Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino seemed undeterred – and claims his players couldn’t care less – about the upcoming NCAA hearing taking place Sunday in Baltimore.

Mangino will travel with a party of roughly seven athletic-department officials to Maryland, where the NCAA Committee on Infractions will hear KU’s case regarding 11 violations. Football, which is accused of academic fraud and other violations, is one of the sports at risk of NCAA penalty.

The Jayhawks already have self-imposed penalties in place – including restrictions on junior-college recruiting and a loss of scholarships – but could face more punishment if the NCAA deems it necessary.

“I’m focused on our football team. I’m focused on getting better,” Mangino said Tuesday at KU football media day. “When I get in Baltimore, I’ll be focused on those meetings. And as soon as I leave those meetings, I’ll be focused on my football team and getting better. It has not had any effect at all on our ballclub.”

Mangino hinted at Big 12 Conference media days that he might not attend because of football commitments. He now says he definitely will go, but didn’t seem enthused about getting the opportunity to tell his side of the story.

“Everything that I’ve had to say has already been documented,” he said.

¢ The man?: Sophomore Marcus Herford – still competing for a starting spot at wide receiver – has one big admirer lining up against him on the practice field.

Teammate and cornerback Aqib Talib glowed about Herford’s ability Tuesday, calling him a No. 1-caliber receiver, one of the hardest receivers to cover and potentially the best receiver Mangino has had besides Mark Simmons, now with the NFL’s San Diego Chargers.

“I went against Todd Blythe last year, I went against Jarrett Hicks last year. I went against (Joel) Filani last year, Robert Johnson, all the Texas Tech receivers. I went against (Sean) Coffey from Missouri,” Talib said. “I went against a lot of them. Herford is right up there with all of them.”

¢ Still spread out: Senior Jon Cornish will continue to play special teams in addition to being the featured tailback, though he said Tuesday he didn’t expect to be on special teams quite so much this season.

Special-teams coordinator Earnest Collins said it was too early to tell, but Cornish hinted that he’d remain on the punt-coverage team as a gunner, but might see his remaining work cut back. For example, after a long drive, Cornish might not take the field for kickoff coverage. And he said he wouldn’t play on kickoff-return.

As for the number of touches at running back?

“I have no idea,” Cornish said. “It’s going to be a lot more than I had last year.”

¢ Oh captain: Mangino announced KU’s four team captains for the 2006 season – offensive lineman David Ochoa, tight end Derek Fine, defensive tackle James McClinton and linebacker Mike Rivera.

Ochoa is the lone repeat captain of the bunch. The four were selected by a team-wide vote.

¢ Work in progress: The southwest corner of Memorial Stadium, where media day was held, was a bit of a construction zone Tuesday.

A gigantic light standard lay outside of the locker room doors, a replacement for a pole that was damaged in a spring storm.

Inside, the air conditioner wasn’t working, making a normally chilly room a little steamy, especially around the army of reporters looking to interview Talib and quarterback Kerry Meier.

“I’m sure somebody knows football season’s close by,” Mangino quipped. “We’ll get it fixed up.”

¢ Shad Meier retires: Meier’s oldest brother, Shad, recently retired from football after playing five seasons in the NFL.

Shad Meier, a Kansas State product, played for the Tennessee Titans and the New Orleans Saints, but a knee injury knocked him out of most of the 2005 season and ultimately contributed to his decision to hang it up.