Scott McClurg/Journal-World PhotoSomehow, the use of three quarterbacks Saturday — because of a still-undisclosed injury to Adam Barmann — helped the Kansas University football coaching staff figure out an otherwise jumbled situation.
If Barmann is healthy enough to play Saturday against Colorado, he’s the starter. Jason Swanson is No. 2; Brian Luke is No. 3.
KU coach Mark Mangino told reporters Sunday afternoon that he was going to find out the extent of Barmann’s injury Sunday night when results from an magnetic resonance imaging test came in.
The sophomore appeared to hurt his throwing shoulder in the second quarter of Saturday’s 13-7 loss to Iowa State after scrambling for a gain of four yards and getting tackled in the open field.
Luke came in as the back-up quarterback, but his stay was short after he coughed up a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Luke ended up passing for just three yards on four attempts.
Swanson then played the entire second half, passing for 70 yards and rushing for 45 more. He accounted for KU’s lone touchdown, too, finding Mark Simmons in the end zone for a 20-yard strike late in the fourth quarter.
Saturday’s efforts apparently were enough for Mangino to figure the quagmire out.
“Brian will be the No. 3 guy if everything is OK with Adam,” Mangino said. “The bulk of the reps will go to Adam and the rest with Jason.”
KU actually had five quarterbacks travel to Iowa State on Saturday. Besides the three who played, John Nielsen warmed up with the quarterbacks as he always does, and freshman Marcus Herford was rewarded with a spot on the travel squad, too. To lessen the QB clutter, Herford — who will wear a red shirt this season — worked with the wide receivers before Saturday’s game.
“We didn’t want to warm up a whole lot of quarterbacks,” Mangino said. “He’s capable of playing both, but we have not moved him from the quarterback position.”
In all, KU’s three quarterbacks Saturday combined for 128 passing yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. It was just one facet of a struggling offense that Mangino said he would work on diligently to improve in KU’s final three games.
The Jayhawks must go 3-0 the rest of the way — with wins at home against Colorado and Texas and on the road at Missouri — to qualify for bowl consideration. It’s a monstrous task, but Mangino’s not about to look at the big picture that way.
“I think we’ve got to take care of first things first, and that’s getting on track and getting points on the board,” Mangino said. “I think we’ve got to take this one game at a time and not get carried away with all that.”
Mangino tweaks QB rotation