Kansas University’s freshman class will take the field for the first time today when preseason football practices begin.

KU fans and first-year coach Mark Mangino are hoping the newcomers can help the Jayhawks improve on last year’s 3-8 record.

“Our recruiting class has some junior college players who are very talented, some high school players who are very talented,” said Mangino, whose newcomers will practice together today and Wednesday before returning players report on Thursday. After media sessions Friday, two-a-day practices start Saturday.

“Whoever is ready to play will play,” Mangino said. “If a true freshman comes out of high school and he’s ready to play and he’s the guy who wins the job, we’ll go with him. We won’t red-shirt him. We’ll put our best 22 players out on the field.”

While Mangino was reluctant to point out specific newcomers who could make an immediate impact, recruiting analysts were not.

Jon Kirby of MoKan Football said the Jayhawks have a steal in Travis Dambach, a 6-foot-5, 270-pound offensive lineman from Jackson, Mo.

“He’s better than he was recruited,” Kirby said of the all-state selection. “He was overlooked. When you watch them on film, he’s the one opening all the holes for Mario Whitney. He’s a big, athletic kid.”

Whitney, who signed with Missouri, rushed for 2,782 yards and 43 touchdowns last season.

The offensive line is a concern for Kansas, which lost three starters  including NFL draft pick Justin Hartwig  to graduation. The Jayhawks lost another starter when senior Kyle Grady was unable to recover from a knee injury.

Other offensive linemen in the freshman class are David Ochoa (6-5, 260) from Houston and Bob Whitaker (6-5, 310) of Mt. Lebanon, Pa.

Another area where the Jayhawks have significant holes is the secondary. The Jayhawks lost two players  Andrew Davison and Jamarei Bryant  who signed NFL contracts, and junior Carl Ivey left the program. That leaves strong safety Jake Letourneau as the only returning starter.

Freshmen listed as defensive backs on the KU roster are Miami’s Dexter Jackson (6-2, 185) and Kenneth Thompson (5-11, 175) of Grand Prairie, Texas. Jackson was rated as one of the top-10 defensive backs in Florida. Thompson had 12 interceptions in three seasons at Nimitz High.

Barring position changes, two of the freshmen who impress Kirby the most  Canadian running back Jon Cornish and tight end Derek Fine  will have veteran players in front of them.

Cornish (6-0, 200) averaged 14.9 yards a carry and finished with 2,136 yards and 31 touchdowns last season for Thomas More High in New West Minister, British Columbia.

KU returns starter Reggie Duncan at running back, and red-shirt freshman Clark Green is expected to battle the junior for the starting job.

Cornish also excelled on defense, however, making 89 tackles last year and setting his school career record with 37 sacks.

Kirby praised Mangino and his staff for going north of the border to land Cornish.

“He has a great eye for picking out those kids that might have been overlooked,” Kirby said of Mangino. “If you’re a good player, this Kansas staff will come out and find you.”

Kirby also liked the playmaking ability of Fine, a 6-4, 220-pound tight end from Sallisaw, Okla.

Fine was ranked among the nation’s top 25 linebackers by the Associated Press and the top 50 tight ends by Rivals 100. He set school records for receiving yards in a season (798) and career (1,792).

KU returns both of its top tight ends from last season, senior David Hurst and junior Adrian Jones.

While some of the 17 freshmen are likely to be red-shirted, Kirby said KU should expect immediate results from its junior college transfers.

Three Californians  Reggie Curry (6-3, 245), Cory Kipp (6-5, 255) and Roy Teng (6-2, 292)  could bolster a defensive line that lost NFL draft pick Nate Dwyer.

Curry had nine sacks last season at Moorpark Community College, despite playing the first two games at running back. Teng was an all-conference selection at Los Angeles CC.

Kipp started his college career as a red-shirt at Arizona before transferring to Riverside CC, where he was a two-time all-conference pick.

“There’s no doubt you’ll see the juco players on the field,” Kirby said, “and you’ll see them pretty quick.”