Kansas University’s football mission this spring is to kick the offense in the tail and crank it up again.

That, of course, starts with the big guys on the line.

“We think for the first time here, we could possibly be two-deep in every position up front,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “We’ve never had that.”

A deep offensive line could make a difference in offensive efficiency. Development in the trenches is one of the focal points in spring drills, which will begin today with a closed practice.

Between today and the April 16 spring scrimmage, the Jayhawks will participate in 15 practices, where Mangino and his staff will develop, analyze and place players.

A 4-7 season in 2004 derailed the Jayhawks’ chances at two straight bowl seasons, after KU had played in the ’03 Tangerine Bowl.

This spring especially is crucial for the offensive line, which has some holes that need to be filled before the Sept. 3 opener against Florida Atlantic.

Not only does the O-line need to scrap growing pains, but it must make up for the loss of standout center and leader Joe Vaughn, a senior last season, as well as become comfortable with a new assistant, John Reagan, who replaced Ed Warinner as offensive line coach last month.

“The first thing they have to do is get used to me,” said Reagan, who spent the last two years at Air Force. “I think that, certainly, one thing I’ll never stray far from is that we’re going to be a physical offensive line, whether we’re running the football or whatever we’re doing.”

One of the first moves Reagan and Mangino brainstormed was the possibility of moving Matt Thompson, a pre-med major, to center to replace Vaughn. Thompson, who also transferred from Air Force but wasn’t there when Reagan was coaching, started all 11 games at left tackle in ’04, but he’ll receive repetitions at center starting today.

“I think the center has to be a guy that quarterbacks the offensive line and directs things,” Reagan said. “Everybody has to be able to trust him, and I think our guys do. Hopefully, Matt will bring that leadership to the position if we indeed decide to put him there.”

Along with Thompson, Cesar Rodriguez, David Ochoa, Bob Whitaker and Travis Dambach all return after seeing significant action last fall. In addition, junior-college transfers Marcus Anderson and Jake Cox will participate in spring ball, and KU expects red-shirt freshmen Ryan Cantrell and Scott Haverkamp to compete for playing time, too.

Really, it’s a case of the more bodies, the better. The number of capable contributors will do plenty in making the line stronger as a whole, not only because of the competition, but because fatigue won’t be as much of a factor.

“We’ll have the ability to rotate some guys in the game so we can be relatively fresh in the fourth quarter,” Mangino said.

That, in turn, could lead more potent performances in the late going — an Achilles heel last season.

Still there are questions and today the answers slowly will start to surface.

“The nice part is, they’re experienced and ready to win,” Reagan said. “And they’re willing to do anything I’ve asked them to do.”