KU interim head football coach, Clint Bowen, watches the Jayhawks during drills before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats in Manhattan.

Last fall, when Clint Bowen took over as the Kansas University football program’s interim head coach four weeks into the season, the purpose of putting him in charge went far beyond giving him a chance to prove himself or giving the 2-2 Jayhawks a shot in the arm.

It was about rebuilding a foundation that had been reduced to rubble during the previous four seasons and looked to be headed to ash.

So Bowen, a former KU player and longtime Kansas assistant coach, did the only thing he knew how to do and coached the only way he knew how to coach — with hard work and accountability as the driving forces for everything the Jayhawks did.

The Bowen interim era only lasted nine weeks and produced a 1-7 record, but the gains the program made during that stretch helped first-year KU coach David Beaty and his staff start from a point that was much further along than it could have been had Bowen not put the wheels in motion.

“I’d like to think so and do believe so,” said Bowen when asked if he thought those nine weeks helped give the 2015 Jayhawks a head start on the transition to Beaty. “When the whole thing started, the nine weeks of being the interim head coach and talking to (athletic director) Dr. (Sheahon) Zenger, we did want to start to create a foundation of what we knew college football was supposed to look like between the two of us.

“That was one of the major goals of those nine weeks, to start teaching these kids and doing what everyone else in America is doing.”

Through the initial winter and first seven practices of the spring, the Beaty-led Jayhawks look an awful lot like the bunch that Bowen guided last fall. They work hard, play harder and mix in a little fun and friendly competition along the way.

Bowen never was shy about expressing his pride in the way the program reacted to his leadership last fall. But he may be enjoying the current rewards of that time as much as he did the days and weeks in the middle of it.

“A lot of the things were carried over,” Bowen said. “It’s always hard, as a player, when you listen to another grown man who’s supposed to know what he’s talking about and he tells ya, ‘It’s done like this, it’s done like this, it’s done like this.’ And then a year later, another guy’s coming in and telling you the same thing.

“(The transition to Beaty) wasn’t another person saying, ‘No, that’s all wrong, now we’re doing it this way.’ It was some carryover so the kids could go, ‘All right,’ and it makes it a little easier for them to buy in and believe in what’s happening.”

Becoming football players

Offensive line coach Zach Yenser said Thursday that it was still far too early to worry about creating a cohesive unit of five linemen up front that can slide in as the starters this fall. Sure, if KU’s roster included multiple returning three-year starters and a couple of other veterans who were ready to take the next step, that might be the case. But because the unit as a whole is pretty young and also is learning a new offense under new coaches, Yenser said the emphasis so far this spring has been on teaching KU’s linemen how to play in the new system.

“I’ve been kind of throwing guys in different positions, from left tackle to right tackle to guard to having a couple of guys snapping,” Yenser said. “And they’re taking pride in being football players and not just a left tackle. They understand the whole offense. They understand what we’re doing up front. That’s been good.”

Junior Jordan Shelley-Smith (6-5, 296) and senior Larry Mazyck (6-8, 343) have taken most of the first-team reps at the tackle spots, with sophomore Junior Visinia (6-4, 375) and senior Bryan Peters (6-3, 298) most often getting the first crack at the guard spots. Red-shirt freshman Jacob Bragg (6-4, 284) and senior Keyon Haughton (6-2, 290) have juggled center duties.

While most of those guys are upperclassmen, they don’t exactly have a ton of game experience. That fact has allowed Yenser to better give the group a fresh glance as he plugs away at molding KU’s offensive line for the 2015 season.

“Offensive line’s one of the toughest positions to come in and play young,” Yenser said. “But if you’re good enough you’re gonna play. I don’t care if a guy’s been here for three years, I don’t care if a guy’s a fifth-year senior. I’m here to win football games. I’m here to develop these guys as young men and I’m also here to put the best product on the field.”

Prom time?

While most of the Kansas football roster is focused on finishing spring ball strong and preparing for upcoming final exams in the classroom, there’s one receiver who has an extra duty not common for college football players.

According to receivers coach Klint Kubiak, wideout Chase Harrell soon will be headed back to Hargrave High in his hometown of Huffman, Texas, to attend his senior prom. Despite hearing about his prom from coaches and teammates just about every day, Kubiak said Harrell, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound freshman who graduated high school early in order to get a jump start on his college career, has made steady progress during his first days in a KU football uniform.

“I’ll tell you this, he’s done everything we’ve asked him and he’s worked hard,” said Kubiak, adding that he was not ready to overhype any of his receivers. “I really want all those guys to earn their pub. I truly believe it and I preach that to the guys every day. If you want to be recognized, do it on Saturday and get your pub that way.”