Jason Swanson likely will be the eighth quarterback to take the field for the Jayhawks in a three-year span, but whether the City College of San Francisco transfer starts remains to be seen.

Swanson was part of an 18-man recruiting class introduced Wednesday by KU coach Mark Mangino. This spring Swanson (6-foot, 190 pounds) will compete with Adam Barmann, among others, to replace departed starter Bill Whittemore.

“In a lot of ways he is like Bill,” Mangino said. “He is not a real big guy, but he is very intelligent. His arm is strong. … He is mobile and can make plays happen with his arm, feet or his intelligence. There are some similarities there. Bill has done it, and Jason will have to prove that he can do it.”

Swanson passed for 1,187 yards in seven games during an injury-shortened sophomore season for the 12-0 Rams.

KU also signed DeSoto, Texas, standout Marcus Herford, the 25th-rated quarterback prospect in the nation.

“We were able to land one of the top junior-college quarterbacks in the country, and we were able to attract one of the top young quarterbacks in Texas,” Mangino said. “We feel good about the quarterback situation, coupled with what we have here already on campus.”

Herford (6-3, 205) is expected to take a red-shirt season in 2004. That likely would leave the quarterback battle to Swanson and Barmann, who started three games in place of Whittemore last season.

Herford wasn’t KU’s only signee among rivals.com’s national rankings. San Antonio running back Gary Green II (5-9, 170) is the seventh-rated all-purpose back; Olathe East lineman Todd Haselhorst is the 33rd-ranked guard; Garland, Texas, lineman James McClinton is the 28th-rated defensive tackle; and Shawnee Mission Northwest’s Mike Rivera was 23rd among inside linebackers.

It helped that Kansas finished the season in the Tangerine Bowl, the Jayhawks’ first bowl trip since 1995.

“More doors have opened to get the kids that maybe a year ago or three years ago, whatever the case may be, they wouldn’t take a phone call or take a visit from a coach in the school or in the homes,” Mangino said. “We have been able to sit down and get official visits and be in the homes of kids that are being recruited by some of the best teams in America. In that respect, it’s opened doors.

“What we’ve got to do is keep being relentless, so that each year our program gets better. Rather than those guys just visiting or talking to us, we get them here at Kansas.”

• By the numbers: Mangino, who had signed four junior-college transfers in December, announced the signing of 14 more players Wednesday.

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In addition, the coach announced three players who were on the team last season — receiver Scott Bajza, offensive lineman Matt Thompson and long snapper Zack Hood — had been put on scholarship after paying their own way in the fall.

Lawrence High tight end Josh Lawrence and former Shawnee Mission West and Coffeyville Community College kicker Jeff Edwards will join the team as walk-ons.

KU has seven more scholarships available. Mangino said he would hold a few for potential late signees, while others could be awarded to non-scholarship players already in the program.

• Rankings: KU’s class was ranked 51st by rivals.com Wednesday night, but those numbers likely will change in the next few days as more signings are announced around the country. KU’s number was low, in part, because the Jayhawks signed only 18 players (Bazja, Hood and Thompson don’t count in the rankings).

Kansas ranked 38th on signing day last year when it inked a 26-man class, half of which was from the junior-college ranks. Six of those transfers either failed to qualify or left the program.

Kansas signed only five junior-college players in this year’s group.

“There is no strength in numbers,” Mangino said. “It’s not the quantity of the recruiting class but the quality.”

Recruiting analyst Jon Kirby of rivals.com said KU’s ranking was misleading.

“I like this class better than last year’s,” Kirby said. “They’re going to get more mileage out of these kids.”

Four of the five junior-college transfers — including Swanson — already are one campus, a big change from last season when only two of more than a dozen transfers were here for spring drills.

“They’re going to go through spring football,” Kirby said. “They’re going to go through a Division I weight program. It makes a world of difference getting a junior-college guy at semester instead of in the summer.”

• Tackle shortage: McClinton was the only defensive tackle signed by KU, which must replace senior starters Sid Bachmann and Cory Kipp. Juniors Chuck Jones and Phil Tuihalamaka — each part of last year’s junior-college class — left the program.

Junior Travis Watkins and sophomore Tim Allen are the top returning tackles.

“I feel comfortable with the people we have in the program and what we have recruited now,” Mangino said. “I really think I am willing to grow through some growing pains with a high school guy rather than having a defensive tackle here for two years at best.”