Senior David Hurst wasn’t playing much at tight end, so he went looking for another position.

“David Hurst came to me and asked if he could be moved to the offensive line,” Kansas football coach Mark Mangino said Tuesday during his weekly news conference. “He thinks we can use some help up there.”

Apparently, Mangino agreed. Hurst (6-foot-3, 275 pounds) will work out at guard during practices this week.

“How much playing time he gets this week depends on how much he learns and how he progresses throughout the week,” said Mangino, whose team plays its home opener at 6 p.m. Saturday against Southwest Missouri State.

Hurst, who was an all-region high school standout in Austin, Texas, started nine games at tight end and caught 11 passes for 87 yards and one touchdown as a red-shirt freshman in 1999.

He was never able to duplicate those numbers, though, slumping to two catches in 2000 and zero in 2001. Hurst lost his starting job this season to junior Adrian Jones, who made two catches in Saturday’s loss at Nevada-Las Vegas.

Mangino hopes Hurst can help an offensive line that has struggled with inexperience and a lack of depth. The Jayhawks rank last in the Big 12 Conference in scoring offense (11.5 points per game) and 11th in total offense (222 ypg).

“Some of our guards we’ve used for entire games,” Mangino said, “and when you move your guards around a lot like we do, you need some rotation.”

KU hasn’t released an updated depth chart this week, so it was unclear who would take Hurst’s spot as backup tight end. Sophomore Denver Latimore was used as a third tight end Saturday at UNLV.

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Lacy awarded: Mangino said senior defensive end Brandon Lacy has been awarded a scholarship. The Edmond, Okla., product transferred from Tennessee-Martin in 2000 and red-shirted.

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Running back update: Mangino said junior Reggie Duncan and red-shirt freshman Clark Green both are likely to play Saturday against Southwest Missouri State. Green rushed for 69 yards on 18 carries in his first start against UNLV, while Duncan was sidelined by unspecified injuries.

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Home opener: KU officials are expecting a crowd of between 35,000 and 40,000 fans for Saturday’s 6 p.m. home opener. Kansas has sold a little more than 26,000 season-ticket packages, its highest total since 1977.

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Top players: Mangino revealed KU’s players of the week from the UNLV game. They were: defensive back Johnny McCoy, who made 12 solo tackles and one assist; quarterback Bill Whittemore, who passed for 225 yards and a touchdown and ran for another TD; special teams player Matt Jordan; linebacker Josh Homolka for the defensive scout team and tight end Kevin Long for the offensive scout team.