The decision to switch roles for Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera, in photo above, seems to have worked out well for Kansas University's football team. Now a middle linebacker, Mortensen has a team-high 55 tackles, while Rivera, an outside 'backer, has 37 stops and two fumble recoveries.

The decision to switch roles for Joe Mortensen, above, and Mike Rivera seems to have worked out well for Kansas University's football team. Now a middle linebacker, Mortensen has a team-high 55 tackles, while Rivera, an outside 'backer, has 37 stops and two fumble recoveries.

Like a collection of mad scientists, Kansas University’s football coaching staff members always are open to the idea of experimentation.

It has been known since they were originally assembled in 2002 with head coach Mark Mangino’s hiring that thinking outside the box with position switches, tiny adjustments and unusual wrinkles are things they don’t fear doing.

Perhaps their most brilliant move of this past offseason, then, involved switching the spots of linebackers Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera. Halfway through the 2007 season, it’s looking to be the one internal fix that has been the most beneficial for KU’s imposing defense.

“It’s worked out for both players very well,” Mangino said. “It’s really made our defense better.”

Mortensen moved from outside to middle linebacker before the spring, and it’s hard to argue with the results. In helping the Jayhawks to a 6-0 start, Mortensen leads the team with 55 tackles, including 111â2 for a loss. He has registered a sack, two pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble in a strong start to his junior season.

Rivera, meanwhile, moved outside after spring and has posted 37 tackles and two fumble recoveries. He was named KU’s co-defensive player of the game for his work in last week’s 58-10 victory over Baylor.

The numbers – and overall play of the defense – show that the tiny fix KU’s coaches did in the offseason is paying off in a big way.

“Mike’s a good athlete,” Mortensen said. “I consider myself a decent athlete, but he’s better out in space. Also, I think I’m a better hitter, a banger as far as getting in there and hitting linemen.

“When they moved us in the spring, it took us awhile to adjust to it. Overall, we must be doing something right. We’re up there, 6-0, and we’re doing good. I think the coaches know what they’re doing.”

Not that either was terrible last year. Rivera led the Jayhawks with 90 tackles in his first season as a starter. Mortensen registered 82 stops, though one always had the feeling there was more potential bottled up in the Concord, Calif., native.

“Last year we had Mike Rivera at inside linebacker, and he really couldn’t display his true quickness and speed,” Mangino said. “Joe played outside, and Joe just didn’t adapt out there.”

In an interesting move, the coaching staff overlapped them for the month of spring practices, working both Rivera and Mortensen at middle linebacker. Mortensen ended up being the first-team pick for the spring game, and Rivera slid outside soon after.

“It had to do with needs,” linebackers coach Steve Tovar said. “We had both Mike and Joe backing up one another playing the same position. They were just too good of athletes to have one of them on the bench.

“We just looked at them and the way they moved and their demeanor. I think it’s just a natural fit to go along with their personalities.”

That’s not to say that one’s an animal and one’s a saint. Mortensen, while articulate and easy-going around the media, talks glowingly about the next time he can lay a lick on someone.

And Rivera? Well, the last time he spoke to reporters, he was so intense about the upcoming game that it was almost uncomfortable to speak to him.

Really, a lot of it comes down to speed. Rivera just has more, and it works when has all the outside area to roam in.

“You look at Joe’s toughness and his hard-core, get-after-it attitude, his build – he’s naturally built for a mike (middle linebacker),” Tovar said. “Mike is so fluid on the outside, playing in space, able to change direction. He’s such an athletic guy, and it’s hard for receivers to block him.”

Tovar wasn’t on the staff last year, but Mangino said a midseason switch was considered after it was obvious that both players were out of place.

However, it didn’t happen because of concerns of a short-term step backward as Kansas chased bowl-eligibility.

The offseason then allowed plenty of time for a transitional period. Obviously, it has paid off for the Jayhawks, who remain undefeated heading into today’s game at Colorado.

“They both have adapted very well at their new positions,” Mangino said. “We’re truly playing to their strengths.”