Blue team quarterback Thomas MacVittie throws against White team safety Bryce Torneden during Late Night Under the Lights on Saturday, April, 13, 2019 at Memorial Stadium.

Before preseason practices began on July 31, Kansas football coach Les Miles and offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon told the team’s quarterbacks they were about to embark on an open competition for the starting job.

And so it remains at this juncture, with three weeks to go before the Jayhawks are scheduled to kick off their 10-game season.

During KU’s scrimmage earlier this week, every QB took live reps at some point, so theoretically it’s anyone’s job to win. But upperclassmen Thomas MacVittie and Miles Kendrick have long been considered the top contenders.

So what will Miles need to see out of one of them — or perhaps someone else — to trust that player as the No. 1 QB? In typical Miles fashion, he didn’t exactly answer that question directly earlier this week during the coach’s first interview session of the summer.

“Well, the good news is he’s being mentored by a guy that’s in my opinion doing a great job in Dearmon,” Miles said of the eventual winner of the competition. “If they stay the course and continue on I think they can find that we’ll have good quarterback play, and that’s, as you know, half the battle.”

Blue team quarterback Miles Kendrick throws during Late Night Under the Lights on Saturday, April, 13, 2019 at Memorial Stadium.

Many expected MacVittie, a junior college transfer and Miles recruit, to win KU’s QB battle of 2019. But Carter Stanley beat him out and retained the top spot on the depth chart throughout the season.

As he chases a different outcome this year, MacVittie, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound senior from Cincinnati, hopes some lessons learned last time around will prove beneficial.

“Just always, always, always work hard, even if you think you’re outworking the other senior or the freshmen,” MacVittie said. “Just work harder, because there are other kids at other schools working harder than you. You’ve always got to compete, even if you think you’ve got it in the back pocket, man. You can still get better at a lot of things, especially at quarterback. There’s so many things and there’s so many traits and so many aspects of this position on the field.”

Back in 2018, during his first year at KU, Kendrick did well enough through the preseason that he played meaningful snaps in the Jayhawks’ first four games as a reserve before ultimately redshirting.

If he’s made reads and throws during preseason practices the past few weeks that might help him win the job this year, Kendrick kept that to himself while speaking with the media.

The 5-10, 205-pound junior from Morgan Hill, Calif., said all of the quarterbacks have made important plays so far.

“Coach Dearmon preaches explosives. I think as a unit we’ve done that this camp,” Kendrick shared. “We’ve been stretching the field, taking shots and being aggressive. I think that’s one thing that will help win the quarterback competition for sure.”

While addressing what he thought he had done so far this summer that could help him win the competition, MacVittie pointed to his mindset rather than any particular skills.

“I’ve definitely turned up my energy. That was one thing. I’m a pretty energetic guy once you get to know me, but if you don’t know me too well you don’t really get to see that side of me. This team is close. There’s 100-plus kids and we see them every single day, so it’s just getting those guys behind me and getting those guys fired up on the field. Every day we’re battling something that we’ve never faced before.”

When presumably either MacVittie or Kendrick becomes the starter for the opener, the winner of the competition will make his first career start at the FBS level.

MacVittie didn’t even take in-game snaps at QB in 2019, rather lining up at receiver on a couple of occasions. His one pass attempt, on a failed trick play at Oklahoma State, got intercepted.

Kendrick didn’t play in any games for the Jayhawks in 2019, after making four appearances as a backup in 2018, when he completed 11 of 19 passes for 100 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions.

One skill player who has seen both QBs up close during KU’s closed preseason practices, senior receiver Stephon Robinson Jr., called Kendrick a dual-threat while comparing the two.

“Both are very smart quarterbacks,” Robinson added. “And Thomas MacVittie, he has a great arm. So whichever one’s out there I’m ready to go.”

If either Kendrick or MacVittie has an edge at this stage of the preseason, the Jayhawks are keeping that private.

Junior running back Pooka Williams said both are doing “great” as they try to win the job.

“Both of them are competing for their spot, and that’s really all I can say for real, because they’re both doing their job,” Williams said. “Both of them are special to be honest.”

Miles said he generally prefers to wait until much closer to the opener to name a starting QB. A year ago, Miles chose Stanley on the eve of the Jayhawks’ debut.