There’s at least one thing Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino and his predecessor, Terry Allen, have in common  the belief that one of the Jayhawks’ strengths is their wide receivers.

“I think that we probably have four really solid receivers, and I think we have two or three more guys that could really add to that group,” Mangino said. “I think it could really be a strength for our team. It really could. Now, one of the things we need to work on, quite obviously, is we don’t have a lot of receivers that caught a lot of balls.

“One of the most important things we’re working on right now is the actual catching of footballs.”

Although the Jayhawks lost their top two receivers from last season in Roger Ross and Termaine Fulton, they do return Nos. 3-8, as well as senior Harrison Hill, who’s poised to become KU’s all-time leading receiver this season.

But while Mangino is coming from an Oklahoma program that boasted six wideouts with at least 30 receptions, Kansas had just two top that plateau  Ross with 39 and Fulton with 30  last season.

“One of the things we need to do a good job with is catching the football,” Mangino said. “They’re starting to learn routes and run routes well. But as I told the kids, we can draw up the best pass routes for the best defenses in the world, but it comes down to pitching and catching.”

The Jayhawks logged countless hours during the offseason working on catching. During the 15-day spring practice session, any player who could be called upon to be a receiver catches passes before, during and after practice.

Mangino also utilized the “Lob ster”  a cannon-like machine with a lobster painted on the side that fires tennis balls  during the offseason.

“We’re doing a lot of catching, working on our hands a lot, especially in the offseason,” Hill said. “We had a tennis ball machine set up a few days a week, catching tennis balls and doing a lot of drills before practice. We’re just trying to catch as many balls as we can.”

Among the other receivers hoping to contribute this season are senior Byron Gasaway, junior Derick Mills, sophomore Brandon Rideau and senior Derek Vann.

One of the highlights of Monday’s practice at Anschutz Pavilion  the third and final session that’s open to the public until the spring scrimmage  came when senior quarterback Jonas Weatherbie hooked up with Gasaway for a pretty 75-yard bomb during 11-on-11 drills.

Shortly after making the catch, Gasaway had Mangino screaming in his ear for not running full speed all the way to the end zone.

Although coaches and players are unavailable for comment until Wednesday  as per KU’s standard operating procedure this spring  Mangino appears to have narrowed the field in the competition for the starting quarterback position.

For the most part, junior Zach Dyer and junior transfer Bill Whittemore were working with the No. 1 offense, while Weatherbie, sophomore Kevin Long and red-shirt freshman Brian Luke were splitting snaps with the second-string unit.

Whittemore, who threw for 2,082 yards and 16 touchdowns with eight interceptions for Fort Scott Community College last season, indicated he already felt comfortable running the new offense.

“It’s a whole new system, but then again it’s something I’ve seen before,” Whittemore said. “I like the stuff he’s running and (I’m) just enjoying it and trying to learn it. This is actually similar to what we ran last year at junior college as far as passing schemes and the running game.

“We’re picking it up pretty quick, to be honest. Everybody is.”

Hill agreed.

“I think it’s all going real positive,” Hill said. “Everybody’s taking it in stride. We’re out here every day and doing as much as we can. We’re learning new things, but as long as we keep working hard we’ll make gains.”