Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib signals to pump up the crowd as time dwindles against Texas A&M Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

Since it became apparent that this year’s version of the Kansas University football defense would be significantly less stout than it was a season ago, debates about who has been the most sorely missed member of last year’s unit — defensive coordinator Bill Young? Cornerback Aqib Talib? Defensive tackle James McClinton? — have been numerous.

Earlier this week, however, the man best suited to answer that question decided to offer his opinion on the matter.

“The biggest issue for us is that we were able to have a corner last year that we could put on an island and therefore help the other corner, which solidified our pass defense,” said Kansas coach Mark Mangino of former All-American Talib, who was taken 20th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in last spring’s NFL Draft. “And we’re not able to do that this year. And that’s the No. 1 problem.”

The shortcomings of a Kansas defense that returned nine starters this fall have been well documented — the Jayhawks are ranked 90th in total defense and 86th in scoring defense after finishing 12th and fourth, respectively, in those categories in 2007 — but on Monday, Mangino delved into specifics of what the team is lacking this year in comparison to last.

In addition to the loss of Talib, the coach pointed to a lack of an effective pass rush, which was aided last year by the presence of McClinton, another All-American.

“We’re not as disruptive on the defensive line as we were a year ago,” he said. “And that’s probably the next biggest issue that we face.”

The departure of Young, who took the same position with the University of Miami following the ’07 season and currently has the Hurricanes in the top 10 nationally in total defense, was also broached.

While Mangino praised the work of Young during his six years in Lawrence, he put little stock in the idea that the loss of Young — or the subsequent promotion of Clint Bowen to defensive coordinator — has been a substantial hindrance to the Jayhawks this season.

“I don’t think that that’s the key reason,” Mangino said. “Bill did a great job for us. There were times, don’t forget, where we struggled early on on defense, and Bill stayed with it and got it right. Sure, Bill’s a veteran coach, but I don’t see that as a major issue.”