Nothing little about Humphrey’s development as go-to weapon

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas – Lil’Jordan Humphrey began this season as the Longhorns’ “other” receiver, a player good enough to enough of a distraction to the opposing defense to draw coverage away from Collin Johnson, Texas’ most dangerous downfield threat.

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But that was then and this – and Humphrey – is now. If Johnson, the Longhorns’ 6-foot-6 matchup nightmare is Texas’ No. 1 receiver, then Humphrey is certainly No. 1A.

Humphrey continues to impress, leading the Longhorns in catches (55), receiving yards (788), and average per catch among Texas’ regular receivers (14.3 yards per reception) while being tied with Johnson for touchdown catches (5).

Humphrey Has His Reasons

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound junior from Southlake Carroll could have wound up a tight end, linebacker or even running back in college as school’s recruited him for various positions. The do-it-all wideout wanted the ball in his hands, though, and Texas gave him that opportunity.

“A lot of people didn’t want me to play running back, a lot of people were saying tight end or linebacker,” he said. “I knew I wasn’t gonna play defense because I want the ball in my hands.

“I feel like I do better with the ball in my hands.”

Tuesday Humphrey said that Texas Tech, the Longhorns’ opponent Saturday, was actually high on his list of schools, but one misstep by the Red Raiders’ staff helped guide him to Texas.

“They were up there, definitely up there. I never got a chance to visit, I wanted to but the coaches never got back to me,” Humphrey said. “I stay motivated, that doesn’t affect me at all.”

Though he wouldn’t say that’s extra motivation for him, the broad smile and pause clearly said otherwise when asked if he remembers it.

“Always,” Humphrey said.

Growing in front of fans’ eyes, Humphrey hauled in a team-high nine throws (one of them a 21-yard TD catch) for 143 yards in Texas’ 42-41 loss to West Virginia last week. The 143 yards and nine receptions both matched his career high; Humphrey has now caught a pass in 19 straight games.

“Development,” Texas coach Tom Herman said when asked about the key to Humphrey’s improvement this year. “He’s got a great coach in Drew Merhinger and Corby Meekins now, too. He has really bought into our way of doing things, has continued to improve and enhance his game.”

Humphrey himself, when offered praise, turned it away and instead focused on the things he sees himself falling short on rather than the greatness he’s producing.

“I don’t think I’ve still figured it out, I’ve got a lot of things I need to work on,” Humphrey said.

Turning Toward the Same Page

His showing against the Mountaineers was the third time he’s gone over 100 yards receiving this season. Humphrey has also run for a touchdown on four carries and thrown for a touchdown on three pass attempts.

Humphrey has led Texas in catches in four of its nine games this season (Johnson has led that category in four others). Humphrey and Johnson are now the eighth duo in school history to both reach 50 receptions in the same season; they now have 105 combined receptions on the year.

“This is a guy that, again, played tailback for most of his life, so this position was still fairly new,” Herman said. “I know everybody wants change to happen overnight and improvement to happen overnight, but it takes time.”

Humphrey hasn’t always been on the same page as his coaches. He was suspended last year for a violation of team rules before the Texas Bowl and sat out the first series of the Longhorns’ 38-35 loss at Oklahoma State two weeks ago because after being tardy to team functions.

He apologized to the team during the Oklahoma State game for breaking team rules and setting a bad example.

“It just wasn’t a good thing for me to be late to anything,” Humphrey said. “That’s just not showing any type of responsibility, so I had to just apologize for it because it was kind of a distraction to the team at that time.”

Filling His Bowl

The buy-in from Humphrey is evident, as he declared Tuesday that he most definitely will play in every game on the Texas schedule — even the one not scheduled yet.

“I’m playing in the bowl game, regardless. I don’t have a ring so..,” he tailed off. “I’m definitely playing in the bowl game.”

Humphrey came to the Forty Acres after playing tailback in high school – he amassed more than 1,800 yards on the ground as a junior – and has expounded on his ball skills as he’s blossomed into one of the Longhorns’ most potent weapons.

Humphrey’s unique first name – his brother wanted to name his after Michael Jordan so his mother compromised with the “Lil” prefix – has earned him plenty of attention over his career.

Now it’s his ball hawking ability that’s turning heads and his surprising lateral agility, leaping ability and strength that have made him a legitimate NFL prospect, perhaps as soon as the end of this season.

“You’re right, though, there’s some of that when we got here he had,” Herman said of Humphrey. “He had that fight-for-the-ball mentality. That’s something that’s difficult to coach and teach. You either kind of have it or you don’t. He certainly has it.

Can Humphrey be the answer for the Horns when opponents try to take way Johnson? He’s certainly done his job well so far.

“LJ would tell you if he were standing here today that he’s still got work to do,” Herman said. “He believes that. We believe that. He’s playing really, really well for us right now.”

Humphrey said just as much.

“I still could do a lot better,” he said.

Habeab Kurdi contributed to this story

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