PAGE 12
MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FOOTBALL
Notebook: Jayhawks prepare for the 2014 season
CONNOR OBERKROM
sports@kansan.com
COZART TO PUT ON WEIGHT
DURING OFFSEASON
Sophomore Montell Cozart's development as a dual-threat quarterback has been a thorough process that has experienced some hiccups and some signs of encouragement along the way.
On Saturday, he showed more poised version of himself, navigating the pocket with the confidence that a second-year quarterback should.
"Right now I'm really happy that we made the decision to play him last year," said coach Charlie Weis. "That was not the easiest decision to make when you could try to save him. He looks like a different player."
To embellish Cozart's presence as a more prevalent pocket passer who is able to shed the hits, Cozart intends to put on more weight in the offseason. The quarterback said that the coaches approached him and wanted him to bulk up before the 2014 season.
"Putting on some weight, that's what I'll work on,"
Cozart said. "Trying to get to 205. I got to get some weight on."
Cozart currently sits at 180 pounds.
Senior wide reciever Nick Harwell tries to outrun sophomore safety Anthony Smithson during Saturday's Spring Game.
NEW OFFENSE GRADUALLY
IMPROVES AFTER A ROUGH
FIRST HALF
AMIE JUST/KANSAN
On Tuesday, Weis hinted at the notion that the installment of the offense in the spring game would be vastly different from actual game planning for an opponent and it held true.
John Reagan, the new offensive coordinator, didn't hold back implementing some trick plays, options and a broader version of what the offense will eventually be narrowed down to in the fall.
"They did have some bad field positions, but they got into some long yardage situations on top of that they couldn't convert on," Weis said. "In the second half I thought they played much cleaner and more the way we would like to be playing."
Moving the ball was burdensome in Reagan's new offense out of the gate as the first team offense had some trouble early on and couldn't work out the kinks.
It failed to cross midfield the entire first half.
It picked up in the second half thanks to some lengthy runs by Cozart and locked into the flow of the offense, spreading the ball through the air much more efficiently, amassing 95 total passing yards in the second half.
Senior quarterback Jake Heaps didn't complete a pass in the entire first half, and combined with Cozart's output, accumulated four total passing yards.
The newly incorporated offense features much more no-huddle, spread formations with designed runs and zone reads mixed in. All of the nuances are still being cultivated, but overall it has been steadily settling in.
"There are two different types of questions. One is the competition." Weis said. "There's those types of questions then there is how fast and how much of the offense are players going to be able to handle right off the bat and get ready to go. I'm generally pleased with how much they've picked up."
TRE PARMALEE THROWS FIRST
TOUCHDOWN PASS OF THE GAME
While Cozart didn't throw a touchdown pass, his roommate and his high school teammate from Bishop Miege, junior wide receiver Tre Parmalee, did.
Parmalee, receiving the ball on a reverse handoff, connected with senior wide receiver Andrew Turzilli for a 26-yard touchdown pass, which ignited some back and forth between him and Cozart.
"That's my roommate so I had to give him some stuff about it," Cozart said. "He let it go, he threw a perfect ball."
Weis jumped in on the fun between the two in the locker room after the game.
"We have finally found a Bishop Miege quarterback that can throw," Weis said.
— Edited by Amber Kasselman
Cozart shows promise as quarterback at spring scrimmage
FOOTBALL
BEN BURCH sports@kansan.com
Quarterback Michael Cummings runs past defensive lineman Ben Goodman on Saturday during the Kansas Spring Game.
It wasn't the first time sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart's speed was displayed at Memorial Stadium, but it was fun to watch nonetheless.
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
With a little over six minutes left in the fourth quarter of the Jayhawk's spring football scrimmage, Cozart took a shotgun snap and began reading the defense for the option play. Seeing that the opposing linebacker was closing on the running back, Cozart tucked the ball under his arm and decided to keep it himself, running through a hole opened up by his offensive line. Bouncing outside, Cozart turned on the jets, beating the defense to the sideline and turning it up field. From there, it was off to the races, with freshman safety Tevin Shaw right on Cozart's heels. It looked as though Cozart would take it all the way until Shaw made a last-ditch effort, leaping and pushing Cozart off balance, causing Cozart to step on the sideline at the three-yard line before he could cross into the endzone. Or, at least, the referee said Cozart stepped out.
"I definitely think I got in [for a touchdown]," Cozart said. "They said I stepped out, but I don't think so."
goal line just two plays later on a two-yard rush, marking his second rushing touchdown of the day and giving the blue squad the 19-10 lead over the white team. He would finish the day with 70 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with a solid 58 yards on six for ten passing. Cozart, who began to show flashes of potential at the end of last season, pleased many with his performance, including coach Charlie Weis.
In the end it wouldn't matter that the 60-yard run didn't finish in a touchdown, as Cozart would run the ball across the
"I was pleased to see [Montell] sit in the pocket ... I like to see him do that and throw the ball down the field and drop back passes," Weis said. "We know he can bootleg and run on the edge, but it was good to see him show some poise in the pocket."
Although Cozart had a good outing, he still does not have the starting quarterback job for this season locked up, as he's currently in a battle with senior Jake Heaps, who split playing time with Cozart as the blue team's quarterback at the game. Heaps did not have the kind of day Cozart had, tossing for 41 yards on an inefficient three for nine passing. But, even though Cozart had the better game, Weis claims he is in no rush to pick his starter yet, saying they plan on using the uncertainty of who the quarterback will be to their advantage.
"Why should we tell the opponents [who the starter is]?
... [B]eause now every team we'll be playing against can sit there and say 'the guy is [Cozart]' and just gets ready for the things you're going to do with [Cozart]," Weis said. "Montell played better than everyone today, but that has not been a daily [occurrence]."
Even though the starting quarterback job is still up in the air, days like today give Cozart a good shot at securing it, as he showed he has the ability to affect games in a variety of ways. As expected, Cozart's running game stood out, as his 70 rushing yards trailed only junior running back Brandon Bourbon's 96 rushing yards for the most in the game.
“[Extending plays] is just something I do. That's just the kind of quarterback I am," Cozart said. "They tell me when the pass is not there or the first read is not there to be able to move around the pocket while still looking down field and be able to extend those plays and be able to still make a throw"
While the 60-yard run stood out as the clearest example of his running prowess, other plays in the game showed that Cozart's quick feet can also help him avoid sacks and extend broken plays.
What was more surprising than his effective game on the ground was that Cozart,
who struggled at times with his passing game last season, looked impressive through the air, making accurate throws both across the middle and to the sideline. Weis claims that today was proof that Cozart is making strides to become a more patient and efficient passer than he was last season.
"I'm really happy that we made the decision to play [Cozart] last year," Weis said. "That was not the easiest decision when you could have tried to save him, but I am glad because he looks like a different player. You saw him stand in the pocket [and] he showed poise."
Kansas football teams have
struggled to find a stable quarterback since former layhawk Todd Reesing, who led the 2008 Kansas team to an Orange Bowl victory, graduated after his senior season in 2009. In fact, in the four seasons since Reesing's departure, there have been seven different quarterbacks starting for the layhawks. Although it is too early to tell, Cozart's performance at the spring game shows that he has the potential to possibly provide some long-awaited steadiness at the quarterback position.
Edited by Amber Kasselman
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