Kerry Meier has been practicing this week, a clear sign that the injured shoulder that kept him out of Kansas’ last game is on the mend. But Jayhawks coach Mark Mangino is acting like he might not know until Saturday whether the redshirt freshman will be ready to go against Nebraska.

On Tuesday, Mangino told reporters in Lawrence, Kan., that Meier wasn’t fully recovered, and he won’t play at less than 100 percent. But that might occur by Saturday.

Last week, senior Adam Barmann filled in for Meier and completed 25 of 35 passes for 273 yards in KU’s 13-7 win against South Florida.

“I just went out and tried to manage the offense, get us some good plays and not try to do more than I could,” said Barmann, who’s 5-9 as a starter over his career.

Regardless of which quarterback starts, Nebraska probably will go in with the same defensive approach.

“Our game plan is still pretty much the same,” Barmann acknowledged. “We’re not a one-man show.”

HOLT TO RETURN: Linebacker James Holt, out all season with a foot injury, is expected to see some action Saturday. The news isn’t as positive for free safety Darrell Stuckey, who also hasn’t played because of an ankle injury.

BALLHAWKS: After committing five turnovers and getting none during a 37-31 double-overtime loss at Toledo, Kansas’ defense came up with three against South Florida to leave the Jayhawks plus-one for the game. It was the first game this season KU had a positive turnover margin.

“To be a good football team you’ve got to have a respectable turnover margin, and that’s something that we’ve been stressing here,” Mangino said. “We can’t give up the ball on offense and we’ve got to get turnovers on defense. And we did get three last week, so that’s a good sign for us.”