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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2016
Senior quarterback Montell Cozart drops back to pass in a game in 2015.
File Photo/KANSAN
Football notebook: Spring Break plans focusing on 1-0 and Cozart progressing
- CHRISTIAN HARDY
@ByHardy
When winter break started, senior quarterback Montell Cozart went back to his home in Kansas City, Kan., and started studying. It was the fifth offense he'd be learning in three and a half seasons as a Jawhawk.
When he returned to campus in January, he ran through plays in 7-on-7 and in meeting rooms; he learned new signals and offensive line assignments. Under David Beaty's new, more traditional style of the Air Raid offense, the quarterback's role has not only changed, it has expanded, putting more weight on Cozart's shoulders in spring practice.
"The quarterback has a
little bit more responsibility, and that was probably the most difficult part," Cozart said of the otherwise smooth transition. "Just studying with coach Beaty, we're starting to get the grasp of it."
When a media member joked that he was the most educated quarterback in the nation, having been through a pro-style offense and a more typically-college offense, Cozart chuckled.
"I feel like I am," Cozart said with a smile. "If I started up on the grease board, I'd do a great job. [...] I'm just taking advantage of it. I've learned so much."
The transition this time may be a bit easier for Cozart, not only because it lets the quarterback roam — something Cozart, a dual-threat guy, does well — but because the guy who
formulated it is now his position coach. In both practices open to the media so far, Beaty has stuck around the quarterbacks, who he's expected to work almost exclusively with this season.
"We meet with him all the time, and we're starting to get the feel of him as our position coach, not just our head coach," Cozart said. "Me as a quarterback, personally, I feel great about it, and I'm learning on the fly all the time... It's been fun."
1-0
One might imagine a winless season would weigh heavily on the Jayhawks through the offseason. And, to some extent it did; for junior linebacker Joe Dineen Jr., it was "embarrassing;" senior safety Fife Smithson said it was "hard to let that
And they didn't stop hearing about it, all off-season long — almost four months to date.
"At the end of the day, everybody that writes about us, they talk about us, that's what they're going to say," Smithson said. "As players, we're trying not to think about it as much. We're trying to look forward, but in the back of our minds we know we're going to use that as motivation."
go;” Cozart said he thinks about it “every day”.
So in the meeting rooms, Cozart studies a little harder or spends a little more time to forget about the seemingly endless, silent flights home after losses. In the weight room, Dineen might get in a few extra reps to discard the feeling of those two numbers: 0-12.
"Coming into work, you
start to get that feeling, your body starts to break down, you start to get tired, but you automatically, you mentally get that photographic memory of what it felt like after every game," Cozart said. "We don't want to go back there."
But now, the focus is on two different numbers: 1-0. Since winter break, the team's mantra has been all about individual wins, not just in games but in practices. That's where the focus is geared.
"Our coaches mentioned [1-0], and it just clicked with us," Smithson said. "We talk about it a lot, just being 1-0. We want to just win."
After Thursday's practice, Kansas will be off for 12 days straight, until March
Spring Break
22, for spring break. Dineen said he has big plans for the break: staying right in Lawrence.
"Going to a really exciting place: Lawrence, Kansas," Dineen laughed. "Really excited about that. Just kind of staying in shape. Spring's pretty tough on your body, so you've got to be smart about what you do over spring break."
Cozart, though, has plans to get away for a bit before spring practice is ramped up.
"I'm just going back home, going to K.C. for a little bit," Cozart said. "Then I might go to D.C. and might vacation with a couple of friends. I have a couple family members up there."
Edited by Brendan Dzwierzynski
USA Today names Bill Self as Coach of the Year
► SCOTT CHASEN @SChosenKU
Kansas coach Bill Self was named college basketball Coach of the Year by USA Today Sports early Tuesday morning. The award comes just one day after he was named Big 12 Coach of the Year by the AP.
Self's Jayhawks finished the regular season 27-4, going 15-3 in Big 12 play. The team took first in the Big 12, winning the title outright and earning at least a share of the title for the 12th-consecutive year.
The Big 12 currently has
three teams rated in the RPI top 10. Seven of the 10 Big 12 schools are ranked 27 or higher. Self said Monday he expects those seven teams all to make the NCAA tournament.
Kansas currently sits at seventh in the nation in field goal percentage and
Right now, Kansas is ranked No.1 in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. The Jayhawks are ranked No.1 in RPI and No.2 according to kenpom.com. On the site, the Jayhawks are one of just two teams to be ranked in the top 10 of both offensive and defensive efficiency.
third in the nation in three point percentage. The team leads the Big 12 with 81.8 points per game, while sitting in 25th in the nation in defensive field goal percentage.
The Jayhawks will next be in action this Thursday. Having secured a bye in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament, the team will take on Kansas State. Tip is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. from Sprint Center.
Kansas coach Bill Self smirks after KU wins their 12th Big 12 regular season title in a row. Carotine Fiss/KAN.
Caroline Fiss/KANSAN
Junior outfielder Joven Afenir rounds second base in the second game of the series against BYU. The Jayhawks lost 8-2.
Missu Minear/KANSAN
Kansas baseball to host the Millard Management Classic
EMMA GREEN
@emmalee_green
Coming off a three-game sweep by BYU and a rained-out game against Creighton, the Kansas baseball team (3-7) will face off against North Dakota, St. Louis and Purdue over the weekend.
In the middle of a ninegame Kansas home stand, the games are part of the Millard Management Classic — a jamboree-style tournament — that Kansas last hosted in 2014.
Purdue and St. Louis will start the Classic at 11 a.m.
Friday, followed by a 3 p.m. start for Kansas and North
Dakota. North Dakota and Purdue will face off at 11 a.m.
Saturday, with Kansas and
St. Louis following at 3 p.m.
North Dakota and St. Louis
will play at 11 a.m. Sunday,
while Purdue and Kansas
will wrap up the Classic at 3
p.m.
Playing its first game in nearly a week, Kansas will square off against North Dakota (2-4) on Friday. While the teams haven't played since 2012, Kansas holds the all-time advantage at 4-1.
Despite its lackluster record, North Dakota managed to notch two victories against 12th-ranked Southern California during its first games of the season. However, things haven't gone so well for the Fighting Hawks since, as they are currently on a four-game skid.
On the second day of the Classic, Kansas will play St. Louis (5-8) with an all-time record of 4-2 against the Billikens. Prior to a double-header that St. Louis won in 2010, the two teams hadn't played in more than 100 years, with the last game being in 1911.
To conclude the Classic, Kansas will face Purdue (2-8) on Sunday.
Losing their first eight games, the Billikens started off slow but are currently on a five-game winning streak. Four of those losses came from BYU, a team that also swept Kansas.
While its record may be dismal, four of Purdue's eight losses have come against
ranked opponents - including 21st-ranked Georgia Tech and 10th-ranked California - and therefore they shouldn't be counted out.
Although every team participating in the Classic is sub-.500, they all have experience against quality teams and could prove to be difficult competition for the Jayhawks, particularly the hot-streaking Billikens. North Dakota could also be problematic for Kansas, as it is the only team with a win against a ranked opponent.
All games will be played at Hoglund Ballpark, and games against Kansas will be broadcasted on ESPN3.
.
Edited by Madi Schulz
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