Nebraska receivers coach Ted Gilmore wanted Maurice Purify the moment he saw him. That’s what Gilmore remembers most about a California recruiting trip in which he saw Purify in action.

Did we mention Purify wasn’t even playing football?

Didn’t matter to Gilmore. He’d seen enough nifty moves from Purify on a basketball court to form a very favorable opinion.

“I can remember calling back and talking to Coach (Jay) Norvell,” Gilmore said, “and saying, ‘Guys, we’ve got a special one.’ ”

What Gilmore saw was Purify, at 6-foot-4, playing center and making explosive, powerful moves.

“He could do it all,” Gilmore said. “I mean, a 6-4 kid, and he was playing against 6-8 guys, and he was knocking them off the block.”

Remember Purify’s leaping, game-winning touchdown catch of Zac Taylor’s lob last week against Texas A&M? What you saw wasn’t so much different from Purify boxing out a forward or jumping for a rebound.

The footwork. The hand-eye coordination. The body balance. Gilmore saw it all from Purify — first in basketball, now in football.

“You can get a good evaluation of a kid (in basketball) and how he moves around,” Gilmore said. “I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.”

Purify, a junior college transfer, has come on strong for Nebraska, which clinched the Big 12 North championship with its 28-27 victory at Texas A&M. The Huskers (8-3, 5-2) conclude the regular season next Friday at home against Colorado.

In the meantime, Purify plans to catch a couple of Nebraska basketball games. After all, basketball is Purify’s first love.

“If you would’ve asked me out of high school what I wanted to play, football or basketball,” Purify said, “I’d have told you basketball.”

In a perfect world, Purify would’ve gone to North Carolina. Obviously, that didn’t work out. Instead, football took over. But even in high school, no major Division I-A schools offered Purify, who had academic troubles and enrolled at City College of San Francisco.

He didn’t play basketball there until his sophomore season, and even then, the season was 13 games old when he joined the team. The Rams won 16 of their next 17 games with Purify, who averaged 14 points and eight rebounds in that span. He had game highs of 23 points in one game, and 21 rebounds in another.

Still, football was clearly Purify’s future. Most of the Pac-10 schools were hard after him. He chose Nebraska, he said, because of the West Coast offense, a chance to make big plays and an opportunity for the NFL.

Stories of Purify’s miraculous one-handed catches in practice quickly began circulating during fall camp. But aside from a juggling catch he made at Kansas State, Purify would probably classify his receptions this season as routine.

Yes, even last week’s breathtaking grab.

“That’s what I’m supposed to, go up and catch the ball like that. That’s my job,” said Purify, who’s caught 27 passes for 533 yards. “Like when you guys come here and interview us, I have to jump up and catch the ball in the red zone.”

As for basketball? Yeah, Purify said he’d enjoy playing the sport for the Huskers, who, coincidentally, could use some healthy bodies. They did, after all, suit a student manager for their season opener.

“He could probably help us, if he’s healthy,” Nebraska basketball coach Doc Sadler said, noting he’s never seen Purify play basketball. He said he’s never met or spoken to Purify.

Purify said he doubts coach Bill Callahan would allow him to play basketball, and even if he did, Purify wouldn’t even broach the subject until January.

“My main sport is football,” Purify said. “I wouldn’t want basketball to get in the way of anything.”

Reach Brian Rosenthal at 473-7436 or brosenthal@journalstar.com.