Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino left the door open when he announced Monday that Adam Barmann would be the team’s starting quarterback to open the season.

The junior will start Saturday’s game against Florida Atlantic, beating senior Brian Luke and freshman Kerry Meier for the job after what Mangino called a strong offseason of preparation.

“Adam has earned the job,” Mangino said during Monday’s Big 12 coaches teleconference. “He has performed at a high level throughout August.”

Mangino, though, stressed the quarterback competition wasn’t finished. He said Barmann might not be the only quarterback to see action Saturday, and, when asked, said Meier was not yet a lock for a red-shirt season.

“Kerry Meier is still very much competing for the position as the number-two guy,” Mangino said. “He’s not out of the mix yet, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

The news was somewhat expected, as Mangino had given hints of Barmann’s progress since Big 12 Conference media days more than a month ago. Barmann looked the most consistent in open preseason practices, and Mangino said during spring workouts that as the incumbent starter it was Barmann’s job to lose.

• 6Sports video: Barmann is the man

Barmann started the first eight games of 2004, passing for 1,427 yards and 12 touchdowns. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Iowa State but already had been replaced at certain times by Jason Swanson.

Quarterback is not the only position being fought for – the offensive line isn’t settled, nor is defensive tackle or safety – but Mangino seems encouraged.

“The intense competition at those positions raises the level of play for our team,” Mangino said. “Sometimes you have guys win the job by default or inherit them, and they’re not as motivated.”

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Dinged up: Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger also spoke Monday in the Sun Belt coaches conference call, bemoaning the lack of progress his team made this preseason.

“Our training camp has been riddled with injuries, which is very discouraging with this young, new football team we have,” Schnellenberger said. “By and large, we missed an awful lot of training camp.”

At one point, 21 players were missing in action, forcing an open-to-the-public scrimmage to be canceled.

“Thank God we have a week to go solidify what we’re going to be doing,” Schnellenberger said.

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Katrina woes: Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf coast Monday in Alabama, Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana, forcing the Sun Belt headquarters to be relocated temporarily to Jackson, Miss.

The storm first passed through South Florida last week, though, where Florida Atlantic is located. At that point, it was Category 1, and its impact on FAU’s preparation was minimal.

“This one was really not a big thing for us,” Schnellenberger said. “We did close campus for one day because it looked like it was going to come close to us.”