Kilian bringing help
This is the third in a series of 12 articles on Hawaii's opponents for the 2004 season. Tomorrow, Nevada.
Tim Chang of Hawaii is the Heisman Trophy candidate, but James Kilian of Tulsa might be the Western Athletic Conference's best all-around quarterback.
He certainly was last year in the Golden Hurricane's 27-16 victory over the Warriors in Tulsa. Kilian somehow managed to lead his team in passing, rushing and receiving in the same game.
Kilian and first-year coach Steve Kragthorpe were the key figures in Tulsa's turnaround last year, in which the Golden Hurricane quadrupled their total of two victories in the previous two years.
Kragthorpe, Kilian and 16 other regular starters are back to see if they can rekindle the magic after they hit a postseason pothole: a 52-10 blowout at the hands of Georgia Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl.
"If I could use one word to describe our 2003 football team it would be unselfish," Kragthorpe said. "We had a bunch of guys who were not concerned with self-glorification, but were more concerned about the team being put in a position where we could all be successful."
Kilian passed for 2,217 and rushed for 605 yards last fall. He is Tulsa's headliner, but he's a blue-collar performer. Kragthorpe, whose father coached at BYU, compares him to Jim McMahon, minus the histrionics.
"If I had a daughter, I would want him knocking on the door," Kragthorpe said.
Kilian's roots at Medford High School in Oklahoma are at the same time spectacular and quaint. He set the national eight-man football passing record with 8,426 yards and 120 touchdowns over four varsity seasons -- good enough for the Oklahoma all-class marks. He also rushed for 2,623 yards and scored 45 TDs setting the national eight-man record for total offense with 11,049 yards.
He's the best quarterback the nation hasn't heard of, and he doesn't care.
"I'll keep doing whatever it takes for us to win," he said last fall. "Each win gets bigger and better and it's really uplifting for our guys who have been around four or five years."
Kilian has two top-notch tight ends to throw to in senior Caleb Blankenship and junior Garrett Mills. Mills led the team with 53 catches (for 456 yards) and 10 receiving touchdowns. Blankenship is the second-leading returning receiver with 33 grabs for 387 yards and two scores.
The top rusher, Eric Richardson, is gone. But Uril Parrish is back. He carried for 537 yards and also returned kickoffs last fall.
Three returning offensive line starters, including 6-foot-7, 329-pound sophomore tackle Jeff Perrett, are back to protect and pave.
The defensive line could be Tulsa's weak spot; the only returning starter is end Jeremy Davis. Two top-notch linebackers return in sophomore Nick Bunting and senior Michael LeDet, and senior corners Oliver Fletcher and Jermaine Hope anchor the secondary.
Junior kicker Brad DeVault is back, but sophomore punter Chris Kindred is new at his job.
The most telling stat from Tulsa's 2003 dream season is that it was outscored by its opponents, 106-83 in the first half. The Hurricane whipped up a 148-91 fourth quarter advantage. That shows Kilian and crew came up with the big plays when they needed them.
The same kind of magic is needed this year for Tulsa to build on college football's biggest turnaround.
tulsahurricane.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/tuls-m-footbl-body.html
UH Athletics
www.hawaiiathletics.com
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