Ryan Wood’s Sunday KU football practice notes

Kansas University’s football team conducted its third practice of the fall on Sunday morning in front of a large crowd. It was the first of two practices open to the public this month, the next being on Aug. 13.

The team practiced for just under three hours, doing a variety of drills and eventually some 11-on-11 work. Among the notable developments:

Two projected starters on defense – tackle Todd Haselhorst and cornerback Kendrick Harper – are injured and were not in attendance. Haselhorst was hurt during the last week of summer workouts, while Harper was hurt on Friday, the first day of practice.

“Haselhorst, our medical staff is trying to get him ready for the opener. That remains to be seen,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “We really don’t know the severity of Kendrick Harper’s injury. We should know something later in the week.”

In some defensive sets, Mike Rivera shifted to outside linebacker while Joe Mortensen played middle linebacker. Rivera also got some work in the middle, and his exact role is still being worked out.

Both Todd Reesing and Kerry Meier had extensive work with the first-team offense, and KU appears no closer to making a decision on who the starting quarterback will be.

Mangino cited several true freshman as being impressive early on, including defensive lineman Richard Johnson Jr., wide receiver Dezmon Briscoe, defensive back Chris Harris and defensive end Jake Laptad.

For much more on Sunday’s open workout, pick up a copy of Monday’s Journal-World and log back onto KUSports.com.