Lyonel Anderson might be the big target Kansas University has been looking for.

He’s certainly getting bigger.

“He is going to be huge when it is all said and done,” said KU football coach Mark Mangino, whose team resumed drills Monday following spring break. “He is just putting on lean body weight at an unbelievable pace just since he arrived here for the semester.”

Anderson, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Alfred State College in New York, weighed 224 pounds at the beginning of the semester. He’s up to 237 and hopes to begin two-a-day practices in August between 245 and 250 pounds.

The biggest obstacle to Anderson’s pursuit of poundage is that KU doesn’t provide players with a training table during the weekend.

“I think I should have it by June,” he said of his goal. “The weekend’s pretty tough. I lose four or five pounds every weekend. I gain it back by Wednesday. I don’t eat as good. We have to eat on our own, so it’s usually McDonald’s.”

Anderson isn’t just eating to win. He impressed the coaches during winter workouts.

“He learned that when you come to the Division One level, we are pretty serious about our offseason program,” Mangino said. “He will tell you himself the first couple of days he lifted, his arms were just killing him. He has worked extremely hard. He has a tremendous attitude and work ethic.”

Anderson played receiver his freshman year at Alfred State and caught 26 passes for 534 yards and three touchdowns. He moved to tight end as a sophomore and had 19 receptions for 382 yards and four TDs.

Mangino utilized the tight end with great success while he was offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. In 2001, Trent Smith’s 61 receptions set an OU single-season record and was the most in the nation among tight ends.

Mangino’s first KU team lacked a play-making tight end who could stretch the field last season. Senior tight end David Hurst was moved to the offensive line, and junior Adrian Jones finished with 14 catches for 140 yards and one TD.

Jones, the only KU tight end to catch a pass, moved to the offensive line this spring.

Anderson is expected to fill the void — and then some.

“He is tough, and he can make plays at tight end that I am accustomed to seeing,” Mangino said. “We also think that when it is all said and done he is going to be a very good blocker for us in that position. He is athletic. He has got great hands, and he is a good get for us.”

Anderson and Northeastern Oklahoma center Joe Vaughn enrolled for the spring semester. KU’s 11 other junior college transfers won’t be on campus until the summer or fall.

Anderson is glad to have a head start.

“I think it’s very important,” the Rochester, N.Y., native said. “The first couple weeks it’s pretty tough with conditioning. Then you have to go to class and then you have to go to seven-on-seven drills in the afternoons. It’s pretty tough. It’s probably the hardest thing I’ve done. It’s vital. It helped me. I gained 14 pounds. I feel stronger and faster than ever.”

And he’s excited about playing tight end for Mangino.

“Some other schools, like Pitt, wanted me to play wide receiver,” said Anderson, who also had scholarship offers from Pitt, Indiana, Missouri and Buffalo. “This was the best opportunity for myself.”

Anderson, who played for a state playoff team in high school and a ranked junior college team, wasn’t scared off by KU’s 2-10 record in 2002.

“That was one of the things I had to sleep on,” he said. “I’ve never been accustomed to losing. My philosophy is in order for a program to turn around, good players have to come. Somebody has to go against the grain and say, ‘I’m coming.'”

The Jayhawks will have an open practice at 3:25 p.m. Friday on the practice field behind Anschutz Pavilion. KU’s spring game is scheduled for 1 p.m. April 12 at Memorial Stadium.

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Anderson Center opens: KU athletes had their first workouts Monday in Anderson Family Strength and Conditioning Center. The $8 million, 42,000-square-foot facility on the northwest corner of Anschutz Sports Pavilion was completed during spring break.

“We are thrilled to move into a facility that is one of the best in the nation,” assistant athletics director Gary Kempf said.