Yep, in high school he scored 120 TD's, passed for 40 more. Rushed for over 8,000 yds, passed for 3,800, kicked 160 PAT's and even had 44.6 yards per punt. He gets to LSU, plays Halfback, Safety, CB, FB, QB, End, returned punts, kicked off, kicked extra points and punted. A first round draft pick in the NFL and three NFL Championships. At 5' 10" 183 lbs. I'd say he was the original. He came to LSU having never played the game they were playing. They were playing football with 11 men, he had only played six-man football. Kenny Konz was the first one. In 2000, Konz was inducted into the La. Sports Hall of Fame.
His senior year at LSU was 1950. Drafted by the Browns in the 1951 draft and played for the Browns from 1953-1959.
In the short span of playing in the NFL he ended up with 30 Ints. A little more on him... The only one of 31 freshmen to make the varsity, Konz made his presence felt immediately in practice by running back a punt against the Tiger first string. The angry coaches ran the return over again, and Konz again ran the kick back. Then a third time. LSU coaches were angry, and the first-string embarrassed, but the Tigers had found a weapon. LSU's turnaround in 1949 - from 3-8 to 8-3 - was stunning. "Konz was pretty important to what we were able to do that season,'' Tinsley said. ‘We had him all over the place, and he excelled. He left his mark." The next season, Konz was the MVP of the 1950 Blue-Grey Game and drafted No. 1 by the Cleveland Browns, though he had to put off pro ball for a couple of seasons while he served in the Air Force.
Yep, in 1951 it was the first time LSU had 3 players drafted in the first round. We wouldn't get 3 drafted in the first round till 2007(Had 4 that year). Drafted before Konz, was Y.A. Tittle and Ebert Van Buren. Oh, Y A Tittle was drafted in the first round twice in 51 and 1948.
Tulane was once a power and on one particular Saturday in the late 40s was favored over LSU, But that day Kenny Konz took a punt and returned it for a TD running right up the hash marks - as the story was told. Subsequently LSU went on to win the game in an upset. A student sitting in the end zone said it looked like Kenny was running right at him on the punt. In that moment he turned to his date, his future wife, and said "If I ever have a son I'm going to name him Kenny". And he did. Later I treasured those nights with him in Tiger stadium. Truly, there's almost nothing I would give for one more. Throughout the years he never missed an LSU home and made many away games; until the day his body could no longer get him to his seat. Yeh, I know about Kenny Konz.
Nice story.......a little more....... The exclamation point of 1949 - the year LSU would forevermore refer as the "Cinderella season" - came in the regular-season finale against Tulane. The Tigers had been humiliated 46-0 in 1948 by the Green Wave, and now Tulane, the SEC champion, was considered even better and was a solid touchdown favorite. LSU coach Gaynell Tinsley felt - no, knew - his team would have to play a near-perfect game to have any chance. He got exactly that: a near-perfect game, one ignited by Konz, then a 5-foot-10, 185-pound junior. In the opening minutes, Konz returned a punt 92 yards. From that point on, LSU played to its maximum, with Konz intercepting three passes in a 21-0 Tiger upset. Tinsley was moved to say a half-century later it was "not only the greatest game LSU played while I was coach, but the greatest game any LSU team ever played when you consider their ability and what they did."
