Kansas University running-backs coach Reggie Mitchell, left, has the luxury of two speedy backs to count on this season: De'Andre Mann and Ke'Aun Kinner (22).

The Kansas University football roster that makes its 2015 debut one week from 11 a.m. today has a little feast-or-famine feel to it.

The two positions where Kansas has the highest quality also happen to be the same positions that have the most depth.

On one side of the ball, that’s at defensive end, where Damani Mosby, Ben Goodman, Anthony Olobia, T.J. Semke and true freshman Dorrance Armstrong all can move, hit and disrupt so well for men their size.

On offense, it’s at running back, where a case could be made that the two best play-makers will have to share snaps.

Or will they?

Maybe the coaching staff can get creative and find ways for junior-college transfer Ke’aun Kinner and senior De’Andre Mann to play at the same time, with Kinner lining up in the slot or motioning out of the backfield and lining up as a wide receiver.

Kansas running back Ke'aun Kinner breaks away from the defense during practice on Monday, Aug. 10, 2015.

Even if they don’t, at the very least the running backs ensure Kansas always will have a back who has the speed, vision and cutting ability to put serious pressure on a South Dakota defense that will have difficulty matching KU’s speed. Taylor Cox, if fully recovered from an Achilles tendon injury that prevented him from playing in 2014, also can pressure defenses with speed.

Kinner will have the opportunity to show that his latest jump in competition won’t faze him any more than his previous one did, which is to say not much at all.

At 5-9 and generously listed at 180 pounds, Kinner doesn’t have the look of a durable back, but he always has had numbers that demonstrate durability. During a 2012 game, Kinner turned 55 carries into 332 yards and four touchdowns.

His numbers in the classroom in high school weren’t as impressive, which led him to Navarro (Texas) Junior College. Otherwise, he said, he would have gone to Texas out of high school.

“I was going to be there,” Kinner said. “I was communicating through a coach. I was going to go there.”

Two years later, he committed to Kansas.

“I feel like this team fits me,” Kinner said. “I like the people in Lawrence. I like everything about the team. I like coach (David) Beaty, coach (Rob) Likens. I like the team as a whole.”

Kansas running back coach Reggie Mitchell has some fun with De'Andre Mann as the running backs work together during the first day of practice on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015 at the fields south of Anschutz Pavilion.

In his second year at Navarro, Kinner earned National Junior College Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year honors after rushing for 1,696 yards and 22 touchdowns on 253 carries. He also turned 17 receptions into 109 yards.

His film shows he has the ability to shift into another gear when the end zone is the reward. The most meaningful measurement of his speed is the one that shows he is one step faster than the guy chasing him. He’s an exciting talent.

So is Mann, who a year earlier left junior college with recognition similar to that of Kinner. JCGridiron.com rated Mann as the No. 1 running back after he amassed 1,706 yards and 27 touchdowns on 223 carries to go with 27 receptions for 331 yards and three touchdowns.

Mann made an impressive KU debut with 15 carries for 121 yards vs. Southeast Missouri State and had productive games vs. Duke and Texas as well. Not all that long ago, what happened to him on the field as the season wore on would have been described with words such as, “He got a little dinged up.”

Now, such injuries are called concussions. Mann suffered more than one of those last season. His contact was limited throughout spring football, and he was watched closely during training camp. At the first sign of trouble, first-year head coach Beaty was prepared to have a talk with Mann that likely would have resulted in the end of his football career.

“I’m really fresh now, compared to last year when I was coming off concussions,” Mann said. “I feel good now. I’m finally healthy. I’m back to normal and excited about what can happen this year.”

Mann said on his lone carry in a loss at West Virginia he suffered “a bad concussion.”

“After that, I was never the same,” Mann said. “I was, like, kind of lying to the medical staff, telling them I was good, but I wasn’t really good. But it was just that competitive nature.”

He said missing three games last season, one for the birth of his and wife Olivia’s son, Alijah, made him expand his viewpoint on life’s options.

“Now I have a baby,” Mann said. “I’m a husband. Now I concentrate more on my degree, too. Before, everything was just football, football, football, trying to make it to the NFL. Now, I’m still trying to make it to the NFL, but now if I don’t make it, I’ll still be comfortable. It was a blessing in disguise.”

Mann said he’ll never try to fool anybody that he’s fully healthy if he’s not.

“I’ll never do that again,” Mann said. “Never, ever. I have to be there for my baby. I have to be there to run around with him. If he wants to play football, I can teach him and just be a great role model to him.”

He has to be there for younger teammates as well.

“I love De’Andre,” Kinner said. “He’s a good teacher. He’s like my older brother in a way. He’s always there for advice, and I like that about him.”

There isn’t a lot to like about KU’s depth at many positions, but the program seldom comes up short at running back.