As breathtaking as the Danario Alexander Show has been to watch lately, there’s one concern among Missouri’s coaches: His fellow wide receivers can’t become part of the audience.

Alexander not only ranks as one of the Big 12 Conference’s elite pass-catchers, but his statistics suggest he’s the most valuable. His 81 receptions represent 38 percent of Missouri’s team total, while his Big 12-best 1,238 receiving yards equal 44.5 percent of the Tigers’ total.

No other Big 12 team relies on one receiver to carry a bigger slice of its passing game.

“He’s obviously a big impact player,” Missouri’s Gary Pinkel said. “But he’s not a one-man band.”

Says who?

In terms of receptions, Kansas’ Kerry Meier comes closest. His 83 catches represent 32.2 percent of his team’s total. Meanwhile, Jordan Shipley’s 1,096 yards make up 39.8 percent of Texas’ receiving yardage.

But neither matches Alexander’s share of his team’s production. And with No. 2 receiver Jared Perry out for the final two regular-season games with a cracked shin bone, it’s time for others to lend a hand.

“The challenge to the rest of the guys is, ‘Don’t wait around for D.A. to make a play so we can get going,’ ” offensive coordinator David Yost said.

That’s been the coaches’ message to Jerrell Jackson for months. On Saturday, the sophomore posted a career-best 78 yards on six catches at Kansas State, the kind of contribution Pinkel has expected from Jackson all season. In fact, Pinkel relayed that point to Jackson in the locker room at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

“I grabbed him and said, ‘You played a heck of a game. But you know what? You can be better,’ ” Pinkel said after MU’s 38-12 victory. “Because he can be better. He’s a young guy that can really, really do a lot of good things.”

He’ll get his chance for Missouri (6-4, 2-4 Big 12) starting Saturday against Iowa State (6-5, 3-4). Yost said Jackson will replace Perry in most of Missouri’s three-receiver formations, joining starters Alexander and Wes Kemp as quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s primary targets.

Jackson, who had a taste of playing time as a true freshman last season, was Missouri’s best receiver during spring practices while Alexander and Perry recovered from off-season surgeries. But once they returned, his production became erratic. He’s had a catch every week but no more than two in seven of Missouri’s 10 games.

“He’s kind of had spurts in games where we’ve seen what he’s capable of doing,” Yost said. “But there’s been times where he’s kind of disappeared.”

Receivers coach Andy Hill said he’s seen Jackson gain confidence since a particularly strong week of practice the week before Missouri played at Colorado. Alexander sat out some drills that week while resting a minor toe injury, giving Jackson a more active role in the passing game.

“He’s starting to become real serious about being a good player,” said Hill of Jackson, who has 24 catches for 262 yards and a touchdown. “A light goes on in a guy’s head where he says, ‘Practice is what’s going to make me a great player.’ I think he figured that out sometime during the season.”

He’s not the only young wideout Missouri expects to contribute in the wake of Perry’s injury. Yost said sophomores Brandon Gerau and Michael Egnew, redshirt freshman Rolandis Woodland and freshman T.J. Moe will get opportunities. Those four have combined for just seven receptions for 46 yards in limited action.

Woodland might be the most intriguing of the bunch. A heralded recruit from the St. Louis area, the 6-foot-3, 200-pound speedster spent the 2007 season at Harmony Community School in Cincinnati and arrived at MU last year expected to dazzle immediately. His coaches have since tried to temper those expectations as Woodland grows into Missouri’s system.

“He’s still a redshirt freshman and understanding the big-picture concepts and understanding how to play the position of wide receiver,” Yost said. “Every guy has a different knowledge of it when they come in from their background in high school. Some guys go quicker than other guys. … He’s extremely talented and a guy we want to try and find ways to see what he can do with the football, especially vertically.”

Pinkel cited the complexity of Missouri’s offense as a factor in what might be perceived as delayed progress by some young receivers, including Moe, a high school quarterback who’s caught just two passes for 8 yards, both against Furman on Sept. 19.

“You just don’t run out there … and run an out route or a hook route,” Pinkel said. “In this offense, it’s how you release, how your shoulders are at a certain time. How you get space on the field. All those things.

“We’ve got a lot of young players. It’s just a matter of learning it. And when you know you can trust them, you put them on the field and get them going.”

Reach Dave Matter at 573-815-1781 or e-mail dmatter@columbiatribune.com.

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