Kansas University’s Clark Green is a running contradiction.

Based just on his physical appearance  Green sports a puffy Afro or tightly woven cornrows depending on his mood, a smile reveals a shimmering gold tooth and a fat tattoo jumps off his right forearm  one might expect the Tampa, Fla., product to be a bit outspoken.

Nope, he’s quiet as a mouse. And his teammates say he’s respectful, too  off the field.

“He’s a quiet kid,” offensive lineman Justin Henry said. “But once he gets on the football field that’s what motivates him. He’ll talk a little trash if he runs over you.”

Green’s gums were probably flapping a little last weekend. The red-shirt freshman had the best game of his fledgling career, accounting for 185 total yards and his first two collegiate touchdowns in KU’s 44-24 victory against Southwest Missouri State.

“I feel every week is my week to bust out,” Green said in his soft monotone voice. “I’m glad for it, but I’m just out there taking it step by step.”

That’s been the motto behind Green’s brief Jayhawk career.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back said he was recruited by several Division I schools, but he chose Kansas because he thought he would have a legitimate chance to start in the backfield.

“A lot of them wanted me to play safety,” said Green, who played that position at Robinson High in addition to racking up 1,400 rushing yards his senior season. “But I wanted to run the ball. I thought I had a chance to come in and play as a freshman.”

Things didn’t work out quite as Green had dreamed, and he had to settle for watching teammate Reggie Duncan from the sideline in 2001.

“It wasn’t frustrating at all, I just took it and ran with it,” Green said about sitting out. “Just took the red-shirt, kept patient and waited.”

Green’s attributes part of his cool demeanor from having growing up around some crazy things in Tampa.

“This is like a quiet town, it’s peaceful here, no violence,” Green said of Lawrence. “Where I’m from everyone’s rowdy and stuff.”

Green sometimes misses watching the unique occurrences back home. Of course, he never took part in any extracurricular activities.

“I was home,” Green said with a grin. “OK, sometimes I was out there, but never got into it. So I got into a couple of them, but I had no choice.”

Green said if for some reason he did get in a squabble, there was no need asking who came out on top.

That attitude helps to explain that despite his soft-spoken nature, Green is quite competitive.

“Every time we’re in the weight room, we talk trash,” said linebacker Greg Cole, who often challenges Green to see who can bench or squat the most weight. “Clark is really cool, we’re really competitive.”

From the start of spring drills, Green’s intense mentality showed when he and Duncan locked up in a neck-and-neck battle for the starting job that stretched into the fall.

Green’s nagging injuries propelled Duncan into the starting role for the Jayhawks’ season-opener at Iowa State. Green still made his debut that day rushing for 31 yards on nine carries, which was 10 yards better than Duncan recorded on the same number of attempts.

Green, who made his first career start the next week in Las Vegas, churned out 69 yards on 18 attempts against UNLV. Duncan, meanwhile, was sidelined with injuries of his own.

Then came Green’s breakout performance last Saturday against the Bears. He rushed for 131 yards, just seven yards less than the Jayhawks had gained in their first two games combined.

“He’s a hard runner, a downhill runner,” coach Mark Mangino said. “He gave us a big boost. We’ve been trying to get the running game going, and he was able to give us that spark.”

While Green’s game continues to grow weekly, the freshman wishes Duncan could get in on the action.

“I envisioned getting a lot of playing time this year,” Green said. “But I didn’t think I was going to start this early. I hope Reggie comes around and gets it going.”

While Duncan has gained just 40 yards so far, Green said the Jayhawks’ backfield is at its most explosive with both of them out there.

“I like it a lot because they don’t know who’s going to get the ball,” Green said with a smile. “It keeps the defense on its heels.”

Green’s statistics haven’t impressed Mangino as much as how much the running back has improved.

“As you play you start to understand your own strengths and weaknesses and where you need to improve, and that’s what’s starting to happen with Clark,” said Mangino, who said that during the spring Green would often just lower his head and run right into the line of scrimmage. “He understands there are certain ways you run plays. You don’t just get the ball and run with it.”

Despite Green’s recent success, don’t expect him to change his attitude. His hairstyle might be another story.

“Sometimes you gotta let your hair just go free and sometimes you got to look, what do you call it, respectful,” said Green, who promises to pick his locks back out before the end of the season.

After all, he has an image to protect.

“The silent types you always got to watch out for,” Green said grinning.