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Volume 128 Issue 18
kansan.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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15
COMMENTARY Jayhawks need to stick with offense that works
Sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart was 11-for-27 for 89 vards with
two interceptions in the loss to Duke, and some Kansas fans panicked, calling for Cozart's job, and Weis, too. Just a week later against Central Michigan, Cozart completed 23 of his 33 attempted passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns, and a fluky interception. But the adjustments made between the Duke loss and the Central Michigan win were drastic.
Nothing changed for Cozart between the games, though. He didn't magically acquire an accurate arm after consistently missing marks against Duke. His receivers weren't getting more open than they were in the previous game.
The coaching personnel simply adapted to the strengths of their offense: the skill position players. It's exactly what new offensive coordinator John Reagan said he would do in his introductory press conference in February.
Snort, intermediate throws were the game plan for the Jayhawks on Saturday. And should be forward, too. Get those skill players — Tony Pierson, Nick Harwell, Jimmy Mundine and Justin McCay
— into space, get the ball in their hands and let them make plays. No deep balls necessary.
"In the first half we played very conservative, but almost every pass we were throwing was of the short variety because we want to get (Harwell's) confidence back," Weis said. "He completed almost all of his passes, then in the second half we felt good enough about letting him throw the ball downfield a little bit."
The Kansas City Chiefs thrived in 2013 despite quarterback Alex Smith's incompetent downfield accuracy. Smith finished the season with the lowest average depth of target (the yards the ball traveled in the air from the line of scrimmage to the receiver's hands) of any quarterback who played 25 percent of his team's snaps, according to ProFootballFocus.com.
The short-passing, dink-and-dunk style of play is nothing new or innovative for Reagan, as it's being used in the NFL every day, even by some of the most successful teams.
His job in the short game alone was nearly enough to get the Chiefs a playoff spot.
Though all three of Cozart's passing touchdowns have been 30 yards or longer, none have traveled more than 15 yards in the air before reaching their target. He put the ball in a position for the receiver to make moves and reach the promised land.
If the Jayhawks want to continue to see success from Cozart, it'll have to be through an offense which he can consistently complete passes in. As of now, I'll have to be the dink-and-dunk. It's the only way the receivers have a chance to succeed.
Edited by Miranda Davis
PULLING A 180°
Kansas soccer not letting last season's disappointment carry over
Kansas celebrates after a goal against University of Texas at San Antonio during their game on Aug. 29
LIZ KUHLMANN
@LizKuhlimannUDK
According to junior forward Ashley Williams, last season could be summed up into one word: frustrating. The layhawks went a disappointing 7-11-2, and while Williams said the team had plenty of talent, it was unable to click during games.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
The Jayhawks went 2-5-1 during conference play and finished eighth in the Big 12. This placement qualified them to play in the conference tournament in November, but Kansas dropped its first game and ended the season with a dissatisfying 2-0 loss to West Virginia.
"We weren't good enough," coach Mark Francis said. "We needed to do better."
Change. In order to prevent deja vu this season, Francis knew drastic changes had to be made to the program. The combination of a different
the soccer team is now an impressive 9-1 after playing 10 nonconference games so far this season. Prior to this past weekend, the team was undefeated in the longest winning streak in program history at 8-0, and had yet to trail in a single game. At the pace the Jayhawks are going, whispers of a Big 12 championship and an NCAA tournament appearance have started, and Francis said the team aims to achieve both these goals.
Williams said the night-andday difference between the two squads is very apparent, so the question remains: what happened between last November and now?
strength program during the spring, longer training in the summer and a different practice schedule and structure attributed heavily to the team's success thus far in the season.
"We had two goals coming into this season," Francis said.
"Win the Big 12 and make another run at the NCAA tournament ... Collectively, the Big 12 conference is in good shape, and it will be very competitive. There will be no easy games. All games will be tough."
Also contributing to the equation for success is the experience on the Jayhawk roster. Nine starters reappeared in Kansas uniform this fall, and both Francis and Williams agree the experience of the team has made an impact.
"It's been huge," Francis said.
"We're looking to make program history, so hopefully we accomplish that and do a lot better than we did last year."
ASHLEY WILLIAMS Junior forward
"The returning players, especially our senior class, have done a really good job of infiltrating the new kids into our system. We have eight freshmen this year and a lot of those guys are playing a lot of minutes, so it's important that they fit in and understand what the culture is. I think the returning players have done a great job doing that."
This mixing pot of both experienced players and eager freshmen has led to a new mentality. Williams said the team's attitude is one of their biggest strengths, and is completely different compared to last season.
"We have a lot of fighters on our team and it's awesome," Williams said. "It makes you not feel so crazy, like you're the only one who cares or the only one who is fighting."
"We have to keep doing what we're doing," Williams said.
After losing so many close games in 2013, Williams said Kansas hit the pitch each game ready to compete. While there is still work to be done, Williams said the team is meshing together well, sharing the ball and winning games it couldn't last season.
"We're looking to make program history, so hopefully we accomplish that and do a lot better than we did last year."
Edited by Sarah Kramer
"We've played some tough teams, and we have tough teams yet to play," Francis said. "I've coached successful teams before, and winning is more fun than losing for everyone. It's been fun so far, we just have to keep it going."
Francis acknowledges the early success doesn't give Kansas an excuse to let up its intensity. He agreed with Williams, and said the team must continue to execute as it has been while improving and preparing to tackle each game.
2013 KANSAS SOCCER
(20 GAMES)
Record: 7-11-2
19 goals scored
25 goals allowed (1.25/game)
5 shutouts
Leading scorer: Caroline
Kastor, 6 goals
2014 KANSAS SOCCER (10 GAMES)
Record: 9-1
23 goals scored
5 goals allowed (.5/game)
5 shutouts
Leading scorer; Liana Salazar,
7 goals
Cozart, Swoopes to clash in Big 12 matchup
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Sophomore quarterback Montell Cozart lines up for a throw against Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 6. Cozart will face off against another young quarterback during Saturday's game.
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DAN HARMSEN
@udk dan
For the Kansas Jayhawks, senior Jake Heaps was supposed to be taking the snaps for a veteran Kansas team on the cusp of its first bowl appearance since 2008. But after a rough 2013, a change of offensive coordinator and a new spread offense ill-suited to his abilities, Heaps transferred to Miami, Fla., leaving the quarterback position vacant.
Neither Montell Cozart nor Tyrone Swoopes were supposed to be here — at least this early.
So far this season, Cozart has shown flashes of brilliance, particularly in his last outing in the 24-10 victory over Central Michigan. On Saturday, Cozart went 23 of 33 for 226 yards and two touchdowns. One of his best attributes, displayed throughout the afternoon, is his ability to extend plays with his legs and find open receivers when the play breaks down.
Cozart, a sophomore from Roeland Park, excelled in the offense during the offseason and separated himself from the rest of the pack by the end of the spring. After starting four games in 2013, Cozart was named the 2014 starting quarterback heading into the summer.
"They had a big win over Central Michigan," Texas coach Charlie Strong said. "They did a really great job
of running the football. Their quarterback is an unbelievable athlete.
But Cozart's 2014 season has not been free of struggles. In the 41-3 loss to Duke, Cozart completed just 11 of 27 passes for 89 yards and threw two costly interceptions.
For the Texas Longhorns, senior David Ash was supposed to be leading the charge, but a series of concussions forced him to step away from football. In lieu of Ash, the Longhorns will lean on sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes as they have since their Week 2 loss versus BYU, 41-7.
"The Saturday night after the Duke game, I felt that we needed a plan to get the kid's confidence up," Kansas coach Charlie Weis said. "Things didn't go very well, so by the time he got in Sunday, I said let's get him going. One stat that most people didn't really notice, the kid completed (about half) of his third-down conversions (against CMU). Quick passes are a good way to get a quarterback's confidence going. When it's all said and done, you have to throw the ball down the field."
Although Swoopes is 0-2 in starts this season, Weis says the Whitewright, Texas, native has a high ceiling. Swoopes went a glistening 24 of 34 for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the Longhorns' close loss to No. 12 UCLA, 20-17, on Sept. 13.
"He's a big dude," Weis said
of Swoopes. "He's athletic, he runs very well. You'll see a lot of their passes have been of the short variety and bootlegs. He'll continue to get better and better."
"The running backs are young and they've been forced into action, but if you look at them they are very explosive, and they can get outside to the edge, and they can get downhill." Strong said. "When they're forced into action like that sometimes you don't know if they are ready, but they are ready."
With the beginning of conference play this Saturday, and homecoming in Lawrence, gameday will have a new feel to it.
As the two quarterbacks continue to develop, they'll enjoy some nice talent around them. Both coaches pointed to strong supporting casts for the young quarterbacks. Strong mentioned the explosiveness of the receivers and the aggressiveness of the defense but was also impressed by Kansas' young running backs.
"For us, the sky was falling," Weis said about the Duke loss. "In the two years I've been here, we haven't finished a team off in the fourth quarter. This is new territory for our team."
Edited by Rob Pyatt
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