“Who is that No. 87?” inquisitive Kansas University fans have asked media members at virtually all of the football practices open to the public this season.

The mystery man — who for the first time was included on KU’s football roster AND two-deep depth chart this week — is Scott Bajza, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound wide receiver from Cerritos (Calif.) Junior College who was a late addition to Mark Mangino’s 2003 recruiting class.

The tall target orally committed to KU in February, agreeing to walk-on first semester with the promise of receiving a scholarship in January 2004.

“He is an impressive-looking young man,” said Mangino, who can understand why Jayhawk fans have had their eyes glued on jersey No. 87 during workouts. “Our strength staff has had a lot of good things to say about him.”

Bajza, who caught 20 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore at Cerritos College, was a sleeper in recruiting, choosing the Jayhawks over Boise State and Charleston (S.C.) Southern.

“I’m ready to make a name for myself,” said Bajza, who is running second-team at wide receiver behind 5-11 sophomore Mark Simmons. Bajza also can play split end where 6-4 junior Brandon Rideau is listed at No. 1, and 6-5 freshman Moderick Johnson is No. 2.

“This is a big step for me. I’m ready to go,” added Bajza, whose Cerritos teammate, offensive lineman Richard Estrella, also joined the KU program this year.

Bajza is eager for Saturday’s major-college football opener against Northwestern, which takes place a year after he was a somewhat obscure junior-college player.

“I didn’t put up big numbers last season. That might have been part of it,” Bajza said of his being overlooked in recruiting. “We didn’t throw the ball a lot. We had some great running backs in my junior college.

“Some schools dropped off at the end. This came up at the last minute,” added Bajza, who said he chose KU because of its academic reputation and the strength of the Big 12 Conference.

KU certainly can use Bajza. In 2002, four of KU’s top six receivers were shorter than 6-foot.

“My height helps me going up for balls, using my body to help block out the defender,” Bajza said. “We’ve got some great receivers all pushing each other. We’ll play our hearts out. We’re ready to go.”

Mangino thinks the Jayhawks have several weapons at receiver this year, and senior QB Bill Whittemore will have plenty of options — some tall ones — from which to choose.

Whittemore completed 49.5 percent of his passes last season, when his statistics were hindered by numerous drops.

“I think our receivers will hold onto the ball,” Mangino said. “I know this, we have more depth at receiver. If you drop the ball and leave it on the ground, you are going to be standing next to me for the rest of the game. We have other kids to put in, and last year we didn’t have that kind of depth. I am confident in those kids, and I think that they can be a really good group for us. Some of them need some game experience. They just need to be thrown into the fire.

“We are athletic, and we are a little quicker than we were a year ago at the receiver position. I feel good about the way our kids run their routes, catch the ball, get up the field, and they have done a really good job with it.”

On paper, Bajza likes everything about KU’s offense.

“I think we’ll be balanced,” he said. “We’ve got good running backs and offensive linemen. I think we’ll do both (run and pass) and be productive in it.”