Tony Stubbs ranked third on Kansas University’s football team as a junior with 98 tackles.

Two games into his senior season, Stubbs is leading his team in that critical category.

And the Big 12 Conference, too.

“Tony is much improved,” said Kansas coach Mark Mangino, whose team faces Northwestern at 1 p.m. today at Evanston, Ill. “Tony is running better than he ever has. His change of direction is better. He’s playing with confidence. The fact that he’s surrounded by a good supporting cast makes it that much better.”

A safety leading his team in tackles could be a sign of a weak defensive front, but that doesn’t appear to be the case for a KU team ranked 10th in the nation in scoring defense (8.5 points per game) and 11th in total defense (219.5 yards per game).

“He has a gap responsibility a lot of times in the run game,” Mangino said. “One of those gaps often times belongs to him. Just like a linebacker, he’s excepted to get a fit in that gap and make the play, and that’s what he’s done. In our defensive system, if the strong safety is making tackles, that’s not all bad.”

KU’s defense was bad a year ago when the Jayhawks allowed averages of 30.5 points and 412.6 yards a game. An improved defensive line is putting more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and that’s helped Stubbs and his fellow defensive backs.

“It’s a whole lot easier with the defensive line jumping the ball and making sacks,” said Stubbs, who leads the league with 21 tackles and also has one interception. “We only have to stay in coverage for (a few) seconds. It’s really helping us out in the secondary.”

Back and forth

Stubbs never expected to be in the secondary. The Lake Worth, Fla., product started his KU career as a running back before moving to cornerback.

Kansas safety Tony Stubbs makes a tackle against Nebraska during the 2003 season. Stubbs leads the Big 12 Conference in tackles entering today's game at Northwest-ern.

“Running back wasn’t for me,” said Stubbs, who played running back and strong safety in high school. “Once you get to college level it’s much faster paced than high school. I could just run around the corner to the outside, but it’s different in college. I felt like I could help the team in defense.”

But Stubbs was shifted back to running back by former coach Terry Allen.

When Mangino arrived after the 2001 season, Stubbs moved to safety and stayed there. The third-year sophomore played in 11 games, including two starts, and made 24 tackles in 2002.

“I had no clue what I was doing with gaps,” he said. “Now I’ve got it down. I really like it now. It was kind of scary at first. Just learning all the coverages was a little scary, but I have no problems with it now.”

In fact, Stubbs is the veteran leader of KU’s revamped secondary. Sophomore Charles Gordon is making the switch from receiver to cornerback, and junior-college transfers Theo Baines and Rodney Harris are first-year players at the major-college level.

Kansas safety Tony Stubbs tackles North Carolina State's Brian Clark during last year's Tangerine Bowl. Stubbs has 21 tackles in the Jayhawks' first two games this season.

“He’s helped us out tremendously,” said Baines, a cornerback who has one interception and a pass deflection in two games. “As soon as me and Rodney came in during the spring, he played a big role in helping us out in the secondary. He knows the defense very well. He’s one of the smartest football players I’ve been around. He’s a tremendous athlete. He helps us make adjustments back there.”

Big 12 leader

Stubbs knew he had improved, but learning he was leading the league in tackles “was definitely a surprise.”

“I’m not big into stats,” he said, “but that’s definitely an honor.”

Here are some other numbers for Stubbs and the Jayhawks to ponder — 28-20. That was the score last year when Northwestern took advantage of five KU turnovers in a season-opening victory at Lawrence.

“We owe them from last year,” Stubbs said. “It’s been in the back of my mind that we should have won last year.”