Haselhorst, Harper hurt

Two Kansas University football players who were projected starters on the post-spring depth chart are now injured and not practicing.

Defensive tackle Todd Haselhorst was injured during the last week of summer conditioning, while cornerback Kendrick Harper was hurt on the first day of practice Friday. Neither was in attendance at Sunday’s workout.

“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.”

Filling in for the two on first team were Caleb Blakesley at defensive tackle and Gary Green at cornerback. Anthony Webb also worked at corner.

Long practice

KU’s practice Sunday lasted around 2 hours, 45 minutes, though the 9 a.m. start allowed the players to avoid the heat until near the end.

It was a standard practice length for the single-workout days. The Jayhawks will have their first two-a-day workouts Wednesday.

“They vary. One-day practices vary anywhere from 2:40, 2:45, no longer than the three hours that’s allotted,” Mangino said. “Very seldom will we be out for a total of three hours.”

Still competing

A few positions still are up for grabs, including quarterback, strong safety and left offensive guard. The cornerback spot opposite Aqib Talib likely is, too, if Harper is out for any length of time.

Tang Bacheyie received most of the first-team strong-safety work, while Kerry Meier and Todd Reesing seemed to split first-team repetitions at quarterback. Left guard reps appeared to go more to Adrian Mayes.

Another vacancy, with the graduation of Jonathan Lamb and Brian Murph, is at punt-return specialist. Webb, Tertavian Ingram and Raimond Pendleton were alternating those reps Sunday.

New faces

He looked more like a professional wrestler than an offensive lineman. But wearing No. 73 was Jason Hind, a junior-college transfer who arrived in Lawrence this summer. Hind, a sophomore who projects at guard, had some limited work on the second team and was a mainstay in drills. But he was most noticeable because of his shoulder-length hair.

The true freshmen also had their first day of work in front of the public. Afterward, Mangino cited several for good first impressions, including defensive lineman Richard Johnson Jr., receiver Dezmon Briscoe, defensive back Chris Harris and defensive end Jake Laptad.

11-on-11 highlights

Webb made a nice interception on a Meier lob pass, stretching high over his head to snag the football. : The best catch by a receiver might have been by Jeff Foster, who hauled in a pass while tip-toeing up the right sideline. He was drilled by Bacheyie after the catch, but held on to the ball. : Wide receiver Raymond Brown, wearing jersey No. 2, caught a few passes, while true freshmen Briscoe and Johnathan Wilson had some nice catches. : The 11-on-11 work ended with a perfect fade-pass touchdown from Reesing to Marcus Henry.

Up next

KU’s next open practice will be at 4:45 p.m. Aug. 13 at the practice fields adjacent to Hoglund Ballpark.