I just checked the Whitetail Rut Dates chart on T.R. Michels website at: http://www.trmichels.com/RutDates.htm

If by "pre-rut" you mean what scientists refer to as the time when bucks start removing velvet, the time is well past, even in the northern states, when the rut may be little later than in Kansas.

If you mean, the peak scraping phase, that phase may have started in most northern and mid-latitude states (hwich is obvirous by the scrapes in your area), which includes Kansas.

Peak breeding in your area should be about mid-November. But, now is when the bucks are predictable, so hunt them ...