THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013
PAGE 9
ANY GIVEN SATURDAY
EMILY WITTLER/KANSAN
Junior cornerback JaCorey Shepherd follows junior running back Connor Embree during a kickoff return on Saturday. Shepherd's defensive play as a cornerback helped the Kansas defense from giving up big plays to West Virginia's passing attack. The Jayhawks won the game 31-19.
Football Notebook
Freshman quarterback Cozart takes control of Kansas offense
CHRIS HYBL
chybl@kansan.com
Montell Cozart made the first start of his career on Saturday, and Kansas got its first Big 12 conference win in 27 straight tries.
The keys are Cozart's. It doesn't matter that Cozart was facing a losing team or that he was only 5-12 passing. Cozart went start to finish and was on the team that came out on top.
Cozart's subpar numbers might not matter. It may just be his presence. Having Cozart in adds another running threat in addition to being able to throw the ball. He may not throw the ball well, but he can hit open receivers, and those situations are presented while Cozart and a rotating backfield
of James Sims, Tony Pierson, and Brandon Bourbon can keep a defense guessing. On Saturday, it worked.
Cozart helped put together a string of 24 unanswered points that put the game firmly in the hands of Kansas. Cozart's effect on Saturday isn't too far off a Tebow statline. It wasn't pretty, but he quarterbacked the game, and the game was won.
JaCorev Shepherd
At one point in his college career, JaCorey Shepherd was a wide receiver. But now, Shepherd is the Kansas defense's second best weapon. On two lengthy third downs Saturday, balls were thrown to Shepherd's man, and in both situations, Shepherd closed on the
opposing receiver to break up the play.
In his second season on the defensive side of the ball, Shepherd has managed to make it pretty well known that quarterbacks should avoid throwing the ball his way. On Saturday, that was the case. Balls thrown his way were wasted throws. The only mistake that Shepherd could recall after the game was not turning some of the pass break ups into interceptions.
two steps back, and nearly picked the ball off. The closing speed on the play was exceptional, and words can't do it justice.
Shepherd has a knack for the ball. On a third and long in the first half, West Virginia quarterback Trey Millard had a man over the middle. The man was Shepherd's to cover and with the ball on the way, Shepherd was two steps behind. But Shepherd decided to jump under the route, gained the
Shepherd, even though he won't admit it, has almost completely grown into his role, and it's a job well done.
The Future
Kansas snapped a nasty 27-game conference losing streak over the weekend. For Kansas, it's now time to snap it's next nastiest streak: a 24 straight road game losing streak. But that's about all that's left for Kansas to accomplish this year. With little left to play, it leaves fans thinking about the future. In particular, it leaves fans thinking about the quarterback situation.
In Saturday's game notes pub
lished by the Kansas Athletics, the department made a note that transfer quarterback TJ Millweard (from UCLA) and wide receiver Nick Harwell (from University of Miami Ohio) are ahead of "one of the best scout team offenses in the nation." That's a straight quote. They also made a note to compare the duo to Jake Heaps and Justin McCay. That worked out well. It's puzzling why this is even relatively noteworthy after what has happened to Heaps and McCay, both being stripped of their starting positions this season – especially when it looks like Heaps may not see a down for the rest of the season.
It's somewhat embarrassing, but it sets the table from a three way quarterback controversy. The former No.1 high school quarterback, Jake Heaps, wants the chance to save an extremely tarnished career. Montell Cozart will be trying to defend a starting spot, regardless of how the season finishes. Millweard will be in the mix as well, but there should be no hype given to Millweard considering how bad Kansas' last two transfer quarterbacks, Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps, have turned out. It's anyone's guess as to how the future looks at the Kansas quarterback position; it's almost the most entertaining thing to think about regarding Kansas football.
— Edited by James Ogden
FOOTBALL
Sims focused on wins as he approaches team rushing record
CONNOR OBERKROM
coberkrom@kansan.com
James Sims walked off the field with a grin on his face as jayhawk fans greeted him. The senior running back started the celebration, high fives and all.
Sims, who remember what it was like in Kansas' last Big 12 victory against Colorado in 2010, is glad the pain and the losing are finally in the past and now can look ahead instead of looking back. Sims lead the Jayhawks to a 31-19 win over the West Virginia Mountaineers with his strong
rushing attack.
"It feels great, just knowing we were on the same page and we were all clicking together, it's a great feeling to have," Sims said.
"If the record comes, it comes. If it doesn't, wins are more better."
a considerable hole aided by the offensive line. He took off and it was six points once he got to the second level, finishing a 68-yard touchdown run. It pushed the lead to 17-7 and set a positive tone for the team heading into halftime.
Sims rushed for a career high 211 yards, which came at an opportunity time for Kansas to snap its daunting 27-game losing streak against Big 12 competition.
"I looked up at the Jumbotron, I didn't see no one behind me," Sims said.
Sims carried the ball for the first four plays, accumulating two first downs and got the game plan going for Kansas as it tried to spread it out with its receivers, leaving room for Sims to work his magic.
"Our object was to spread them out, that what's the other teams did. Our game plan was to spread them out and if they have five in the box, just hand the bail off," Sims said.
While Sims had always worried about the program as a whole
JAMES SIMS Senior running back
Saturday's performance was Kansas' best rushing attack since Tony Pierson rushed for more than 200 yards against Texas Tech
Sims biggest run of the day came late in the first half when Kansas was leading 10-7. Sims gashed the defense up the middle thanks to
more than the individual numbers, it was a personal goal for him this season to leave Kansas as the number one running back. Sims is currently at 3,396 all-time rushing yards, which is third all-time and just 445 yards
"If the record comes, it comes. If it doesn't, wins are more better," Sims said. "The program was starting to turn a little bit, but we just have to take what we did today and bring it to practice and go to Ames and get a win."
behind June Henley, the all-time rushing leader at Kansas. He thinks he can reach Henley,but he's more driven to see what the team accomplishes in these last two games.
The Jayhawks will face Iowa State next week in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State is currently in last place of the Big 12 with an 0-7 record in the conference.
Edited by Paige Lytle
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN 211 vards
Senior running back James Sims breaks a tackle during Saturday's game against West Virginia. Sims led the team by running for a career high 211 yards.