soonerfan28
5/11/2009, 11:19 AM
Nice read from NewsOK.com
Juco transfer: Receiver Cameron Kenney a nice catch for OU
Seeing high school team miss FG kick-started Kenney’s career
By Jake Trotter
Published: May 11, 2009
The advent of Cameron Kenney’s football career can be traced back to a missed field goal his junior year of high school.
Except Kenney, who will join the Oklahoma football team this summer and challenge immediately for a starting spot at wide receiver, didn’t kick the ball.
In fact, he wasn’t even on the field.
Focused on a soccer career, Kenney decided not to go out for football that season. Instead, he watched as Dacula High School rolled all the way to the Georgia state semifinals.
"I was really big into soccer,” Kenney recalled during a phone interview with The Oklahoman. "I didn’t think I had a future in football.”
But that state semifinal changed his thinking.
From the stands, Kenney, likely the team’s place-kicker that season had he played, watched as Dacula misfired on a 30-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game with 3 minutes left. Instead, Brookwood pulled away to advance to the state championship.
"That killed me,” Kenney said. "Just killed me.
"Right then, I decided I was going out for football my senior year.”
In the end, Sooner fans could sure be thankful he did.
As a senior, Kenney thrived as Dacula’s Renaissance man. He started at wide receiver and cornerback. He kicked and punted. He even returned kicks and punts.
Because he only played one year of varsity football, college recruiters never came calling. But Kenney was having too much fun to give up the sport again.
"I loved it,” he said. "I didn’t have any offers. But I figured I would go to some school somewhere for football.”
That school turned out to be Garden City (Kan.) Community College, where over the last two years the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Kenney transformed himself into one of the top junior-college wide receivers in the country, thanks to the development of his physical style and sure hands.
As a wide receiver, Kenney was a two-time, first-team All-Jayhawk Conference selection in 2007 and 2008.
For his role as a kicker, punter and return specialist, Kenney was also named the conference special teams player of the year in 2007.
He was rated the No. 3 JUCO receiver prospect in the 2009 class and appeared destined to return home for his final two years of college.
While home in Atlanta during Christmas break, Kenney told Georgia coach Mark Richt that he was going to go to Georgia.
But when his plane touched down in Kansas, Kenney had a message waiting on his cell phone.
"It was Oklahoma,” he said. "They’re nationally ranked every year. It really got my attention.”
Catching passes from quarterback Sam Bradford also got Kenney’s attention, especially after Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford declared for the NFL Draft.
On his visit to Norman, Kenney hit it off with the Heisman Trophy winner.
"As a player, it speaks for itself,” Kenney said of Bradford. "As a person, you can tell he’s a regular guy like anyone else playing.”
So Kenney bucked the Bulldogs, and signed with the Sooners.
This season, Kenney will be counted on to supply an instant impact at wide receiver, where OU is replacing the steady production of longtime starters Juaquin Iglesias and Manny Johnson. He also wants the opportunity to compete for the starting punting and place-kicking jobs, where the Sooners appear to be unsettled heading into the fall. And Kenney may get the chance to show what he can do as a returner.
"The main reason I chose Oklahoma is I feel like I can come and fit in,” Kenney said. "Maybe not as a superstar.
"But maybe as someone who can help this team win."
Juco transfer: Receiver Cameron Kenney a nice catch for OU
Seeing high school team miss FG kick-started Kenney’s career
By Jake Trotter
Published: May 11, 2009
The advent of Cameron Kenney’s football career can be traced back to a missed field goal his junior year of high school.
Except Kenney, who will join the Oklahoma football team this summer and challenge immediately for a starting spot at wide receiver, didn’t kick the ball.
In fact, he wasn’t even on the field.
Focused on a soccer career, Kenney decided not to go out for football that season. Instead, he watched as Dacula High School rolled all the way to the Georgia state semifinals.
"I was really big into soccer,” Kenney recalled during a phone interview with The Oklahoman. "I didn’t think I had a future in football.”
But that state semifinal changed his thinking.
From the stands, Kenney, likely the team’s place-kicker that season had he played, watched as Dacula misfired on a 30-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game with 3 minutes left. Instead, Brookwood pulled away to advance to the state championship.
"That killed me,” Kenney said. "Just killed me.
"Right then, I decided I was going out for football my senior year.”
In the end, Sooner fans could sure be thankful he did.
As a senior, Kenney thrived as Dacula’s Renaissance man. He started at wide receiver and cornerback. He kicked and punted. He even returned kicks and punts.
Because he only played one year of varsity football, college recruiters never came calling. But Kenney was having too much fun to give up the sport again.
"I loved it,” he said. "I didn’t have any offers. But I figured I would go to some school somewhere for football.”
That school turned out to be Garden City (Kan.) Community College, where over the last two years the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Kenney transformed himself into one of the top junior-college wide receivers in the country, thanks to the development of his physical style and sure hands.
As a wide receiver, Kenney was a two-time, first-team All-Jayhawk Conference selection in 2007 and 2008.
For his role as a kicker, punter and return specialist, Kenney was also named the conference special teams player of the year in 2007.
He was rated the No. 3 JUCO receiver prospect in the 2009 class and appeared destined to return home for his final two years of college.
While home in Atlanta during Christmas break, Kenney told Georgia coach Mark Richt that he was going to go to Georgia.
But when his plane touched down in Kansas, Kenney had a message waiting on his cell phone.
"It was Oklahoma,” he said. "They’re nationally ranked every year. It really got my attention.”
Catching passes from quarterback Sam Bradford also got Kenney’s attention, especially after Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford declared for the NFL Draft.
On his visit to Norman, Kenney hit it off with the Heisman Trophy winner.
"As a player, it speaks for itself,” Kenney said of Bradford. "As a person, you can tell he’s a regular guy like anyone else playing.”
So Kenney bucked the Bulldogs, and signed with the Sooners.
This season, Kenney will be counted on to supply an instant impact at wide receiver, where OU is replacing the steady production of longtime starters Juaquin Iglesias and Manny Johnson. He also wants the opportunity to compete for the starting punting and place-kicking jobs, where the Sooners appear to be unsettled heading into the fall. And Kenney may get the chance to show what he can do as a returner.
"The main reason I chose Oklahoma is I feel like I can come and fit in,” Kenney said. "Maybe not as a superstar.
"But maybe as someone who can help this team win."