Perhaps no player experienced last season’s secondary shakeup quite like sophomore Daymond Patterson. So it’s here, with Patterson, where the story begins.

An early-contributing receiver on Kansas’ high-powered offense, Patterson moved to cornerback, shifting his focus to stopping the same routes he once ran.

The move flung new responsibilities onto the shoulders of a young player still grasping the details of the college game and sharpened Patterson’s learning curve.

“Last year they were out there making sure I was in the right position,” Patterson said. “Now I’m helping other people get in position, making calls, and I know the defense now. If you don’t know the defense, it’s really hard.

“You can’t hesitate. You have to know and then you have to react. The first few games, it was hard for me to see it and react.”

Patterson’s situation isn’t unique. In fact, it’s the most common tale of a Kansas secondary that flipped, switched and moved positions throughout the first half of the season.

But what was once an uncertain piece of the defense has developed into Kansas’ most reliable — and deep — unit this season. The Jayhawks return five players with at least six starts.

“This year, when you see a certain route you know that (Darrell) Stuckey is coming down to take him so you can back off. Instead of ‘Is he coming, is he coming?’” Patterson said. “The secondary being able to play together throughout the end of the season, I think the communication is second nature. We can look at each other and know what’s going on.”

Ah, communication. Each member of the secondary highlighted it as the most noticeable improvement this season. But what, exactly, does enhanced communication amount to?

Without uncertainty in the secondary, several players said instincts — not over thinking — should surface more this season. In turn, the chance of making more game-affecting plays also increases.

“We’ve become close-minded in the secondary,” junior cornerback Chris Harris said. “We’re starting to know what people will do in certain situations.”

What’s less certain is the offseason scheme changes Kansas made. During the spring game – and during a practice open to the media last Tuesday – the Jayhawks featured five defensive backs on the field.

But coach Mark Mangino insisted that Kansas isn’t switching to a 4-2-5 defensive scheme as previously reported. Mangino said the Jayhawks will still use a 4-3 alignment as their base defense and that the changes in the secondary were minor.

“What we made a decision to do is to modify our nickel package,” Mangino said. “We’ll put some new calls in there and change up some responsibilities. As you watch it from the press box, you’re not going to know the difference from this year’s defense or two years ago or five years ago.

“The changes are more for the players — for the players to adapt — than it is a wholesale change of the system.”

Players reasserted Mangino’s sentiment. Senior Justin Thornton said the changes were made for matchup purposes and that they were “nothing too big.”

Regardless, the secondary will feature a heavy rotation of at least five defensive backs this season. Leading the secondary is senior safety Darrell Stuckey, an All-Big 12 first team selection last season.

Stuckey will be joined at safety by junior Phillip Strozier, who started the final six games of the season last year. Patterson has a lock on one of the cornerback positions, while sophomore Anthony Davis is listed at the top of the depth chart at the other spot.

Davis played sparingly last season but teammates raved over his athletic ability and conceptual improvement this season.

“It’s one of those things where he was a great athlete but he needed to learn the plays and gain confidence,” Stuckey said. “He proved that he could play at a high level and that he could execute the defense.”

Harris said, “AD’s always been very talented and one of the quickest players on the team. He’s just bringing it all together.”

Still, the secondary has to face the pass-heavy offenses of the Big 12 – something the Jayhawks struggled with last season.

Kansas ranked 10th in the Big 12 in pass defense last year, surrendering 273.6 yards per game. But players insist this unit is better equipped for success in the Big 12.

“We can affect the quarterback more instead of having three linebackers on the field,” Harris said. “We weren’t affecting the quarterback at all really. And since everyone in our conference has a spread offense, we’ll be able to stop the pass better with more defensive backs out there.”

— Edited by Megan Morriss