Kansas University football players report to campus today, and the Jayhawks will begin preparations for their Aug. 30 season opener against Northwestern Monday.

KU’s coaches, prohibited by the NCAA to work with players during the summer, are eager to see how the Jayhawks have progressed.

“A whole summer can make a big difference, especially for the younger guys,” offensive coordinator Nick Quartaro said. “An older guy’s margin for improvement is pretty small, but younger guys can improve by leaps and bounds in a pretty short time.”

One of the underclassmen expected to make an impact is red-shirt freshman running back Jerome Kemp, who should challenge returning starter Clark Green for playing time.

Freshman John Randle, Kemp’s former Wichita Southeast teammate and MVP of last weekend’s Shrine Bowl, also will get a look in the backfield.

One of the major questions facing Quartaro is who will back up senior quarterback Bill Whittemore, who missed the final three games of 2002 because of a knee injury.

Sophomore Brian Luke struggled as backup after Whittemore went down in the Missouri game Oct. 26.

“Brian Luke can’t be fairly judged on last year,” Quartaro said. “He broke his hand during two-a-days and was in a cast for six weeks. Then in the eighth week he’s playing big-time, Big 12 games.”

Others in contention for the backup role include junior-college transfer John Nielsen, red-shirt freshman Joe Hogan and freshman Adam Barmann. Also back in the mix is junior Kevin Long, a highly touted quarterback prospect KU had attempted to convert to tight end.

KU will have limited contact early in the week before getting into full pads Friday.