Kansas freshman linebacker Brandon Duncan always thought he would play football for the University of Texas, the team he made an oral commitment to during his junior year of high school.

But after the Garland, Texas, native didn’t sign a letter of intent to play for the Longhorns in February, Duncan said Texas coach Mack Brown called him in June and informed him there was no longer a spot for him as a Longhorn.

That sent Duncan into panic mode, and he began looking for a place to play football for the 2005 season.

His mother pointed him to the University of Kansas. She had called Kansas co-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren to let him know of her son’s interest.

“My mom was telling me from the get-go that, ‘You’ll love it up there, you just have to come up here and meet the coaches and players. They have a real good team, everyone is bonding,’” Duncan said. “I came up here and saw exactly what they were talking about. I didn’t even go and look anywhere else after I came up here.”

Several other schools expressed interest in Duncan, including Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Kansas State, he said.

Kansas coach Mark Mangino was skeptical when he began persuing Duncan in June. Mangino usually takes measures to find out how serious recruits are, especially when he recruits players late.

“We try to be very careful when we recruit and sign kids on the signing day,” Mangino said. “Anytime we recruit a young man much later than the signing date we look for red flags. We did extensive research on his background. I talked to the high school principal. Dave Doeren talked with everybody. He may have even talked with the custodian.”

The background check didn’t stop at Duncan’s high school. The KU coaching staff then talked with members of the football program at Texas.

“I had a conversation with Mack Brown,” Mangino said. “At the end of the day he is a young man who didn’t have a spot for him at Texas but everyone was very positive about him, and we feel good about giving him an opportunity here.”

Duncan didn’t arrive on campus until this summer, which is unusually late. Recruiting Web site Rivals.com ranks Duncan as the 21st best linebacker in the nation and a four-star recruit.

At first, Duncan was concerned that he was arriving late on campus and he might have difficulty learning the defensive system, but he said that it came naturally.

“The first couple of days were rough on me, but once you get rolling and falling in line with everyone,” Duncan said. “It was rough the first couple of days, but after practices I caught on.”

Duncan may take a redshirt this season. Mangino said a decision has not yet been made. He said due to the depth at the linebacker position, Duncan might not be needed this season.

“What we have to gauge is can he get in there and play on game day, be a contributor and have an impact,” Mangino said. “We are trying to add depth to our team so if we can give them a little break here and there so in the fourth quarter we will have fresh legs. He could be a factor in helping us have those fresh legs in the fourth quarter.”

Duncan said he was pleased that he had a solid group of linebackers to learn from at Kansas, such as seniors Nick Reid, Banks Floodman and Kevin Kane.

“I love those linebackers,” Duncan said. “I feel like I am beginning to fit in. When they leave I’ll be able to step right up. I am learning from them right now, I am taking everything in, let them coach me up. I just want to be as good or better than them.”

Duncan has impressed the senior linebackers.

“He is going to be great,” Reid said. “He needs to put a few more pounds on. He is real fast, he has great instincts, he can hit. He’s going to be a good one.”

Duncan weighs 210 pounds. He said he would like to reach 220 pounds.

Football Notes:

Punter Handling Kickoff Duties

Sophomore punter Kyle Tucker is expected to handle kickoff duties this season, replacing the graduated Johnny Beck. Sophomore Scott Webb is expected to handle extra point and field goal duties, however Mangino said that Tucker was also working on place kicking.

New Center

The offensive line is once again going through some changes. Junior David Ochoa will take over the center position from sophomore Todd Haselhorst. Haselhorst will move to the guard position.

QB Race

Junior quarterback Adam Barmann is the front runner to be the team’s starting quarterback, Mangino said. Senior Brian Luke continues to challenge Barmann for the starting job though. Senior Jason Swanson has dropped from the starting job consideration due to injuries, Mangino said.

McCoy In Iraq

Former defensive end Kansas John McCoy, who has been stationed in Iraq for the past year, is not expected to return to the team this season. Mangino exchanged e-mails with McCoy last week and said he thought McCoy might return at some point this fall.

—Edited by Tricia Masenthin