Kansas University’s football season ended 34 days ago, but Mark Mangino’s coaching staff hasn’t taken a break.

Wednesday was the first day junior-college players could sign national letters of intent, and KU landed two recruits Mangino says should make an impact in 2003.

Lyonel Anderson (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) of Alfred State College in New York brings size to a receiving corps that lacked a big target last season. Northeast Oklahoma A&M center Joe Vaughn (6-3, 290) could be a replacement for departing senior Greg Nicks.

“Our staff has done a great job of preparing for recruiting,” Mangino said Thursday during a meeting with reporters at his office. “We worked on recruiting every single day from summer vacation all the way up until today. We worked on it seven days a week. We knew we were going to have to have a good plan and be prepared in order to recruit well.”

Wednesday was the first day in a 14-day period that December graduates can sign. Both Anderson and Vaughn will transfer in January and participate in spring drills.

Mangino said “the possibility exists” that KU could sign another player during that time but the bulk of the Jayhawks’ junior-college recruits would sign in February.

Mangino cannot comment on recruits until they sign but four other junior-college players have given verbal commitments, including two more NEO players. In addition to Vaughn, KU has commitments from first-team All-American defensive tackle Michael Pruitt (6-2, 280) and defensive back Brandon Johnson (6-2, 190).

Mangino said his staff had a good relationship with the coaches at NEO, which finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation.

“Bill Young did a good job of getting there and doing a good job of recruiting,” Mangino said of his defensive coordinator. “We’ve all known each other for years, and there’s a trust.”

Vaughn was a second-team All-American and should bolster an offensive line that loses five seniors from KU’s two-deep chart.

“Joe’s an awfully good player,” Mangino said. “We’re excited to have him, and we have a need at center.”

Anderson, who has played tight end and receiver, also fills a need for KU. He caught 19 passes for 382 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman and 26 passes for 534 yards and three touchdowns this year when he was an all-conference selection.

“He is a big, strong receiver that can go up for the ball,” Mangino said of Anderson, who also visited Missouri. “He brings some size to our corps of receivers that we need. He’s a big son of a gun.”

KU has 13 known commitments, including seven junior-college players. Verbal commitments, however, are non-binding.

“When you get commitments, the key is to hold onto those until the signing date,” Mangino said.

Kansas could sign as many as 25 more recruits when the signing period begins Feb. 5.

“I’m not telling you we will sign 27,” Mangino said. “We may, but we’re only going to take players that make our program better. We don’t take kids just because we have scholarships available.”

As for KU’s coaches, they’ll finally get a break from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1. An NCAA mandated “quiet period” begins Sunday. Recruits can make campus visits during that time, but coaches cannot go on the road. There is a “dead period” from Dec. 23 to Jan. 2 when coaches cannot have any contact with players. There is another quiet period from Dec. 3-5 before a dead period Dec. 6-9 that coincides with an American Football Coaches Association convention.

“They want everybody to go to the convention and nobody to get an edge in recruiting,” Mangino said.

Recruiting heats up again Jan. 12.

Mangino said his team’s 2-10 record had not been a deterrent during the rigorous process.

“I’m extremely pleased about the response from high school and junior-college prospects, coaches, fans, alumni and supporters of KU football,” Mangino said. “I think everybody truly understands what we’re trying to do here.”

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No Net fan: Add Mangino to the long list of college coaches who aren’t fans of the Internet.

“You can say anything you want about anybody,” Kansas University’s football coach said. “You’re not accountable.”

Mangino said there was no truth to an Internet chat-room rumor that sophomore offensive lineman Tony Coker was leaving school.

“He was just here the other day. He came in and wished me merry Christmas, shook my hand and told me how excited he is. Stay off the Internet,” Mangino said with a laugh Thursday during a meeting with reporters in his office. “Just read newspapers.”

Coker has left KU before. The Hoisington product came to KU in 2000 and red-shirted his freshman season. He played at Hutchinson Community College in 2001 before coming back to Kansas.

The right tackle started the first nine games this season, but he came off the bench in two of the last three games and didn’t play at all in the penultimate game at Nebraska.

While Coker’s staying, Mangino said there were a few KU players looking to transfer to smaller schools so they could play more.

“There’s just a couple — two or three — that aren’t really sure they are ever going to play at this level,” said Mangino, who declined to reveal their names. “They’re great kids. I wish them well, and if I can anything for them I will. There’s nobody I plan to ask to leave.”

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NCAA rules: December is crucial recruiting time for college football coaches. Wednesday marked the beginning of a 14-day period when junior college players can sign national letters of intent.

Mangino, with an NCAA rule book and a schedule of NCAA-approved recruiting days on his desk, said the system doesn’t make sense.

“We’re trying to save money in the NCAA, but we pay for our recruits to come to our campus and we fly all over the country — sometimes commercial,” he said. “When the university plane is available, I use it. The point is, Christmas is all travel and high airfare. You’re not saving any money. I’d like to see all that take place after the national title game and go January February and early March. But nobody asked my opinion.”

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Oh, Canada: KU coaches are scouring the United States for potential players. They’re looking north of the border, too, after signing British Columbia, Canada, running back Jon Cornish last winter.

“There are some intriguing kids there we’re looking at right now,” said Mangino, who can’t comment on specific players until they sign letters of intent.

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Facilities I: Mangino is going to need more than support from fans in the coming months to make his pet project a reality. The coach wants to move his staff’s offices to Memorial Stadium in a privately funded, two-floor complex built into the pillars under the stands on the west side of field.

The project, which would include offices, training room, meeting rooms, locker room, stretching room and a players lounge, among other things, would allow the football team to conduct most of its business in one place and would open an immense amount of office space and meeting rooms for other athletic programs in Allen Fieldhouse and Wagnon Center.

Mangino said KU had an estimate on the cost of the project, but he won’t make it public until the athletic department is certain of the numbers.

“We want to be able to put it down to the dollar,” he said. “We’ll provide a little bit in case there are some overruns, but we know what it’s going to cost. I’m reluctant to give a figure and then have to go back on it. We want it to be well thought out, well planned and well managed before we do that.”

Mangino said those figures would be made public sometime next month. In the meantime, associate athletic director for development John Hadl already is finding donors for the project, which Mangino would like to have in place in time for the 2004 season.

“John has been on it for quite a while,” Mangino said of the former KU football standout. “He’s made great progress. He’s told me that several boosters have climbed on board and want to do it, and there’s more John will visit with and I’m going to visit with. We really believe that we’re going to get support for this project and it’s going to happen. We have a lot of enthusiastic people.”

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Facilities II: One project that should help the football program already is in progress. The Anderson Strength and Conditioning Center is expected to be completed in March.

“We’re taking our recruits through there on recruiting weekends and showing them that,” Mangino said. “It’s awesome. The strength center here is really going to be one-of-a-kind in college athletics.”