Receiver Kinnie showing strong performance, still striving for first touchdown

Brandon Kinnie got a "T.J. call" on Saturday.

When Kinnie caught a 55-yard bomb from Taylor Martinez, wide receivers coach Ted Gilmore thought it would go for a touchdown.

But it didn't. A Washington defender caught Kinnie from behind and brought him down inside the 1-yard line.

A stiff-arm or a dive likely would have given the junior receiver his first career score.

Instead, he got a T.J. call, something Gilmore said is a joking reference to his clumsy but spirited 7-year-old son, T.J.

"My son's not the most coordinated fella yet," Gilmore said.

So when a wide receiver makes an inelegant play, Gilmore gives them a T.J. call. Mike McNeill also got one Saturday after accidentally tackling Martinez.

But even in spite of the T.J. call, Gilmore and coach Bo Pelini said they were pleased with Kinnie's 105-yard receiving performance.

"Brandon Kinnie did a nice job," Pelini said. "He made some big plays; he had some good third-down conversions. I thought he played well."

Perhaps even more impressive, though, was that Kinnie also contributed in the return and running games, taking a kickoff back 39 yards and making a key block to set up Roy Helu Jr.'s 65-yard touchdown run in the second half.

Gilmore said Kinnie has improved dramatically in his blocking abilities since transferring before last season from Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College. Since arriving, Gilmore said, Kinnie has shown he belongs on the field.

"The minute he showed up on campus, he wanted to do good things," Gilmore said. "He wanted to show that he belongs here."

Kinnie did that late last year, starting two games and recording 15 catches for 141 yards. But his efforts were stymied by the challenges of learning a new offense and adjusting to Division I competition.

"I knew he was a big, raw, talented kid," Gilmore said. "The things we were asking him to do, that detail was not put on him at the (junior college) level."

Now entrenched as a starter opposite Niles Paul and the team leader in receiving yards, Kinnie said he's starting to see his extra work pay off.

So when Helu used his block to help spring into the end zone, Kinnie said it almost felt like he was the one scoring.

"(Gilmore) says we're the difference-makers, and we believe that," Kinnie said. "We've all bought into that. I'm happy like I've scored the touchdown, because it feels good to do that."

Still, after missing the end zone Saturday and landing out of bounds in the end zone during last year's Big 12 Conference Championship game, Kinnie is anxious to find six points to call his own.

"I'm going to get it," he said. "It hurts not to get it, but we won."

And he said knowing that a little extra effort was all he needed to score doesn't make him feel any better.

"I should've dove," he said, "but I thought I was just going to walk it in."

If the receiving touchdowns still don't work out, Kinnie's performance against the Huskies suggested that his elusive touchdown might come in the return game.

He returned a kick for a team-high 39 yards, something that special teams coordinator John Papuchis said helped Nebraska rebound after Husky touchdowns.

"Brandon Kinnie really provided a spark for us," Papuchis said. "One of our weekly goals is to change momentum in the game when we have the opportunity to do so. He really got the momentum back on our side."

As conference season approaches and more top-flight opponents appear on Nebraska's schedule, Gilmore said he thinks the passing game will become a more integral part of the offense.

And when that happens, Kinnie wants to finally score his touchdown — and avoid any more T.J. calls.

mitchsmith@dailynebraskan.com