This past spring, Kansas football faced a problem: It had too much of a good thing.

This good thing was the play of junior linebackers Joe Mortensen and Mike Rivera. Though each linebacker showed the talent to flourish as a starter, coach Mark Mangino and his staff had trouble finding room on the field for both players.

Mortensen and Rivera are both prototypical middle linebackers. At 235 and 255 pounds, respectively, each packs enough weight to effectively shed blockers and track down running backs. Unfortunately for Kansas, the team’s 4-3 defensive scheme calls for only one middle linebacker. Last season, the coaching staff left Rivera in the middle and plugged Mortensen in on the outside. Mortensen was less suited for this role and had difficulty covering quicker receivers.

“Last year we had Joe Mortensen out playing in space, and that’s not his forte,” Mangino said. “He’s a player who needs to be inside the box.”

Last spring, Mortensen moved to linebacker and played well enough to earn a start in the spring game. This left Rivera, one of the team’s most talented players, on the bench.

The easy answer to the Jayhawks’ problem? More packages.

At an open practice held earlier this month, the Kansas defense looked like a machine full of cogs and gears. After every play, coaches shouted the name of a particular package and players hustled on and off the field in a hurry. Mortensen said defensive packages such as “bandit” and “base two” would allow the Jayhawks to swap personnel on the fly and better adjust to offenses.

“I don’t even know if I know how many schemes we have,” Mortensen said. “But we have a lot. We’re just rotating around and trying to show offenses some different stuff.”

In early fall practices, Kansas’ base defense featured Rivera playing outside linebacker alongside Mortensen in the middle with junior James Holt at the other outside position. The move illustrated the confidence of the coaching staff in regard to Mortensen and Rivera.

“With the way those guys have developed we’re always just trying to mix and match to find where they fit best,” Mangino said. “And I think Mike Rivera may have found a comfort zone.”

Rivera said his comfort zone was anywhere on the football field. He stood out last season at middle linebacker, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recognition, and has played well in the early going this fall. Rivera made several big tackles in an early-August practice and looked quick enough to fall back into pass coverage.

“Wherever they put me, I’m going to play hard,” Rivera said. “My role is going wherever they need me and getting the job done.”

Although the Jayhawks are just a few days into fall practices, Mortensen said he and Rivera had picked up their new positions fairly well.

“We’ve been playing really good and hard,” Mortensen said. “We’ve just been whoopin’ up on the offense.”

— Edited by Dianne Smith