Never would have guessed Kennison would turn out to be one of our classiest players

[PunkinDrublic]

Kennison teaches by ‘book’
Chiefs receiver has unwritten manual he uses to help mentor rookie Bowe during his first year in the NFL.
By JASON KING
The Kansas City Star

Not only are Eddie Kennison (left) and Dwayne Bowe Chiefs receivers, but they both also played for LSU. He’s not willing to fork over his starting job, but Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison said he’ll be more than happy to give rookie Dwayne Bowe “The Handbook.”

Oops. Excuse us: “The Eddie Kennison Handbook.”

“I’m rolling out the red carpet for him,” said Kennison, a 12th-year pro. “Everything I know, I will teach him. I have nothing to hold back. I want this organization to win championships, and we can’t win championships if I’m a selfish person.

“That’s why I’m willing to give him the Eddie Kennison handbook.”

No one knows what that manual contains — or if it even exists. Either way, Kennison’s willingness to mentor Bowe hardly comes as a surprise.

Both players catapulted into the NFL after standout careers at LSU.

Bowe, the 23rd overall pick in the 2007 draft, heard all about Kennison during his days as a Tiger. Kennison, who has an LSU decal on his front license plate, admired Bowe’s game from afar the last four seasons.

Bowe said he bumped into Kennison in the Chiefs’ locker room during a visit to Kansas City a few weeks before the draft.

“He just said, ‘I hope we get you. I hope I see you around,’ ” said Bowe, who is nearly 12 years younger than Kennison. “I’m glad it worked out the way it did.”

Bowe’s inaugural month as a Chief has been filled with both good and bad moments. He showed up late for the team’s first rookie workout and then caught a case of the drops.

Eventually, though, Bowe began returning to his college form. Talk even surfaced that he could challenge for Kennison’s starting job.

“The only person who can push me out of a starting job is me,” Kenninson said. “But he’s been doing well, and I don’t see him slowing down.”

Maybe not, but Bowe encountered a speed bump late last month when he received a gut-wrenching phone call regarding a former LSU teammate.

Marquise Hill, who had moved on to a career with the NFL’s New England Patriots, died in a jet-skiing accident last month in Louisiana. Bowe left town to attend Hill’s funeral — a decision the Chiefs encouraged — and missed two days of minicamp.

“If I wouldn’t have gone, I would’ve regretted it down the road,” Bowe said. “I think I made the right decision. It was rough. It was sad. It’s something you have to learn from and move on.

“Seeing something happen to someone close like that makes you realize you’ve got to go out there and go full speed every play and make it all worthwhile. You never know when your last day is coming.”

Kennison hopes that mature approach sticks with Bowe throughout his career. Kennison realizes people are beginning to form a negative stereotype about NFL players because of a handful of off-field incidents that seem to increase each season.

Reaching to rookies such as Bowe can make a difference, Kennison said.

“All the DUIs,” Kennison said, “all the domestic-violence charges … they’re happening because guys just don’t know. They haven’t been taught. If you can catch a young guy early enough to teach him how to do the right things all the time, then the chances of the NFL (keeping) a negative (image) are slim.”

Bowe said he appreciates any advice Kennison gives him. And as for The Handbook? Well, Bowe said he’s looking forward to that, too.

“He’s still writing in it, I guess,” Bowe said. “He’s been slacking off. I’d better get on him about that. I need that book so I can be ready to go.”