“We believe a smart team’s a hard team to beat,” Beaty said, “so the way you become a smarter team, you put them in situations so that the first time they’re in them (in a game), that’s not the first time they’ve been there.”

Other than evaluation-focused scrimmages, Beaty claims the Jayhawks rarely put the ball down and “just play.” The KU faithful who made it out to Memorial Stadium on Saturday morning for Fan Appreciation Day got to witness exactly what the coach meant.

While Kansas didn’t do any full offense versus defense work or seven-on-seven drills at the 18th preseason practice, the Jayhawks went through the particulars of a quick-change field goal, onside kicks (both receiving and attempting to recover) and long field-goal returns, while also mixing in traditional individual drills by position and some reps for receivers vs. defensive backs.

It capped what Beaty characterized as a “great” week of situational work, as well as a chance for fans to see how far individual players have advanced during the offseason. But the coach also said Friday opening the practice to the public would mean a lot to his players.

“It is a great day for us,” Beaty said, “because it’s an opportunity for our kids to see that they are truly appreciated and valued by, man, the Jayhawk faithful.”

Here are some observations and highlights from Saturday’s practice:

• Senior kicker Matt Wyman opened the hour and a half session by drilling back-to-back field goals, the longest from 42 yards.

• Offensive line coach Zach Yenser continues to tinker with the offensive line. At Saturday’s practice the first string appeared to be senior left tackle D’Andre Banks, junior left guard Jayson Rhodes, sophomore center Jacob Bragg, red-shirt freshman right guard Mesa Ribordy and freshman right tackle Hakeem Adeniji. Previously, Bragg had played right guard and junior Joe Gibson played center. Yenser often talks up the need for linemen to play multiple positions, so the tweaks don’t come as too much of a surprise.

• Projected starting linebackers junior Joe Dineen and senior Marcquis Roberts started off each drill for their unit during position work with assistant Todd Bradford.

RB drills at practice today with asst. coach Tony Hull #kufball pic.twitter.com/BaQPjBZEu8

— Benton Smith (@BentonASmith) August 20, 2016

• When receivers and defensive backs broke off for combined drills, KU fans got a peek at the team’s ongoing camp QB battle between sophomore Ryan Willis and red-shirt junior Montell Cozart, as well as some standout plays from receivers and defenders. Four quarterbacks rotated in and out, taking two reps at a time. Cozart began with back-to-back completions to seniors Austin Moses and Shakiem Barbel.

• Sophomore Keaton Perry’s first long ball down the right side got batted away by red-shirt freshman safety Shaquille Richmond. Red-shirt freshman receiver Chase Harrell hauled in Perry’s next attempt, deep down the left side.

• With receivers running timing routes near the sidelines, red-shirt freshman Carter Stanley hit sophomores Jeremiah Booker and Daylon Charlot.

• Freshman cornerback Kyle Mayberry rose up to break up a fade down the left side thrown by Perry.

• Willis and sophomore receiver Tyler Patrick showed good timing on a comeback route.

QBs doing light work off to side on #kufball Fan Appreciation Day pic.twitter.com/q8BaUFrozG

— Benton Smith (@BentonASmith) August 20, 2016

• Junior receiver LaQuvionte Gonzalez’s speed made him an attractive target on shallow crossing routes.

• Barbel came away with a difficult catch over his defender on a deep ball to the right corner of the end zone.

• Senior safety Fish Smithson broke up a deep ball down the left side.

• Although junior corner Derrick Neal initially got beat on one rep, he recovered quickly in space to go deflect a deep pass.

• Likewise, freshman corner Shola Ayinde made up for an early mistake near the line of scrimmage while defending Gonzalez and caught back up to assure an incompletion.

• Wyman and junior kicker Gabriel Rui alternated taking onside kicks.

• When KU focused on the kicking team recovering onside tries, the players chasing down the bouncing pigskin included Neal, Dineen, freshman receiver Evan Fairs, Patrick, Booker, senior corner Marnez Ogletree, senior defensive end Anthony Olobia, freshman receiver Keegan Brewer and Barbel.

• Though sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong practiced in pads, KU appears to be easing him back into things after coaches and trainers asked the lineman to sit much of the past two weeks due to an unspecified right-leg injury. Armstrong watched as the first unit reviewed some calls with coordinator Clint Bowen.

• For Saturday at least, the first-team defense featured sophomore end Josh Ehambe, Olobia, senior lineman Damani Mosby, junior tackle Isi Holani, Dineen, Roberts, Smithson, senior safety Bazie Bates IV, Ogletree, Neal and senior Tevin Shaw.

Former LSU receiver chooses Oklahoma State

When LSU granted sophomore receiver Tyron Johnson a release from his scholarship earlier this month, enabling the former five-star recruit to transfer, Kansas football fans took note, because Johnson played at Warren Easton High, in New Orleans, for Tony Hull, now KU’s running backs coach.

It turns out Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 189-pound receiver, is headed to the Big 12 — just not to Kansas. In an interview with NOLA.com, Johnson confirmed he will play for Oklahoma State, one of the numerous programs that recruited him out of high school.

According to NOLA.com’s report, Kansas and Hull made a strong push to land the highly touted receiver. Johnson even credited Hull for playing a major role in getting him to where he is today.

“I thank all the coaches that reached out to me and I will forever be grateful,” Johnson told NOLA.com, “but I had to do what I thought was best for me and that was to go to Oklahoma State.”