“It’s overwhelming,” he said of being selected to play in the Cactus Bowl. “This is a pretty big opportunity. I’m just getting mentally and physically prepared. This is a chance for me to show them what I can do. The ultimate goal is get drafted or picked up as a free agent, because there’s nothing I’d like more than to play in the NFL.”

Quiles’ reputation will not solely rely on his performance in the Cactus Bowl. His career at KU shined a great light on the potential he has.

The All-American led the nation in receiving for several weeks and finished second with 1,187 yards on 64 receptions. The yardage was a single season school record and his receptions were fourth most.

He finished his career at KU with 2,003 yards (100.3 per game) on 118 receptions with 20 touchdowns. Overall, the Merrimack College transfer caught 252 passes for 4,136 yards and 43 touchdowns in his four-year collegiate career. He set a single-game school record with 308 receiving yards against rival Bloomsburg on Oct. 6 of this season, but it was a 211-yard showing at Southern Connecticut State on Sept. 1 that stood out the most.

Playing in New Haven, Conn., Quiles put on a show in front of more than 100 family and friends — including players on the other team — by setting the school record for receiving yards in a game, a record he later broke against Bloomsburg.

“I had over 100 people here,” he said. “It was back home. It was just a good feeling.”

That good feeling wasn’t anything new to Quiles.

He felt it right away when he stepped foot on KU’s campus.

“My teammates embraced me and accepted me like a brother,” he said. “My greatest time here at KU, honestly, was in the locker room. We had a lot of great games. The chemistry I shared with the guys and all the friendships that I made, it really felt like I was there for four years.”

He may not have been at KU for four years, and he’ll move on soon, but his name will remain. Quiles’ 2,003 yards were good for fourth on KU’s career list, one yard more than former NFL All-Pro Andre Reed. His 20 touchdowns also ties for second on KU’s career list, while his 12 touchdowns in 2006 set a single season school record.

“It’s a tremendous honor to have these records,” Quiles said. “It’s another thing that you really won’t know how it feels unless you’re in my position. You’re never going in a game saying, ‘I’m going to beat this record. I’m going to set this one.’ And the fact that I did it in two years means a lot to me.”

Even though he had to use his individual skills to break through several double- and triple-teams to catch passes, Quiles gives much credit to one of those friends who accepted him in the locker room, quarterback Kyle Spotts.

“Our friendship off the field is just as good as it was on the field,” he said. “We were in sync.”

In sync may be an understatement. Spotts and Quiles hooked up for a school-record 19 touchdowns in two years. It didn't matter how many defensive backs the opposing team threw onto the field; Spotts always managed to find Quiles at some point in the game.

The two seniors were leaders this season, but it wasn’t their first year as leaders of the KU football team. They were leaders when they first met KU football coach Raymond Monica.

“Coach Monica said you don’t have to be a senior to be a leader on a team,” Quiles said. “That’s the kind of approach I have taken. That’s something that kind of stuck in my head, and it’s true.”

It is advice that Quiles could take to the next level, where he would once again be a newcomer; where a young, vocal leader would be welcomed; and where it takes more than skill to succeed. It takes drive and determination — the kind of drive and determination that would make an aspiring NFL star say he’d play for free to prove he’s worth a contract.

So get your double-teams ready, NFL. Quiles is looking to go long.