College football: Central Ohio Watch
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
By Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Charlie Riedel | Associated Press
Bradley McDougald, a freshman from Dublin Scioto, has caught 18 passes for 180 yards for 4-0 Kansas.
Bradley McDougald had a lot to think about when he embarked on a 10-hour drive by himself from his home in Dublin to the University of Kansas, where he would be a freshman receiver.
It was June 6, and he looked at it as the first day of the rest of his life.
"I left about midnight and drove to Missouri to spend the night in a motel," McDougald said. "I finished the drive off the next day. I was driving to a whole new start. I was going away from family. I had all my stuff packed into that car. There was a lot to think about. I was a little nervous and really anxious."
When he got to Lawrence, Kan., father Anthony Hairston was waiting to help him unpack. Hairston got there by airplane.
After that, McDougald, 18, was on his own for the first time.
"I just went after it starting with the strength and conditioning program," he said. "I ran and lifted heavy. I came in at 186 pounds and now I'm 199, 200 pounds. I took what I learned from high school and listened a lot once I got here. I was aggressive."
It was obvious to coach Mark Mangino that McDougald wasn't redshirt material. In fact, he was going to play a lot.
"I have not really had a true freshman come in and do what he can do since I've been here," Mangino said. "He understands what we're trying to do and how we're trying to do it."