WR Kircus will be tall order for Valdosta St.

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Posted 6:32AM on Friday, December 13, 2002

ALLENDALE, MICHIGAN - When David Kircus reported to Grand Valley State football camp as a freshman running back, Lakers coaches started thinking that he might make a decent wide receiver. They were right. Kircus and the Lakers play Valdosta State Saturday afternoon in Florence, Ala., in the NCAA Division II national championship game. And while much of pregame talk has focused on Lakers quarterback Curt Anes, a Harlon Hill trophy finalist, Kircus likely will draw plenty of attention from a Valdosta team fully aware that he's been on the receiving end of 32 touchdown passes this season. That's 26 more receiving TDs than Grand Valley's Terrance Banks, who has 89 catches for 1,104 yards. Kircus' TD catches also are four more than the single season NCAA Division II record he set a year ago. ``He's a real competitor,'' Anes said. ``He's done a good job all four years against any type of coverage he gets. He's played tough for us, especially when we're in the red zone.'' Kircus caught four touchdown passes from Anes in last weekend's 44-7 victory over Northern Colorado in the semifinals, tying a single season-game record for Division II playoffs. In Grand Valley's first three playoff games, Kircus has 18 receptions for 274 yards and nine touchdowns. For the season, he has 66 catches for 1,071 yards. His 194 points make him the school's third all-time leading scorer. An All-American his junior season, Kircus is the Division II career leader in touchdown receptions with 73 and is seventh in career Division II receiving yards with 3,872. He averaged a touchdown catch every two receptions this season and every three receptions for his career. He also currently holds the all-division college football record for consecutive games with a TD catch (23). Kircus points to one main reason for his successes. ``The biggest key is the guy throwing the ball to me,'' he said. ``I've had Curt here my entire career. He's the reason I've done so well.'' Head coach Brian Kelly agrees. ``As a defense, you don't want to double-team David or that will get someone else open and Curt will take advantage of it,'' Kelly said. ``Teams also have to look after Terrence Banks who leads us in pass catches. And we have such a solid running attack.'' When he came to Grand Valley in 1998 from Imlay City, near Flint, Kircus had been a running back, although he did catch 19 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons. ``I knew at the college level that I would play wide receiver because of my height,'' said the 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior. ``The thing that stood out about David when he came to us was his outstanding vertical leap,'' Kelly said. ``It's now in the 40-inch vertical range. He had all the tools to be a great wide receiver.'' Grand Valley has produced outstanding pass catchers in previous years, including Jeff Chadwick and Rob Rubick, who both later played with the Detroit Lions. Kircus may have a pro career ahead of him, but right now he is trying to help Grand Valley win its first national football title. ``When he came here in 1998, we thought he was ready to play but still decided to redshirt him,'' Kelly said. ``But because that means we've got him this year, I'm glad we made that decision.''