THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014
PAGE 7
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THE DAILY DEBATE
Who should be the starting quarterback for the rest of the season?
By Paige Stingley
@paigestingley
"MONTELL COZART"
The last thing this Jayhawk football team needs is another
team needs is another change. Charlie Weis is gone, Clint Bowen is now trying to find a balance between being defensive coordinator and head coach, and Kansas is desperately trying to turn around a football program that has struggled for years. To change quarterbacks mid-season would be a mistake.
Kansas has filtered through four quarterbacks in the past two and a half seasons. Every time the new quarterback is promised to be better than the last, and every time they fall short. But our quarterbacks aren't bad players. Most of them were highly ranked.
Maybe the problem is that quarterbacks don't stick around long enough to connect with the team.
Take a look at the top teams in the country and their quarterbacks. No. 1 ranked Florida State has Heisman winner Jameis Winston, who's in his second season with the Seminoles. No. 2 Auburn has senior Nick Marshall, who's been the starting quarterback for two years. No. 3 Mississippi State has been with their quarterback, Dak Prescott, for three seasons. All
Sophomore Montell Cozart is a young quarterback who has shown little consistency this season, but it is too early to bench him and name Michael Cummings the starter. Weis named Cozart the starter last spring instead of waiting until fall training camp for a reason. The more reps Cozart gets, the more comfortable he'll be come game time.
of these teams have one thing in common — consistency. And that's exactly what the Jayhawks need right now.
Playing Cozart over Cummings isn't going to hurt the Jayhawks this season, but it may help them in future seasons. Cozart still has two years of eligibility after this year, giving him plenty of time to gain consistency and become a dominant leader. Cummings only has one season left, meaning the Jayhawks will once again be looking for a new quarterback soon. Keeping Cozart as the starter for
the next two seasons also gives the Jayhawks a chance to develop another quarterback, who will follow in his steps when he graduates. Statistically,
Cozart and Cummings are arguably on the same skill level, but Cozart has put up slightly higher numbers than Cummings so far this season. Cozart has completed 62 of 125 passes for a completion rate of 49.6 percent. Cummings has completed 9 of 19, or 47.4 percent, of his passes. Cozart averages 5.54 yards per pass; Cummings averages 3.74. Cummings has a passer rating of 78.8; Cozart. 98.2.
Cozart seems the obvious choice by all standards. Though he has yet to show the level of play the Jayhawks are looking for, he has the stats to beat Cummings and give the Jayhawks some consistency in at least one area of their program. Cozart a growing quarterback who will be a dominant leader in the next couple of seasons.
By Nick Couzin
@NCouz
Edited by Rob Pyatt
"MICHAEL CUMMINGS"
It's obvious to the football fan base that sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart has underperformed this season. I haven't heard one person talk about Cozart in a positive way this season, therefore interim coach
After another loss in Big 12 conference play, Kansas football needs to make some immediate changes. That first change should be at quarterback, at least for right now.
- Clint Bowen should name redshirt junior quarterback Michael Cummings as the starter this week against Oklahoma State.
Kansas has nothing to lose with this decision. Cummings has experience
Cummings has been successful coming off the bench. In 2012, he came in against Oklahoma State and led two fourth quarter drives. He set season-high records in completions with 10 and yards with 111. In 2013, he was underutilized for the likes of Cozart. As we have seen both this seasons and last, Cozart has not been the answer the Jayhawks are looking for.
as a starter. As a redshirt freshman, he started eight of nine Big 12 games and has good numbers against the conference's defenses. He completed 43 of 94 passes with 456 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 123 yards and added another touchdown.
This year alone, Cozart is underperforming. He has thrown seven interceptions and has been sacked 11 times, which is way too
it is a bubble screen, and the majority of the time the play goes nowhere.
Kansas has great receivers with Tony Pierson, Nick Harwell and Justin McCay, but they're ineffective if the ball is not accurately thrown to them.
Don't get me wrong, Cozart is a great athlete and can do great things someday, but he needs a coach who specializes in his game. Weis wasn't that kind of coach, and Cozart struggled because of it. Whoever Kansas finds to be its next coach, whether it's Bowen or someone else, the priority should be to get a coach to tailor to his run-pass combination. But for now, why not give Cummings a chance?
many to have this early into the season. I expected him to change after the Central Michigan game, but have yet to see any improvement. Cozart continues to favor running over passing. When he does pass,
Against Oklahoma State this Saturday, there should be no question but to start Cummings at quarterback. He might be the answer to get those conference wins that Kansas and the fans eagerly await. For Cozart, he can sit, learn and gain more experience. He can put in more work at practice, and in future years, Cozart could be the quarterback Kansas expects him to be.
Who will win the Kansas-West Virginia game on Saturday?
DAILY DEBATE RESULTS: OCT. 5, 2014
WEST VIRGINIA: 77.8%
KANSAS: 22.2%
29 people polled
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VOTE FOR THE WRITER WITH THE MOST CONVINCING ARGUMENT AT KANSAN.COM
Edited by Ben Carroll
Royals beat Angels 8-3 to finish off ALDS sweep
They had waited 29 years to soak in moments like these.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  — Almost an hour had passed, and the postgame party had moved from the field to the Kansas City clubhouse, where victory champagne was once again flowing. Yet as sheets of rain fell at Kauffman Stadium, thousands of celebrating Royals fans refused to leave.
"This is a special time in the city right now and they're enjoying this as much as we are," winning pitcher James Shields said. "This is the best atmosphere I've ever been a part of."
Alex Gordon hit a bases-clearing double in the first inning, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas each homered and the wild-card Royals finished off a three-game sweep of
the mighty Los Angeles Angels with an emphatic 8-3 victory Sunday night in the AL Division Series.
The scrappy team with the unorthodox manager, popgun offense, dynamic defense and lights-out bullpen will open the AL Championship Series against the Orioles beginning Friday night in Baltimore. Kansas City went 4-3 against the O's this year.
"I've never seen this group of kids so confident on the big stage." Royals manager Ned Yost said. "It's really fun to see their development and watch them come into the postseason and just really take their game to the next level."
The power-hitting Angels, 98-64 in the regular season, became the second team in the divisional era that began in 1969 to have the best record in the majors and get swept out of the playoffs, STATS said. In no small coincidence, the Royals dealt the same humiliating
fate to the New York Yankees in the 1980 ALCS.
Stalking around the mound amid an electric atmosphere, Shields lived up to his "Big Game James" billing. The Royals' ace gave up homers to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols, but otherwise held in check a suddenly punchless Los Angeles lineup
Shields was helped, too, by diving grabs by center fielder Lorenzo Cain on back-to-back plays. All told, the highest-scoring team in baseball managed six runs in the entire series.
"Anything happens in the playoffs," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "You don't go in with any badge saying you won the most games, and you're certainly not going to get any points for that going into the playoffs."
Associated Press
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