Kansas offensive lineman Pat Lewandowski watches his teammates during a set of drills on Fan Appreciation Day, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014 at Memorial Stadium.

Kansas offensive lineman Pat Lewandowski watches his teammates during a set of drills on Fan Appreciation Day, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2014 at Memorial Stadium.

From time to time at Kansas University football practice, senior left offensive tackle Pat Lewandowski looks in Buddy Wyatt’s direction and tells Wyatt, KU’s defensive-line coach, he knows exactly what’s coming.

Some of the calls Wyatt makes haven’t changed since Lewandowski’s days as a defensive lineman.

“I can pick up on those pretty easy,” the third-year O-lineman shared.

The senior from Overland Park opened preseason camp as the first-string left tackle for KU, but his first contributions to the program came as a defensive end and tackle as a red-shirt freshman. He moved to left offensive tackle (where he played behind Tanner Hawkinson) as a sophomore and started six games at center as a junior.

“Playing both D-line and offensive line,” he said, “has definitely given me a knowledge about each position, each technique.”

At 290 pounds, Lewandowski has added more than 40 pounds to his 6-foot-51?2 frame since his days as a defensive end at Blue Valley West. Still, a gargantuan shadow casts over him now, thanks to the Jayhawks’ second-string left tackle, junior Larry Mazyck — listed at 6-8, 360.

Coach Charlie Weis has seen the way Lewandowski carries himself and how the left tackle re-acclimated himself to his former position, so the Kansas coach doesn’t think it will be easy for the much larger Mazyck to supplant him.

“Pat has not gone through the summertime just waiting for somebody else to come along and move ahead of him,” Weis said. “I don’t think that’s his game plan. I think his game plan is: You’re going to have to work really hard to move ahead of me.”

Playing different spots, Lewandowski hopes, will only help his cause in the battle for playing time.

“It’s been a roller coaster, bouncing from one side of the ball to the other, different positions on each side. It’s been fun. I enjoy the challenge, enjoy learning new techniques, new parts of football. I enjoy this game, so that part has been really fun to me,” Lewandowski said of his KU career. “Now, the struggles come with it, too, which have obviously not been the best times. But this is exciting to be playing a position I’ve been playing for a while now.”

His willingness to adapt, as well as other characteristics, have earned the knowledgeable upperclassmen the respect of his peers. Junior right tackle Damon Martin said Lewandowski, a Big 12 Commissioner’s and Athletic Director’s honor-roll member in the spring, also brings athletic ability and experience to the unit.

“He’s moved around a good amount, and he’s taken them all in stride, and he’s tried his best at everything,” Martin said. “They put him where they thought he’d be best, and he’s done good with that.”

Red-shirt freshman center Joe Gibson said when he recently had trouble recognizing a specific defensive formation at practice, Lewandowski provided keys to help him pick it up. Having Lewandowski around, Gibson added, makes all the offensive linemen better.

“Pat having a lot of experience helps a lot, because if I make a bad call, someone makes the wrong call, Pat’s always there to correct it,” Gibson said. “He’s just so smart. He knows everything.”

The center-turned-tackle comprehends the complexities of playing guard, too — he has even practiced there a few times in the past.

Center might have been the toughest spot the multi-purpose lineman has experienced in his years of playing football, but he doesn’t have a favorite.

“I’d like to try them all,” Lewandowski said. “That would be fun. But obviously I can’t.”