With no pads being popped and no footballs being thrown around, all Kansas University football coach Mark Mangino really can do this time of year is talk about his 2007 team.

He did just that in Wichita on Wednesday, speaking at a KU football reception held at the Hyatt Regency.

“If enthusiasm helps you in terms of preparation – which it does – our kids are probably one of the most enthusiastic bunch of kids that we’ve had at KU,” Mangino told Wichita media before the event. “They’re excited. They’re a very close group, they spend a lot of time together. It’s a good bunch of kids to work with.”

Mangino addressed a variety of topics in a quick interview before his appearance, which took place after he and several of his assistants conducted a satellite football camp at Wichita South High during the day.

Specifically, Mangino was asked to touch on the Kerry Meier-Todd Reesing quarterback competition (“Nothing’s changed,” he said), the development of tailback Jake Sharp (“Nobody works harder, nobody cares more than he does”), and the ongoing construction of the Anderson Family Football Complex.

“We’re excited that the project is under construction,” Mangino said. “Being around Memorial Stadium is not a great place to be hanging out because the entire area is dug out. There’s a lot of dirt piled up and a lot of construction, a lot of trucks. Progress is coming, and we’re pretty excited about it.”

Before wrapping it up, he was asked to look ahead to the end of the summer, when defending Mid-America Conference champion Central Michigan visits Lawrence to open the season Sept. 1.

“We’ve watched them on tape,” Mangino said. “They’re very talented, they’ve got an outstanding defensive unit, and their quarterback is phenomenal. Central Michigan is a good football team, no question about it.”

¢ Upcoming camps: The Jayhawks are about to hit the home stretch of their camp season.

A kicking camp will take place Saturday, before Oliver Hall opens up for overnight campers. A three-day skills camp for 10th through 12th graders will start Sunday, before younger players will have a three-day camp starting Tuesday.

Camp season concludes with a Super Jayhawk camp for high school seniors on June 16.

¢ Ladner chooses: Another local prospect, Kansas City (Mo.) Pembroke Hill tight end Spencer Ladner, committed to California last week over more than a dozen other offers.

Still, there’s one other local tight end who KU is pursuing: McPherson product Tanner Hawkinson, who told Rivals.com this week that KU remains high on his list.

¢ Arthur Brown narrows: Wichita East phenom Arthur Brown, holding an offer from about every major college out there, has narrowed his list to 22 schools, according to Jeremy Crabtree of Rivals.

Kansas remains on the list, though it’s unlikely Brown will end up in Lawrence.

Brown was asked by Crabtree which schools could be in the running all the way.

“I really don’t have anything set in stone,” Brown replied, “but I feel that USC, Miami (Fla.) and Oklahoma are going to be there until the end.”