After Adam Barmann’s 294-yard, four-touchdown debut performance Saturday at Texas A&M, some Jayhawk fans were wondering if the newcomer might scare off potential quarterback recruits.

KU coach Mark Mangino said that shouldn’t happen.

“It sends a message loud and clear that whether you’re in your first year at KU or your second year, if you’re one of the better players, you’ll get a chance to play and play in an offensive system that features a lot of players — not just the quarterback,” Mangino said Sunday. “I think it’s always positive for recruiting when you play young kids. Kids say, ‘Hey, if you go there, you’ll play early if you’re ready to play.'”

Of the 53 players Mangino used in Saturday’s 45-33 loss, 25 were sophomores, and nine were freshmen.

Receiver Charles Gordon set a KU freshman record with nine catches for 89 yards. Sophomore running back Clark Green rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries and caught two passes for 46 yards and a touchdown for the Jayhawks (5-4 overall, 2-3 Big 12 Conference). Freshman backup John Randle added 51 yards rushing on five carries and caught five passes for 64 yards and a TD.

“I’m excited about the direction of our program and all the young kids playing,” said Mangino, whose team plays host to Nebraska Saturday. “We talked about that in the staff meeting today. We have some really talented young players. We just have to go through their growing pains. … One thing you can see about all those kids is they play with heart, enthusiasm and great excitement. The future is bright here.”

It certainly looked that way for Barmann, whose 294 passing yards set a KU freshman record. He completed 25 of 37 passes, including four touchdowns, and rushed for 45 yards and a TD.

KU’s quarterback situation looked shaky a week earlier when senior starter Bill Whittemore suffered an undisclosed injury at Kansas State. Backups Brian Luke and John Nielsen were both ineffective in a 42-6 loss.

It looked like an ideal situation for a junior-college quarterback to step into — until Barmann accounted for five TDs.

Recruiting analyst John Kirby of rivals.com said Barmann’s performance Saturday — and in KU’s remaining three games — shouldn’t hamper KU’s ability to sign quarterbacks.

“Kansas hasn’t had any good quarterbacks in a while,” Kirby said. “If you’re Florida State or Miami, those kinds of teams sign one or two blue-chip kids every year. Those kids down there aren’t afraid to go to those schools where the depth charts don’t look so good. The reason it’s an issue all of the sudden at Kansas is because, when was the last time you saw a true freshman step on the field and throw for 300 yards in a Big 12 game?

“In this situation, I don’t think Kansas will have trouble recruiting a high school kid and a junior-college quarterback. From what I’ve seen from this staff in two years, they do a great job selling their program.”

According to rivals.com, KU has made scholarship offers to five quarterbacks. Robert Johnson of Reedley College in California committed to Texas Tech, but the other four remain undecided. They are: City College of San Francicso’s Jason Swanson; Jordan Chambless of Corpus Christi, Texas; Darnell Jackson of Webster Grove, Mo.; and Nick Patton of Winfield.

KU is the leading contender for Swanson (6-foot, 190 pounds). Offensive coordinator Nick Quartaro got an early start on the quarterback last spring after Swanson passed for 2,255 yards and 14 touchdowns as a freshman.

Chambless (6-2, 200) is the 16th-rated prep quarterback in the nation and also has offers from Texas and Texas A&M. He would like to play football and baseball, however, and lists KU, Texas Christian, Rice and Houston among the schools that might allow him to play both.

Jackson (6-2, 215) is the 11th-rated prep quarterback and has offers from KU, Illinois, Minnesota and Northern Illinois. Patton (6-3, 185) is the sixth-rated quarterback in the nation. He has narrowed his options to Mizzou, K-State and KU.

Hear Mark: KU vs. Texas A&M postgame

¢

Special-teams woes: Junior backup Jerod Brooks kicked KU’s final extra point Saturday after junior Johnny Beck missed a 42-yard field goal and an extra point. Beck had made two field goals a week earlier at Manhattan, including a 51-yarder.

Beck has made eight of 14 field goals and 31 of 34 extra points.

“We need Johnny to be consistent,” Mangino said. “We’ll continue to work with him, but there comes a point and time as a coach you’re faced with decisions about positions on the field.”

Mangino said he would evaluate Beck and Brooks this week, but freshman Scott Web was not in the mix.

“I’m not going to take Scott Webb’s red-shirt because we think after a year in our strength and conditioning program he’s going to be a really talented player for us,” he said. “He’s not quite ready to go.”

Mangino reiterated that he would “probably make personnel changes and maybe even tinker with the scheme” of the kick-return unit after Kansas failed to get to the 20-yard line on three of its first four second-half possessions against A&M.

Sophomore Greg Heaggans later made a 43-yard return.

“It’s been hit or miss with that unit,” Mangino said. “Sometimes it’s big plays. Sometimes it’s bad plays. We need consistency.”

¢

Toomey toughing it out: Sophomore linebacker Gabriel Toomey missed one defensive series after being shaken up in the first quarter.

“We’re always concerned about his contact, and we’ve cut down on his contact reps in practice,” Mangino said. “But he’s a tough customer. He’ll keep playing, and he’ll be fine. He’s just anxious to get in our offseason program where he can focus on strength and building himself up. He needs that very badly. He plays right now on toughness and determination. When he gets a little bit stronger in our out-of-season program he’ll really be a force to reckon with.”