Kansas University’s defenders won’t have any trouble spotting UNLV tight end Greg Estandia tonight at Memorial Stadium.

Tackling him might be another matter.

“He’s an excellent athlete at 6-8,” KU football coach Mark Mangino said. “A guy that big and that athletic poses a problem, but we feel like we can have a good matchup at the line of scrimmage with him. You can’t stop him, but we’ll try to neutralize him a little bit and try to shut him down.”

Estandia caught four passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns last Friday in UNLV’s 28-18 victory against Toledo.

“I’ve had some good tight ends down through my career, but mostly blockers,” said Runnin’ Rebels coach John Robinson, whose head coaching career includes two stints at Southern Cal and nine years with the Los Angeles Rams. “He is a big-time receiver.”

Estandia (6-foot-8, 240 pounds) certainly is big. He caught 22 passes — 10 for touchdowns — last year at Moorpark, Calif., JC.

Apparently, few major-college teams noticed.

“In junior college, he didn’t get recruited as much as he should have,” Robinson said. “My son, David, was the recruiter. He just kept after us, saying, ‘Look, this kid is a real player.'”

Estandia proved the younger Robinson right against Toledo. In addition to his two TDs, he was named Mountain West special teams player of the week for blocking a field goal.

UNLV tight end Greg Estandia scores a touchdown against Toledo. The junior-college transfer scored two TDs last Friday at Las Vegas in the Rebels' season opener.

He showed a knack for swatting kicks during the preseason, blocking a total of four in two scrimmages,

“He’s a guy that’s going to be nationally known as his two years go by,” Robinson said. “He’s got some natural ability.”

Junior quarterback Kurt Nantkes (6-4, 225) might not rely on Estandia as much against KU as he did in the season opener. His top wide receiver — junior Earvin Johnson — was suspended last week for misuse of an assistant coach’s phone card, but will return to the lineup tonight.

Without his favorite deep threat, Nantkes put together a 308-yard, three-touchdown performance despite sticking to short routes.

¢¢ Depth chart: KU on offense¢ Depth chart: KU on defense¢¢¢¢Know the Foe: Rebels rebuilding on offensive side¢KUsports.com cell phone notifications

Johnson (6-3, 200) caught 51 passes for 793 yards and four TDs last year. UNLV’s two tall targets could cause problems for KU’s smaller defensive backs.

The Rebels — who defeated KU 31-20 last year in Las Vegas — also like to throw to their running backs. Senior Larry Croom (5-10, 205) led UNLV with nine receptions for 66 yards in the opener. Croom also had 97 yards rushing on 22 carries, but Robinson wasn’t satisfied with the Rebels’ 150-yards rushing against Toledo.

Mangino is still wary of the Rebels’ running backs after his defense gave up 235 yards rushing in a 28-20 loss to Northwestern.

“He is quick and has great acceleration,” Mangino said of Croom, who rushed for 88 yards against KU last year in a backup role. “He runs extremely well and runs with great vision. He does a good job of picking up his blocks. When the ball is in his hands he can create big plays. That’s something that we cannot allow them to do.”

KU’s offense will try to make some big plays of its own after scoring only one touchdown against Northwestern — a team that ranked 116th in the nation in defense last season.

UNLV’s defense is led by preseason All-American Jamaal Brimmer, a junior safety.

“On defense, they are very fast, and they might have the best safety in college football in Jamaal Brimmer,” Mangino said. “He can do it all. He is a pass coverage guy, he’s a run support guy, and he is all over the field. He is a physical player and is extremely quick.”