Even if Chris Owusu never fields another kickoff again, he'll remain Stanford's record-holder with 28.1 yards per return. That's more than the Arizona Wildcats' record-holder, too.
So it's not surprising to hear the senior wide receiver describe the return game thusly.
"It's awesome to see the hard work during practice come together, and see things unfold," he said. "It's fun out there.
"While you're seeing the hole develop, you're seeing guys struggle and strain for you. It makes you go out there and try to run even faster."
The UA will have plenty to fret about Saturday night at Arizona Stadium: Andrew Luck, the likely No. 1 overall pick in next spring's NFL draft; an offense whose 50.5 points per game is tied for fourth-best nationwide; and a defense that's allowed the 11th-fewest points in America.
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Add Owusu - both as Luck's favorite target and as a kick returner - to that list.
He's finally healthy, after missing six games last season with a smattering of injuries and parts of 2008 with a torn right medial collateral ligament.
"I learned not to take this game for granted," he said. "I love this game so much. It can be taken away from you."
That appreciation might actually help Owusu once he fields a kickoff.
"The thing with kick returners is, No. 1, you have to have a feel; you have to have some level of patience," Stanford coach David Shaw said. "And, No. 2, you have to have the speed to get to the hole when it's there."
Owusu can do that.
He has seven career returns of more than 50 yards, including a 59-yarder this season against San Jose State, and three returns for touchdowns.
"You know you have one chance to make big plays," he said. "Our whole special teams as a unit, we take pride in knowing we only get limited plays to go out there and make momentum-changers."
With the Cardinal under center, Owusu is just as dangerous.
He leads the team with 14 catches and 182 yards and one touchdown.
He often finds himself in single coverage, a product of defenses baffled by Stanford's expert formation shifts and play-calling balance.
"You play the run, and they throw it," UA coach Mike Stoops said. "You play the pass, and they run it."
Stoops called Owusu an impressive athlete.
"They know how to get him the football," he said. "They do as good a job as anybody of moving around their personnel and getting you into something where they have an advantage.
"That's the challenge of playing these guys: A lot of times, you're matched up one-on-one because they run the ball so effectively."
Luck, who Stanford did not make available to out-of-town reporters this week, has made his name picking apart those matchups.
His passing yards aren't always jump-off-the-page gaudy, but few are more effective. Only one active player - Boise State's Kellen Moore - has a superior passing efficiency to Luck.
"He's so self-critical," said Owusu, whose high school quarterback at Oaks Christian in Westlake Village, Calif., was the NFL's Jimmy Clausen. "He's never satisfied with how he played."
"Andrew's so accurate, and consistent."
Add that to the list of UA headaches.
Which start, quite literally, with Saturday's kickoff.
High-octane owusu
28.1
Chris Owusu's Stanford record for kickoff return average
7
Owusu's career returns for 50 or more yards
