photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas offensive lineman Jacob Bragg works through a set at the Anderson Family Football Complex on Thursday, June 29, 2017.

Kansas fourth-year junior reserve center Jacob Bragg didn’t think much of a quick comment offensive line coach Zach Yenser made at the start of a practice during bye week.

“You ready to run some routes and do some fullback blocking?” Yenser asked without stopping.

“At first I thought he was kidding, but as practice started, he put me back there,” Bragg said.

By “back there” he meant at blocking back. Bragg showed enough in practice that he swapped out his No. 55 for No. 1 and made his fullback debut with a decent amount of playing time in Saturday’s 65-19 home loss to Texas Tech.

To Bragg’s recollection, it was his first action in the backfield since he was a running back on short-yardage plays in middle schools.

Technically, fullback falls under the running back umbrella, but Bragg is not likely to ever run the ball or catch it, leaving pouncing on a fumble his only opportunity to touch the ball.

As a center for his high school team in Nacogdoches, Texas, Bragg once swelled to 340 pounds. He’s listed at 6-foot-4, 291 pounds on this year’s roster.

No. 1 generally goes to football players who burn their way into open space, not to players whose knuckles swell from working in crowded places.

Guys like Harrison Hill and Isaac Byrd, John Randle and Jake Sharp, Rodriguez Coleman and LaQuvionte Gonzalez looked appropriate wearing No. 1. Bragg looks big.

That’s fine with Bragg.

“I’m so happy right now just being able to get back on the field, contribute to our team and make a difference,” Bragg said. “I cherish every play I get to be out there. It’s a dream come just to get back out there and try something new that probably no other lineman in the Power Five gets to do.”

It’s doubtful his dreams ever drifted to the backfield, but now that he’s there, he does imagine running the ball and catching passes, plays for which he is eligible. Not all dreams come true.

Bragg’s move to the backfield made bye-week practices more interesting for his fellow offensive linemen.

“They were charging me up all week: ‘You’ve got to knock somebody out.’ They’re all supporting me right now,” Bragg said. “They’re all wishing they were in my shoes right now, getting a full head of steam going.”

Bragg’s days at center and guard aren’t necessarily over.

“Himer (equipment manager Jeff Himes) was telling me they have my pads and 55 all ready and loaded on the sidelines, so if anything happened I can take my jersey off and get put together on the sidelines and be good to go,” Bragg said.

His extra-large defensive back pads are much smaller than the ones he has worn the rest of his career. He’s fine with that. Dogged by injuries early in his career and with others ahead of him on the O-line depth chart this season, Bragg doesn’t care what number or which pads he wears. He just wants to play football.