It appears the Kansas University football coaching staff still has no idea what it should do with freshman quarterback Kerry Meier and his red-shirt option.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Mangino admitted the staff still was undecided on the fate of Meier, a highly touted quarterback out of Pittsburg.

“I have not made a decision,” Mangino said. “We’re taking it day to day.”

Adam Barmann has been named the starter after a strong camp, but Meier and senior Brian Luke are fighting for the backup role. The question is, is it worth skipping the red shirt – and the potential rewards that come with it – if Meier’s impact might be minimal?

“There’s a certain amount of strategy involved with this,” Mangino said. “That’s why we’re taking it day to day.”

Mangino has said that freshmen don’t take red shirts unless they agree. But that doesn’t appear to be the holdup in this case.

“He said he’ll do whatever is best for the team,” Mangino said. “We told him we would not put him in a position where he wouldn’t be well prepared to play. We wouldn’t just throw him out there.”

It appears the answer, then, will come Saturday at the earliest, and maybe later than that. Mangino said it was possible someone other than Barmann would take snaps against Florida Atlantic, but wouldn’t say who. It appears the holdup of announcing a backup hinges on what to do with Meier.

Mangino said he wouldn’t pull a red shirt off Meier after the sixth game, unless KU was contending for a championship and Meier was sorely needed.

Until then, the coaching staff has a lot of thinking to do.

“I’m comfortable with his progress,” Mangino said. “Do I think he’s ready to line up and take every snap? No.

“Has he progressed enough to play some and have a package built for him? Yes.”