virginia.

“There’s other options we can use to get guys in the backfield and do things to take a little bit of the burden off those two starters,” Bowen said.

That could also mean more touches for Pierson.

For another week, Kansas’ coaches are looking for ways to get Pierson more involved. After touching the ball four times in a home loss to Texas, Pierson had two receptions and one rushing attempt in the 33-14 loss at West Virginia.

“When you have a player of his caliber, he needs to touch the ball,” Bowen said. “(The offensive coaches) have been working hard on ways to get him to touch the ball, but it hasn’t materialized in the game. That’s something that they’re conscious of, and I believe there will be a concerted effort to make sure that Tony becomes a major part of the game.”

QB competition continues – The Jayhawks’ newly-opened three-man competition for quarterback continued on Tuesday. After benching starter Montell Cozart for backup Michael Cummings on Saturday, Bowen said Cozart, Cumming and sophomore T.J. Millweard would all share reps this week at practice. Bowen said all three could potentially see time on Saturday against Oklahoma State.

“We’ll make a decision on one of them this week and let that guy take it and go out there and prove that he can move the offense down the field,” Bowen said. “We have great lines of communication with all three of the young men.

“Everyone is pulling in the same direction here as a team to do whatever we can to go out and win football games.”

Jayhawks get commitment – Just more than a week after Kansas fired Charlie Weis, the Jayhawks’ staff picked up a commitment on the recruiting trail. Aubrey White, a three-star running back from Wylie, Texas, committed to KU this week, according to Rivals.com. White is a member of the 2016 class. He also had offers from Arkansas, Nebraska and TCU, among others.

This story was originally published October 7, 2014 at 8:39 PM with the headline "KU’s Corey Avery successful in shouldering load."