Defensive end Paul COmo (98) gets a hand on Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee for a fourth-quarter sack. Como shares the team lead with three sacks.

It was proof that Kansas University’s football team has depth on its defensive line. But does it need that right now – or does it need a star?

In last week’s 36-35 loss to Baylor, KU’s defensive linemen seemed to spend as much energy hustling on and off the field as they were busting tail to collapse the pocket.

It started innocently enough, with the recently regular starters of Russell Brorsen, Wayne Wilder, James McClinton and Paul Como lined up.

But then it got quirky. For the rest of the game, a previously unseen rotation was cranking. Como moved back and played linebacker. Banged-up senior Rodney Allen came in and out of the game like he usually does. Beyond that, lesser-used players like Jeff Wheeler, John Larson, Caleb Blakesley and even true freshman Jason Thompson were getting significant work in significant situations.

“A lot of reasons,” coach Mark Mangino said when asked why all the substitutions. “Trying to get some people rest, trying to get a rotation going, trying to keep them fresh so we can get some pass rush. We have to stop the run, as well.”

Colorado quarterback Bernard Jackson rolls out for a pass against Oklahoma. CU is among the nation's worst passing teams.

For all the focus on KU’s struggles in pass coverage heading into today’s game against Colorado, nobody up front is shifting the blame away from himself. Early in the season, Mangino called the pass rush “adequate,” but thought even that was too positive in the last few weeks. He did say the results were improved after the Baylor game, and the stats reflect it: Two big sacks and six quarterback hurries helped the Jayhawks jump to the 35-17 lead they eventually blew.

But Kansas doesn’t have a regular lineman in the quarterback’s grill like the last two seasons, when David McMillan and Charlton Keith caused all sorts of problems. Keith was a natural pest, picking up 23 tackles for a loss and nine sacks in 2005. McMillan, 30 pounds heavier than Keith and even faster, had 13 stops behind the line of scrimmage and seven sacks. He’s now a linebacker for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.

McMillan was key on a respectable defense his senior year, and Keith was the most valuable player on a terrific defense his last season. This season, though, has been different. Tackle McClinton leads the team with seven stops for a loss. McClinton, Como and Allen each has a team-high three sacks.

Without a true star up front, KU coaches saw a committee approach as the best answer – and used it to its fullest against the pass-happy Bears.

Thompson’s red shirt was lifted two-thirds of the way through the season to provide a spark. At 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, Thompson has stood out in practice and provides quickness to the front four. He was credited with one tackle against Baylor.

In addition, Larson (two tackles, one for a loss against Baylor) and Wheeler (one sack for a 16-yard loss) pestered Baylor’s Shawn Bell, though the Bears quarterback did get the last laugh.

“It’s good, especially against passing teams, because it’s easier to apply a pass rush on fresher legs,” Larson said. “You have to have a hundred-percent desire to get to the quarterback every play, and it helps to be fresh.”

Of course, Colorado is no passing team. The Buffalos are one of the worst in Division I-A throwing the ball, getting about 108 yards per game through the air.

Still, Mangino liked what he saw against Baylor. And while the rotation might not be so furious, expect it to be there in some capacity today.

“Some of it had to do with the Baylor gameplan,” Mangino said of his strategy last week. “But what we have found out is that we’re getting good minutes out of a lot of kids, and we’ll continue in a similar fashion.”

Mangino has come to stick up for the secondary when it comes to the pass-defense woes, saying that it’s an 11-man effort. KU’s defensive linemen, it seems, aren’t arguing it.

In fact, using strength in numbers, they’re trying to hold up their end of the bargain.

“Hopefully, everybody will work together. The linebackers will get there on the blitz, the defensive line will get there with the four-man rush, and the secondary will cover the receivers,” Larson said. “That’s all you can hope for from week to week.”