Here is the Cliff’s Notes version from Kansas football coach Charlie Weis’ comments at his press conference today.

Full audio has been posted.

• The best thing about tight end Mike Ragone right now is that he’s healthy. He’s a good blocker at the point of attack. He’ll help both the passing and running game.

• As of right now, Tony Pierson is at the top of the running back depth chart, and Taylor Cox is second. Brandon Bourbon is a close third, from what Weis has seen so far. Things could change once James Sims completes his three-game suspension.

• Most of the position battles are settled. Weis would say over 90 percent of the depth chart is already done. The players don’t know the depth chart yet. They’re not blind, though. They can watch the tape and see who’s playing better and see who’s getting the most reps.

• Michael Cummings is still ahead of Turner Baty at this point for the backup quarterback position. Weis said that shouldn’t matter much, though, as we should be talking about KU’s starting quarterback Dayne Crist.

• Weis feels good about both the passing and running game equally. He said he probably shouldn’t say that coming off a 2-10 season, but he feels that way.

• When you’re playing at home, there’s a lot more versatility with offensive play calls compared to when you’re on the road. Crist will have a lot going on regarding play calls right from the start.

• Here’s the latest on defensive lineman Ty McKinney: The dean in charge of his program at his junior college has been talking to KU’s academic people. This looks like it will happen sooner rather than later. That school has to grade all the material from the class before freeing him up for an exam. The dean has been helpful in encouraging the professor to grade the material so McKinney can take the test to get to KU. Weis says KU is in “anyday” mode with McKinney, believing he could be on campus any day now. McKinney is ready for the exam, but he has to get clearance to take the exam. As soon as he takes the exam, he can come to KU. There’s a grace period from the NCAA that allows the player to come while the final exam is graded. KU has started classes. Forget about football. KU doesn’t want him to get behind in classes here.

• Weis coaches quarterbacks hard in practice so that the games are easier. Crist is ready to lead the team and ready to play in games. Once school starts, you go to a 20-hour work week, so the football players are actually happy when school starts, as it reduces their practice hours.

• There are a lot of candidates for KU at receiver. Some have been a bit of a surprise. Weis says everyone knows about the three seniors (Kale Pick, Daymond Patterson, D.J. Beshears), because they had a good camp. Kale Pick had a phenomenal camp. Weis also feels good about Chris Omigie, Andrew Turzilli and Tre’ Parmalee. Parmalee hasn’t played like a redshirt candidate. He’s made plays, both in the passing game and return game. The depth chart doesn’t end with those six guys, though.

• Patterson is one of the top receivers KU has. He’s dependable, gets open and catches with his hands and not his body. He could be a great returner, but Weis isn’t sure whether KU should risk injury by putting him there.

• Weis thinks his team needs to get off to a fast start or it’s going to be a long year. Everyone wants to look at a 12-game schedule; Weis wants to look at a one-game schedule with South Dakota State coming up. He wants to see his guys have fun, make plays and have the fans get into the first game. Weis doesn’t want his team to worry about any other team other than SDSU.

• Linebacker Anthony McDonald has been hanging out with the bicycles a lot in early practices. He has a track record of being banged up, so coaches want to make sure he’s fully ready to go when he does play. He only knows one way to play, and that’s hard.

• Linebacker Ben Heeney has a lot of athleticism. Last year, he made a lot of plays on special teams. Usually, making plays in open space are a sign that a player has good athleticism.

• Crist really likes it in Lawrence. He hasn’t had the best last few years. Just when he gets ready to be “the man,” his coach is fired at Notre Dame. At KU, he has some talent at the skill positions; he has a veteran offensive line; and he plays for a team that is expected to be crummy. How can he lose? Weis says this could turn out to be a wonderful story. Weis says he hopes that he sees it, because he’s a big fan of Crist as a person.

• Weis says that Crist needs to not try to do too much. In practice the other day, Crist checked to a running play that went for 30 yards. Weis says that’s called an “Attaboy.” When it works, you say, “Attaboy.” If it doesn’t work, Weis joked that it’s a, “What the hell are you doing?”

• Weis says he has given four walk-ons scholarships. He said he took care of a couple kids that are on special teams (Justin Carnes and Shane Smith) and also a couple that have 4.0 GPAs that don’t play much and have done everything right (Ryan Burton and Brandon Hawks). Burton and Hawks received the biggest round of applause from their teammates because of their hard work.