The mastermind may be gone, but his protégé remains.

Bill Young, who coordinated Kansas’ defense for six seasons, left for a job at the University of Miami soon after the Jayhawks’ Orange Bowl victory. Kansas turned to co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Clint Bowen to replace its departed defensive guru – a move from a distinguished veteran to a young coach who is just more than a decade removed from his playing days at Kansas.

Senior outside linebacker Mike Rivera said he thought the swap could help the Jayhawks.

“Coach Bowen is young and he has a lot of energy,” Rivera said. “He talks to us on a little bit of a different level, but we all like it. He’s a great coach - he knows what he’s talking about and he knows his schemes.”

Bowen’s schemes constituted much of Kansas’ defensive game plan during the past two seasons. Rivera said Bowen hadn’t made any wholesale changes to the defense, and those fundamentals were still a major point of emphasis under Bowen’s watch.

During his two seasons as co-defensive coordinator, Bowen helped piece together two of the best defenses in the recent history of Jayhawk football. Last season, Kansas allowed an average of 317 yards per game, the second best total in the program’s past 25 years. For just the second time in 60 seasons, Kansas yielded fewer than 100 rushing yards per game.

“We have been grooming Clint to take over as defensive coordinator here,” Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. “A lot of things you saw on the field last year were not only Bill Young’s stuff, but Clint Bowen’s, too. He’s had a major impact on our defense.”

Bowen’s task should be made easier by the return of last year’s starting linebackers. Rivera, senior outside linebacker James Holt, and senior middle linebacker Joe Mortensen provided a solid foundation for last season’s defense, leaving the coaching staff more worried about finding adequate reserves than filling holes in the starting lineup.

Mortensen earned All-Big 12 first team recognition last year and finished second in the conference in tackles-for-loss. Rivera successfully made the switch from middle linebacker to outside linebacker by slimming down and becoming a pass-rushing force. Holt put a bit of weight onto his 6-foot-3 frame and served as the team’s best linebacker in pass-coverage.

Thanks to the team’s depth at linebacker, Bowen could have the ability to use multiple packages to fit different in-game situations. In the spring game, sophomore strong safety Olaitan Oguntodu settled in at outside linebacker during some plays to offer some pass-rushing help. Sophomore linebackers Drew Dudley and Justin Springer saw time as true freshmen in 2007, and could contribute on special teams and as late-game defensive substitutions.

—Edited by Mandy Earles