I was able to catch up with former East Ascension wide receiver Steven McBride, who had just gotten back to his on campus housing, after a workout with some upper classmen. The incoming freshman tells me since his arrival in Lawrence, “I’ve just been working out and chilling.” said McBride
We talked about his recruiting process with Coach Miles, how Kansas will use his skill set in the upcoming season, and the reasons he chose the Jayhawks over other possible suitors.
“It was a good feeling” said McBride, regarding his recruitment from Les Miles. “When I went up to the camp, I worked my tail off and did what I needed to do up here (Kansas). The coaches saw something good in me, and that’s when I got the offer.”
From there the connection between the staff at Kansas and McBride grew. “The staff started following me more and more at the beginning of last season” says McBride. “Following me every game, getting a better connection with each other, and I felt like this was the right school for me.”
McBride realized that while at LSU, Coach Miles did not have the best reputation for throwing the football. But through watching how they played last season and how they used their receivers he fell in love with the program. “Watching their film almost every day, I saw that they played all of their receivers, all of their receivers play” says McBride. “Plus, they are going to have me playing inside and outside, I’ll be doing some special teams. So I’ll be working around a lot. So when I called and committed, they told me they had a spot open for me, and that I would definitely be playing. I accepting it, and now I’m here.”
McBride cannot wait to get on the field and show case his talents for Jayhawk fans that earned him the nickname “Moss” at East Ascension, and what he will bring to Kansas. “Mostly going up for the ball” says McBride. “Anytime I’m going up for the ball, with my explosion, my speed, and my athleticism. I want to score every time I touch the ball.”
Since the quarantine started it has been hard for some athletes to get training in to stay in shape for the upcoming season. “At home I stay right next to a cane field” says McBride. “So I do a lot of running through that, without water, to see how I’m doing. Then I’ll do like a lot of 7-on-7 sometimes at the park. Then also doing a lot of drills, going to the field and catch a few balls with the JUGS machine.”
With the absence of a summer camp this year, McBride missed out on bounding time with his coaches and meeting his teammates. He tells me how the Jayhawks overcame this. “We’d go over the playbook and go over these plays in (Zoom) meetings, and then I’d go study them and then go out on the field and do the routes. That was kind of a great experience.”
Expectations are high this year for McBride. “Getting on the field as much as possible” says McBride. “Doing whatever I can to help get W’s for the team. My goal is to make it to the NFL, and I really want to help my family and do whatever it takes to succeed. Where ever the coaches want me to play, I am going to do my best at it.”
Coach Miles knows what kind of athletes live in Louisiana and Steven McBride is a prime example. “I feel that Louisiana has the best athletes in the country” said McBride. “We really do have our own style, our own culture that nobody else can mess with.”
