Adam Barmann enters today’s spring scrimmage as Kansas University’s first-string quarterback, but the sophomore isn’t guaranteed to start the football season opener Sept. 4 against Tulsa.

Barmann, junior transfer Jason Swanson and junior Brian Luke have battled throughout the spring for the right to replace departed starter Bill Whittemore, but none of the quarterbacks has been able to put much distance between himself and the competition.

“I don’t think it matters,” offensive coordinator Nick Quartaro said. “There’s no question we’ll have a No. 1 guy. It might not be the guy we have there right now. It’s a work in progress. Obviously, we made good strides like you hope you would in spring ball. I think it will continue into fall.”

Barmann (6-foot-4, 210 pounds) passed for 564 yards and four touchdowns in three starts last year. The Weston, Mo., product had been expected to take a red-shirt season as a true freshman, but he was forced into action after Whittemore suffered a broken collarbone in the eighth game of the season at Kansas State, and backup Luke and walk-on John Nielsen were ineffective.

Quartaro liked what he saw from Barmann during spring drills.

“I think he’s been real assertive,” said Quartaro, who also is KU’s quarterbacks coach. “He has that kind of attitude, which is important for a quarterback. He’s been much more serious because he knows he has a chance to start as a sophomore in the Big 12 Conference. He comes in on his own on his days off, and I’ve been very pleased with that.”

While Barmann and newcomer Swanson still are learning the system, Luke has the advantage of being a fourth-year junior.

“We have a test for knowledge of the run and pass game during the season,” Quartaro said. “If we did that now, he would have the highest score. He might even have a perfect score. He’s very bright. He understands the system. He’s throwing the ball well. He’s improved his mobility in the offseason program. There’s no doubt he’s half a step faster.”

Luke (6-6, 225) remains an enigma. He took a red-shirt season in 2001 and missed the first nine games of 2002 with a broken hand. He was forced into action late in that season after a rash of injuries at the quarterback position and struggled, completing 17 of 47 passes (36.2 percent) with three interceptions.

Luke completed six of nine passes for 92 yards with two interceptions in the first seven games of 2003. After Whittemore was injured at K-State, Luke lost a fumble on his only snap of the game and was replaced by Nielsen.

Barmann made his debut a week later at Texas A&M and passed for 294 yards.

But Luke got another chance two weeks later when Barmann rolled an ankle at Oklahoma State. Luke, who had passed for 306 yards and one touchdown in his first six career games, passed for 193 yards and two TDs.

“That opened people’s eyes,” Quartaro said. “They saw the quarterback they expected when he signed with KU.”

Swanson, who still is learning the system, remains the wild card.

“Adam has had a slight edge only because he is familiar with our system, and Jason is just learning the whole thing right now,” KU coach Mark Mangino said. “But the competition is keen, and Brian Luke has had a very good spring and is throwing the ball as well as he has since we’ve been here. We’re hoping that very soon we can get those guys in some particular order, and I would think it will go into August for sure.”

Two years ago, Whittemore — a semester transfer like Swanson — entered the season as the No. 2 quarterback behind Zach Dyer. But Whittemore took over the starting role in week two.

“It’s an overall grasp of what 11 people on offense are doing,” Quartaro said of Swanson’s progress. “That’s hard to do in spring practice, but he’s come a long way in 11 practices. He needs more work under center, doing what we do on a normal basis.”

Swanson (6-0, 190) passed for 3,652 yards in two seasons at City College of San Francisco. He’ll have a summer filled with seven-on-seven drills and daily workouts to close the gap on Barmann.

Regardless of the starter, KU likely will have more depth at the position than it has had in recent memory.

“I have no doubt we’ll have a No. 1 quarterback before too long,” Quartaro said, “and we’ll also have two quality backups ready to play.”