He’s also the player with the most extraordinary journey – one with a lot still left to be sorted out.

D’Cunha, a native Australian and a junior-college transfer, was one of 20 players signed for the 2008 recruiting class who KU coach Mark Mangino discussed for the first time Wednesday. D’Cunha already is on campus as a mid-year transfer and will compete for one of the starting offensive tackle jobs vacated by Cesar Rodriguez and Anthony Collins from last season’s 12-1 team.

But which side specifically?

“It’s not clear yet,” Mangino said.

Few things surrounding D’Cunha’s football career are.

The 6-foot-6, 307-pounder out of Campbelltown, New South Wales – just southwest of Sydney – will turn 25 during the 2008 football season. He currently is listed as a junior despite playing only one year of college football, in 2006 at Santa Barbara (Calif.) Community College.

The lost year – which Kansas is appealing to the NCAA to get back – stems from the “21 Year Age Rule” for Division-I athletes. It states that if a student-athlete participates in an organized sports competition, that participation during each 12-month period after his/her 21st birthday and prior to initial full-time college enrollment will count as one year of varsity competition in that sport.

D’Cunha participated in the World Games in 2005 (as a 21-year old) for the Australian national team. In terms of eligibility, that counted as his freshman year according to the NCAA.

Realizing his potential, D’Cunha moved to the United States and played at Santa Barbara in 2006 under coach Craig Moropoulos. It was the first polished instruction D’Cunha received of American football in America.

“He’s a very coachable kid, so it wasn’t very difficult at all,” Moropoulos said of D’Cunha’s transition. “Plus, he was pretty athletic, and he took to things very quick. I was expecting a lot more difficulty fine-tuning him than what actually happened. It was a very pleasant surprise.”

D’Cunha planned to transfer to Baylor in time for the 2008 season. With his eligibility in question, he decided not to play football in 2007 and transferred to a Texas juco to keep at his academics and prepare for enrollment at Baylor.

Then, coach Guy Morriss was fired in November after a 3-9 season. That changed D’Cunha’s desire for Baylor, and Kansas entered the picture late and wooed him to Lawrence.

He enrolled last month and already is working out under strength coach Chris Dawson.

“He’s adjusting to the tempo from junior college to here,” Mangino said.

If D’Cunha’s time at Santa Barbara was any indication, it won’t take long.

“He was outstanding,” Moropoulos said. “His size is tremendous, and he’s very athletic for being that big. He’s a great attitude guy, very coachable. An outstanding young man.

“He’s working on his 25th birthday, so he’s got some built-in maturity.”

As for how long he’ll be at KU, Mangino said he’s “confident” that D’Cunha will have three seasons in Lawrence. But the 21 Year Age Rule, on the surface, seems to blanket D’Cunha’s case well.

There’s no timetable for a ruling.

Either way, look for the Aussie to be in competition for a starting offensive-line spot right away. He could take over Collins’ role at left tackle and protect quarterback Todd Reesing’s blindside. Or he could step into Rodriguez’s shoes on the right edge of the line.

Like most everything surrounding D’Cunha’s football career, this answer will come in time.

“We’ll see,” Mangino said. “He will be at one of the tackle positions. Which one? It remains to be seen. We’ll take a look in spring ball and see where he fits best.”