In his effort to build Kansas University’s fan base, football coach Mark Mangino hasn’t forgotten the little guys.

About 200 children watched the final 30 minutes of Sunday’s practice, then mingled with players and coaches while collecting autographs on the field south of Anschutz Pavilion. Including parents, more than 300 fans braved the heat for Kids Day.

“It gives them a little feel of what it’s like to have to work out here in the hot sun,” Mangino said while taking a short break from signing autographs and posing for photos.

“They just get to see game day, and they get a chance to see games on TV. It looks pretty comfortable. This gives these young kids an opportunity to see how Division One players have to prepare to play.”

The Jayhawks had their first two-a-day practice Saturday before Sunday’s single workout. Under new NCAA rules, teams cannot practice twice a day in consecutive days. The Jayhawks will practice twice a day today, Wednesday and Friday.

Mangino gave players a chance to rest Sunday night, forgoing the usual meetings.

“We do want to give our kids a chance to recover and think about something for a few hours this evening other than football, to relax more than anything,” he said. “We have a busy week coming up. We’re going to get after it pretty good.”

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Catching up: Defense typically runs ahead of the offense during the early days of training camp, as in the Jayhawks’ first open practices last week when the defense gave the offense little room to operate. Things evened out Sunday during KU’s third open practice session when freshmen running backs Jerome Kemp and John Randle each broke several long runs.

“We’re nowhere near where we need to be, but we’re moving in the right direction,” Mangino said. “There’s no question about that.”

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Backup battle: It’s still unclear who will back up senior quarterback Bill Whittemore, but Mangino said he expected a leader to emerge in that five-man battle after Wednesday’s scrimmage.

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Texan picks KU: Tight end Jim Reuber of Plano (Texas) West gave an oral commitment to Kansas during the weekend, rivals.com reported.

Reuber made campus visits to Kansas and Kansas State this summer and received scholarship offers from both schools. He also received an offer from Arizona last week. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder also was recruited by Oklahoma, but OU coaches told him they wanted to see him play this season before making an offer.

“I didn’t want to be recruited through my senior year,” he told rivals.com. “This is a year we can make it to the state playoffs for the first time, and I wanted to focus on my senior year.”

Reuber’s twin brother Tim (6-4, 210) is Plano West’s quarterback. The pair would like to attend the same college.

Their older brother Alan is a fifth-year senior and starting offensive lineman at Texas A&M.

Jim Reuber is KU’s third commitment, joining Silver Lake offensive lineman Scott Haverkamp (6-4, 280) and Olathe East offensive lineman Todd Haselhorst (6-4, 284).

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Up Next: KU’s next open practice is 9:30 a.m. Thursday at the practice field.

¢ 6Sports video: ‘Hawks flock to Kids Day