Or as junior guard Tony Coker said: “We finally got it through our heads we need to talk out there. That first game opened our eyes.”

Ineffective in the opener against Northwestern, the Jayhawks’ offense erupted the following week in posting a 46-24 triumph over UNLV.

Clearly, the retooled offensive line — downgraded in preseason because of its inexperience — deserves some of the credit.

Coker is the only returning starter, but the 6-foot-5, 320-pounder from Hoisington played tackle last season and now he’s a guard. Why? Because the coaching staff convinced him that’s where he belonged.

“I’d never played guard,” Coker said. “I thought I was a tackle … until I played guard. Now I think I work better inside.”

As the subtleties of the game have evolved, it has become more important to use faster players with quick feet at tackle to neutralize outside pass rushers. Coker realizes he doesn’t have those attributes anymore.

“My foot speed isn’t as good as when I was a freshman,” he said, “and that’s because I’m a bigger guy.”

Around 40 to 50 pounds bigger, as a matter of fact.

“Eating is the key to gaining weight,” Coker said with a smile, “and I know I can do that.”

Can-Do was the theme this summer, as the offensive linemen worked together on their own with the intent of cramming as much know-how into their skulls as possible before preseason drills.

“We didn’t want to be the weakest link on the team,” Coker said.

Still, the offensive line remains a work in progress.

“They are all pretty smart kids,” coach Mark Mangino said. “I’m very pleased with their progress. Right now, we are using an ensemble cast.”

Ed Warinner is the stage manager in his first year as the Jayhawks’ offensive line coach after spending last season at the Air Force Academy.

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“They’re starting to gel in terms of working together,” Warinner said. “They understand the system pretty well, so we’re not making a lot of mistakes, which is good.”

Warinner expects continued progress Saturday at Wyoming.

“We’ve had success for one game,” Warinner said. “We have to prove it week in and week out, game after game that we can play consistently.

“The good thing is they lived up to their potential and are playing pretty hard right now, and doing what we need.”