Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino took part in a 25-minute chat Wednesday afternoon on KUsports.com, during which he answered questions about senior quarterback Bill Whittemore, preparations for this season’s opponents and many other topics.

During the chat, the second-year coach said he had visited with Lew Perkins, KU’s new athletic director, the past couple of days and was looking forward to working with Perkins in building the football program. Mangino also discussed the progress and competition at the running back and wide receiver positions.

“Our running backs are coming along real well,” Mangino said. “We have some competition at that position this fall. I was impressed with Jerome Kemp, who showed signs of being an outstanding player, and we also have some youngsters in the mix who have improved quite a bit, including Jon Cornish and Harold McClendon. At the fullback spot, we’ve had several players at the position, including Austin Nwabusi and Brandon Watkins.

“At the wide receiver position we have some veterans who are back, and we have some newcomers who we’re excited about. As a group, they can get better and will get better, and I think the addition of the young guys we’ve brought in, including Moderick Johnson, will only help make that unit better.”

World Online managers who are responsible for KUsports.com, as well as the other World Company Web sites LJWorld.com and Lawrence.com said Wednesday’s live discussion with Mangino was one of the most highly visited chats in the site’s history, with participants not only from the across the nation, but also from across the world.

Nearly 100 user-submitted questions were placed in the chat before the online discussion began.

¢ Chat transcript with Mark Mangino

Mangino will take part in similar chats on KUsports.com in the future, including ones before and throughout the 2003 season. The next online chat on KUsports.com will be with Whittemore later this month, while sophomore linebacker Banks Floodman is scheduled to take part in a chat in mid-July.

For a full transcript of Mangino’s chat, log on to KUsports.com.