No one ever said Jake Letourneau was fast. But as the only returning starter to the secondary of Kansas University’s football team, it’s obvious that Letourneau has one thing going for him.

Brains.

Kansas' Jake Letourneau, left, and Bobby Birhiray knock heads during a recent practice. Letourneau is the lone returning starter to KU's defensive secondary.

How else does one explain Letourneau?

Before two-a-day practices began, coach Mark Mangino said Letourneau wasn’t “a terrific athlete by any stretch of the imagination, but he knows the position.”

As a strong safety last season, Letourneau ranked third on the team with 87 tackles. Not blessed with incredible speed, the fifth-year senior from Concordia relies more on his muscles between the ears to make plays.

“Jake brings a lot of intelligence to the position,” Mangino said. “He’s kinda the quarterback of the defense. We expect Jake to be in there and excel.”

Excelling will come mostly through the experience Letourneau brings. He knows the other guys will count on him to make plays. But he’ll expect them to make plays of their own, too.

And though they may lack experience, they make up for it in speed.

“This is an awfully fast group,” Letourneau said. “Of all the defensive backfields I’ve been associated with, this is the fastest.”

Not that any of that speed eases the worries of secondary coach Pat Henderson.

“Even if I had four Jim Thorpe candidates, I’d still be worried because of the expectations,” he said.

The Jayhawks, ninth in the Big 12 last season in pass efficiency defense and eighth in overall pass defense, must replace cornerbacks Andrew Davison and Carl Ivey and free safety Jamarei Bryant with a crop of mostly untested players. Those three players accounted for six interceptions, 25 pass break ups and 183 tackles last year.

Davison and Bryant are on NFL rosters; Ivey transferred to Stephen F. Austin University.

So who’s up for the jobs?

Junior Remuise Johnson has a handle on the right cornerback slot, while sophomore Leo Bookman, an All-America sprinter for KU’s track team, is deadlocked with red-shirt freshman Donnie Amadi at the other corner.

Sophomore Johnny McCoy emerged as the starter at free safety after spring drills, edging out three-time letterman Matt Jordan.

“Johnny McCoy is going to be an outstanding player in this program,” Mangino said. “He defends the run well. He covers well in the passing game. He’s tough. He’s hard-nosed. He’s a great open-field tackler. I’m really pleased with him.”

If experience is the secondary’s weak point, Mangino hopes players like McCoy and Bookman make up for it with their athleticism.

“They’re strong and physical in man coverage,” he said. “In zone, they might get beat by a step, but they can close real fast.”

The Amadi twins, corners Donnie and Ronnie, both slightly under 6-feet and 180 pounds, are two of those burners.

“The Amadi twins have made great leaps,” Mangino said. “They’re really maturing. You can see they’re starting to understand what we’re asking of them at that position.”

When the secondary learns the coverage zones and assignments, they’ll also focus on the running game. The Big 12 is loaded with running-oriented teams like Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas State. Though some might think that would ease the secondary’s burden, it actually emphasizes how important speed and experience is.

“We’re involved in the running game as much as the passing game. Sometimes we get too much credit for pass defense and not enough credit for run defense,” Henderson said. “If you eliminate long runs, that is the trademark of a good secondary.”

Letourneau can testify to that.

The Jayhawks allowed eight touchdowns of 30 yards or more last season, including two 60-plus yarders against Texas. If a team breaks a long gain from a short pass, the defensive backs usually tracks the offensive guy down. If they’re fast enough.

“With so many of the teams now playing the short passing game, that speed becomes really important,” Letourneau said.

The biggest indicator of how the Jayhawks fare this season will be the number of big plays allowed. For Letourneau, he’s the last line of defense in stopping those plays before they happen. If he starts piling up the tackles again this year, that’s a bad sign.

“If they’re at the line of scrimmage, I’ll take more of them,” Letourneau said. “If they’re 15 yards downfield, then I need less.”

In this case, less would mean more wins. And that’s something Letourneau could certainly live with.