Kansas University’s football team put on pads for the first time in four months Wednesday, but the defense didn’t look rusty.

In the last hour Wednesday of KU’s third spring practice, which was open to the public, the Jayhawk offense and defense scrimmaged, and the defense applied an assortment of blitzes.

The results were clear: The offense still is trying to fine-tune its cohesiveness, while the defense continues to pummel opponents.

Business as usual for the D, which had a lot of success in 2004. As for the offense, coach Mark Mangino insists it’s nothing to worry about this early.

“We put them in a tough spot today,” Mangino said. “We worked a lot of blitz and long yardage. I did it for a reason. We have to be able to deal with those type of situations. For the first day of pads, I put the offense at a distinct disadvantage.”

Mangino doesn’t believe in easing his team into tough situations early in the spring season, and he certainly didn’t Wednesday. As a result, Adam Barmann and Marcus Herford — the two quarterbacks who saw most of the snaps — didn’t look particularly sharp but the defense was much of the cause, breathing down the quarterbacks’ necks the entire session.

“We’ve got a lot of new guys in there,” said Barmann, who is 100 percent recovered from 2004’s season-ending injury. “We’re doing some good things, though. We’ve just got to get our chemistry back.”

The eye-opening play Wednesday was a dazzling, juke-filled 30-yard touchdown run by freshman Gary Green, who certainly will be counted on this fall with the news Monday of running back John Randle’s dismissal from the team for rules violations.

But besides that dash, the day belonged to the defense — partly Mangino’s aggressive plan, partly because the D just has the talent and experience to look sharp right away.

Kansas University quarterback Marcus Herford, right, takes a snap during a spring practice as coach Mark Mangino watches. The Jayhawks scrimmaged Wednesday at the practice fields behind Anschutz Sports Pavilion.

“As you can see, I think we’ve got a chance to be pretty salty on defense,” Mangino said with a grin. “That’s a pretty good group. We’re moving faster on defense than we’ve ever had. I’m pretty excited about that.”

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Schedule set: Division I-AA Appalachian State will come Sept. 10 to Lawrence, completing KU’s 2005 football schedule.

It’s not the desirable opponent for KU, but with the season rapidly approaching the Jayhawks didn’t have much of a choice. Very few Division I-A teams had openings on their schedules, and even fewer — maybe zero — were willing to play in Lawrence.

“We needed to get a game on that date,” senior associate athletic director Larry Keating said. “We ran the course with all the I-A’s, and Coach was comfortable with (Appalachian State), so we went with it.”

Since KU used a victory over I-AA Jacksonville State toward its bowl eligibility in 2003 — less than four seasons ago — Appalachian State cannot count toward the six-win requirement for a bowl berth in 2005. Therefore, barring a change of the NCAA rule, the Jayhawks will have to win six games other than the Appalachian State showdown this fall — a 7-4 overall record if they win the newly added game.

“I’m OK with it. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Mangino said. “We’ll be prepared to play them all.”

Kansas University's Charles Gordon, at center facing camera, closes in to make a tackle. The Jayhawks worked out Wednesday at the practice fields behind Anschutz Sports Pavilion.

All three of the nonconference games — Florida Atlantic on Sept. 3, Appalachian State on Sept. 10 and Louisiana Tech on Sept. 17 — will have 6 p.m. kickoffs at Memorial Stadium. The starting times for the eight Big 12 Conference games will be announced approximately two weeks ahead of time.

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Doeren promoted: KU assistant Dave Doeren, who has served as the Jayhawks’ recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach since 2002, now has a new title: co-defensive coordinator.

“He will work very closely with our defensive coordinator, Bill Young, in all of our preparation,” Mangino said. “He’s very deserving.”

6Sports video: Public gets sneak peek at Jayhawk football

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Up next: The Jayhawks will have a scrimmage-dominated practice Friday before adjourning for spring break all of next week. KU then will practice March 30 and have nine practices in April before the spring game at 3 p.m. April 16.