After winning two games in his first season, Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino knows where his team needs the most improvement.

“We have got to build a strong defense here,” Mangino said in a news conference Friday. “That is the No. 1 priority.”

KU’s defense ranked last in the Big 12 Conference in 2002, allowing an average of 472.4 yards and 42.2 points per game.

Kansas signed nine defensive players in February from junior colleges, but none will be on campus when spring drills begin Monday. Mangino and his staff will focus on returning players in 14 practices leading up to the spring game April 12 at Memorial Stadium.

“One of the areas of focus is that we want to be a more aggressive, physical, faster defensive unit,” Mangino said. “I believe strongly that you win championships with defense. The more that your defense can go out and force the other team’s offense to three plays and out, that means that there are more opportunities for your offense to get the ball.”

The Jayhawks’ offense also struggled last year, especially when quarterback Bill Whittemore missed the final three games because of a knee injury. KU ranked 11th in the conference in scoring (20.7 points per game) and last in total offense (316.8 yards per game).

Kansas lost senior offensive linemen Tony Damiani, David Hurst, Greg Nicks and Justin Sands. The fifth starter, sophomore Tony Coker, is trying to overcome a chronic back injury.

“We have to develop an offensive line with all five starters gone from last year,” Mangino said. “I am confident that we will. With the kids that we have in the program now, and some of the junior-college kids that we have brought in, we are confident that those kids will improve our offensive line.”

KU signed three junior-college offensive linemen. One of them, Northeastern Oklahoma center Joe Vaughn, transferred at semester and will participate in spring drills.

Next on Mangino’s wish list is improving the team’s mental toughness.

Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino grins while he discusses the Jayhawks' spring practice schedule. Mangino held a spring football news conference Friday at Hadl Auditorium.

“We are going to put their backs to the wall constantly and put them in difficult positions to make them mentally overcome adversity,” he said.

Spring drills start at 3:25 p.m. Monday on the practice field behind Anschutz Pavilion. The practice is open to the public. Other open workouts are March 12 and 28 and April 2.

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Revamped schedule: Last year, the Jayhawks played their spring game April 26. Mangino is starting things earlier this year to give his staff more time to recruit. The NCAA allows coaches 20 dates of their choice during the final two weeks of April and all of May to be on the road.

“Last year, we played the spring game and then our assistant coaches literally ran out the door Sunday night to the airport to go out and recruit,” Mangino said. “I wanted to give them a week’s preparation to make appointments and continue to plan their strategy.”

Mangino also had to pick a weekend before or after the Kansas Relays, which are April 16-19 at Memorial Stadium. Playing before the track meet will allow two-sport athlete Leo Bookman — a football receiver and track sprinter — the opportunity to participate in both events after skipping the relays last year.

The early start means the Jayhawks will practice for a week, take a week off for spring break and resume drills March 24.

“A lot of coaches that have done this have told us that the kids feel re-energized after spring break, and they really get after it,” Mangino said.

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Injury updates: Mangino said Whittemore and sophomore linebacker Banks Floodman were each recovering from knee injuries and will be eased into the first three practices, then re-evaluated.

Floodman tore an anterior cruciate ligament in the 2002 season opener at Iowa State and missed the rest of year. Whittemore damaged his medial collateral ligament at Missouri.

Running back Jon Cornish and defensive end Kyle Knighton also will participate after suffering season-ending injuries early last season.

Coker is expected to participate despite his back woes. The sophomore is receiving treatment from the team’s medical staff.

“He’s trying to get through it, and I think he will,” Mangino said. “They’re doing some things for him now that maybe by August he’ll be able to go pretty hard and have just a minimal amount of trouble.”

Junior Glen Robinson has an unspecified injury and will sit out spring drills, but Mangino said he expected the linebacker to be ready for the season.

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Who’s on first: Bookman, who started last season at defensive back and moved to receiver, is expected to remain a receiver.

Red-shirt freshman Greg Heaggans, who has played receiver, defensive back and quarterback, will play receiver.

Junior Adrian Jones will move to tackle, clearing the way for junior-college transfer Lyonel Anderson to start at tight end.

Junior Zach Dyer, who was the starting quarterback in the first and last games of 2002 and played safety in between, will stay in the secondary.

With Dyer playing defense, candidates to back up Whittemore will include red-shirt freshman Brian Luke, freshman Joe Hogan and walk-on John Nielsen, a transfer from Palomar (Calif.) Community College.

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Newcomers: KU announced the addition of two players who will join the team as walk-ons in the fall — Joey Cotten, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound all-state safety from Hoisington, and quarterback Jeff Norris (6-4, 205), who led Salina Central to the Class 5A state title game last season.