By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Great Bend's Austin Levingston has made some headlines in the swimming world, most recently winning a gold medal at the Special Olympics Kansas event in August. But he may have a future in guest booking. Levingston recently reached out to former Plainville High School standout Jared Casey, who went on to do some big things for the University of Kansas football team.
"I had a great career, and it started out pretty rough," Casey said on an impromptu appearance on 1590 KVGB/95.5 FM's "Sports Day" program. "The first year was 2020, and it was the COVID year. I went in there and didn't really know what to expect. We always had this saying, 'We want to turn everything around.' We eventually did that, but it was a long road of some tough losses, some really bad losses, then we started to win some."
Casey played tight end in all 12 games during his senior year at KU, starting eight of those games. He caught 18 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. But the biggest highlight of his career came early, when, as a Div. I walk-on, he made national headlines by catching a 2-point pass in overtime to stun Texas 57-56. He's now trying to keep his career going in the United Football League, or better yet, the NFL.
"It's definitely a business, for sure, at that type of level," he said. "I went to the Chiefs mini-camp and played pretty well and just didnt't stick on there. The next week, I went to the Miami Dolphins mini-camp. It's just getting your name out there, getting into that type of level and league is big for someone like me trying to get on."
Casey was a 3-sport standout at Class 2A Plainville. He rushed for more than 2,000 yards in two years at running back, and recorded 425 tackles and 30 total touchdowns in his prep career. He was a 3-time first-team All-State selection on the basketball court with more than 1,500 career points. He was also an All-State track and field athlete.