Kevin Long’s days as Kansas University’s quarterback of the future are over.

Coach Mark Mangino hopes Long will develop into a productive tight end instead.

“He came to talk to me today about it,” Mangino said after the Jayhawks’ practice Wednesday. “I gave it some thought, and I told him I thought it would be a good move. If we needed him at quarterback we could put him back, but I really believe that in time he could be a really good tight end. He’s big. He’s strong. He has really good hands. He was a multi-sport athlete in high school, so we think he brings some athleticism to the position.”

KU signed Long in 2000, landing the Iowa City West All-American in a recruiting battle with Iowa, Iowa State and Illinois. In two seasons, Long led West to a 26-0 record and back-to-back state championships while passing for 2,178 yards and 21 touchdowns.

At 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, Long looked the part of starting quarterback but never threw a pass in his first two seasons at Kansas. He red-shirted as a freshman in 2000 and played only one game as a red-shirt freshman last season. He made his Jayhawk debut in the season finale against Wyoming on special teams.

“In the long run, it will be a good move for him and the team,” Mangino said.

Long is the second quarterback to switch to tight end during spring drills. Junior Kyle Cernech made the move last week.

“There’s a lot of them out there,” Mangino said after he was asked how many quarterbacks he had left.

For the record, Kansas has five quarterbacks on its roster. Returning letterman and part-time starter Zach Dyer and Fort Scott Community College transfer Bill Whittemore are the leading candidates for the starting job.

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On the move: Mangino also announced that Tony Stubbs (5-10, 190) had moved from running back to safety. Stubbs played in only one game as a red-shirt freshman last fall, rushing for three yards on two attempts.

Ironically, Stubbs started his career as a defensive back and was moved to running back last spring. He played running back and strong safety in high school at Lake Worth, Fla.

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Leaders of pack: Mangino said returning starter Reggie Duncan and red-shirt freshman Clark Green have “separated themselves from the pack” at running back. Sophomore Dan Coke and junior Harold McClendon are recovering from injuries.

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So special: Last week Mangino said he was concerned about special teams. A week later, the first-year coach said things were looking better.

“We’ve made great strides in special teams this week,” he said.

So what was the problem?

“I was concerned about tempo,” he said. “Sometimes players get so buried in the Xs and Os on offense and defense  and their positions on offense and defense  that they think special teams are something in the spring that doesn’t need a lot of focus, but that’s not true. I think we made our point clear Saturday to our players that if we’re going to be good in special teams it has to start in spring. We can’t wait until two-a-days.”

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End draws near: With only eight days left in spring football, Mangino said his team is on the right track.

“Today was our best overall practice,” he said. “What is taking place here is exactly what I’m looking for  getting better each and every practice, and we are. Today’s practice was better than Monday’s. Monday’s was better than Saturday. We’re making improvement each and every day, and I feel good about it.”