Not that he’s in the same category with the bored Maytag repairman, but Kansas University punter Curtis Ansel’s time-in-waiting definitely has increased.

“You never know going into a game how many times you’ll punt,” Ansel said. “You just have to be ready.”

In a dozen games last season, Ansel punted a school-record 82 times — including kicks of 83 and 82 yards that placed him in the top five on KU’s all-time punt distance chart.

Five games into the 2003 season, Ansel has punted only 12 times. In the UNLV game, he didn’t punt once.

“I had no clue I wouldn’t punt in that game,” Ansel said. “It’s just one of those things that happens.”

Ansel averaged 6.84 punts a game in 2002. This year, he is averaging 2.4 punts a game. Clearly, most of that disparity has to do with the fact the Jayhawks have been able to move the ball more effectively than they did during last year’s 2-10 season.

Ansel, a 6-foot, 210-pound senior from Lakin, a small town near Garden City, averaged 42.2 yards on his 82 punts last season. So far this year, his average is virtually the same at 41.8. That’s not the most important number, though. Net punting is what really counts.

“That’s the key thing,” he said. “I could kick the ball 84 yards, and they might return it for a TD. I can’t out-kick the coverage.”

So proficient Ansel has been that only half of his punts have been returned and for a mere 1.4 yard average. Thus KU’s net punting average is 40.4, the 14th best mark in the country.

When it comes to punting, coaches much prefer verticality to distance and Ansel practices primarily, he says, on improving his hang-time.

“It’s kind of hard to describe what I do,” he said. “Usually it involves dropping the ball a little higher or holding on to it a little longer.”

When playing at altitude — as the Jayhawks did a couple of weeks ago at Wyoming and will again Saturday in Colorado — Ansel has to remind himself the ball will travel farther in the thin air and to be careful not to boot it too far.

“Yeah, you’ve got a chance to put one out there,” he said. “But maybe the thin air will help with hang time, too, because they’ve got Jeremy Bloom, one of the best punt returners in the country.”

Colorado’s Bloom has returned two punts for touchdowns and has amassed 520 return yards in his career. He ranks 21st in the nation with an average of 14.2 yards per punt return.

Last year in Lawrence, however, the Buffaloes’ speedster was able to return only one of Ansel’s seven punts and for a yard loss.

Punting isn’t Ansel’s only job. He is also the holder on place-kicks, a position he earned in the August two-a-days of 2002 and has maintained ever since.

So far this season KU’s special teams have been remarkable with the exception of place-kicking. As noted, the Jayhawks rank high nationally in net punting. They also lead the Big 12 in kickoff coverage while ranking second in NCAA Div. I-A in kickoff returns and fourth in punt returns.

In the meantime, kicker Johnny Beck has made only 4 of 8 field goal attempts and has missed two extra points. Sometimes the snaps have been shaky and sometimes Beck has been off, but rarely has Ansel been the problem.

“The holder is the least of the worries of those three components,” coach Mark Mangino said.

Also, thanks to the veteran Ansel, punting is one of the least of his worries, too.