Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino knows what his quarterbacks can do in flashes when they’re given the reins. Adam Barmann, Jason Swanson and Brian Luke all have looked like All-Americans for a play here, a play there.

But the winner of this spring’s quarterback battle — and the subsequent starter for the Sept. 3 opener against Florida Atlantic — will be the most consistent player, something, it can be argued, none was in 2004.

“We have to make good decisions every play,” Mangino said. “We can’t just make three or four good plays in a row and turn around and do something that’s not the right thing. They’re learning that.”

That’s where Swanson feels confident. After a year of slowly getting acquainted to KU’s system after two years in junior college, Swanson comes into this spring more comfortable than ever — and it’s showing.

The senior spent last spring as the new kid, the transfer with everything around him going Mach 1 as he tried to soak it all in. Learning the playbook, the receiver routes and the new atmosphere didn’t go as smoothly as planned.

“There was so much, so fast,” Swanson said. “It wasn’t clicking like I thought it would. Everything was just coming, and there was no slow-down period where you could get it right. You just had to go with it.

“This year, since I already know it, I don’t have to worry about slowing down. I’m just rolling with it a lot faster.”

It’s made him a legitimate candidate for the starting job. At the onset of spring, the majority of the quarterback repetitions went to Barmann and Marcus Herford, an athletic red-shirt freshman. Herford, though, has spent most of his time at wide receiver lately, making for a neck-and-neck race between Barmann, last year’s starter before he was injured, and Swanson.

Both had their moments during Wednesday’s practice, which was open to media. During a scrimmage, Swanson scored on a four-yard quarterback draw, and also threw a perfect strike to Brian Murph in the back of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

Against KU’s defense, one of the best in the Big 12 North, consistent success in practice will be enough to convince the KU coaches of who their quarterback should be. Mangino hasn’t said who the front-runner is, at least publicly, but he has been impressed by Swanson’s play this spring.

Kansas University's quarterbacks go through a passing drill during practice Wednesday. It's a neck-and-neck competition between Adam Barmann (7) and Jason Swanson, center, as to who will be the starter this fall.

“Adam Barmann has gotten better since last year,” Mangino said. “Jason Swanson has made leaps since last year.”

Asked to elaborate, Mangino cited Swanson’s increased recognition of defenses, his confidence and his ability to get the rid of the ball quicker under pressure.

Swanson, while feeling better about his game, still thinks he has a lot to work on.

“I’m trying to improve my reading ability from the snap,” Swanson said. “I need to read a lot faster, and I need to make better throws in clutch situations, like when a blitz is coming.”

Swanson showed some hints of great play in 2004, although it was in flashes. He threw the go-ahead, 31-yard touchdown pass to Mark Simmons against Kansas State in a 31-28 KU victory, and marched the Jayhawks on two first-quarter scoring drives to go up 14-0 against Colorado. A shoulder injury on the third drive ended his season, though, and the Buffalos ended up winning, 30-21.

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Now that he’s back, he’s making the quarterback decision hard on the staff — exactly the job of the challenger.

“I feel a lot more confident because I know the offense better than I did last year,” Swanson said. “It’s second-nature like it was in juco. I can make a lot of checks that I couldn’t make last spring. It’s improving my play a lot.”