Kansas Football: Cozart Should Play Receiver, not Quarterback in 2016
By Evan Riggs
After Montell Cozart’s rough spring game, it’s clear that Ryan Willis should be the starting quarterback in 2016. But David Beaty can’t let Cozart, one of the team’s best athlete’s, sit on the bench all season.
If Beaty was holding out any hope that Cozart may be the answer at quarterback, that probably ended last spring.
Even though Beaty indicated to Tom Keegan that Cozart was impressive throughout spring practices with the way he ran the offense, it was a completely different story in the spring game.
"“The coaches loved the way Cozart ran the offense in closed practices. And then the curtain dropped for the spring exhibition, and Cozart threw three interceptions and two others were dropped.”"
But the Jayhawks still need Cozart on the field. He’s too good of an athlete to sit on the bench, especially for this Kansas team that is in desperate need of more athletes at every position.
He practiced at wide receiver in the spring of 2015, so why not move him there full time?
One problem a coach is often faced with when asking a veteran player to switch positions is upsetting that player. But that wouldn’t happen with Cozart, who offered to switch positions in the spring according to kusports.com.
"“I talked to those guys and said, ‘I’m willing to come back and compete (at QB). But I’m willing to do whatever it takes for our team, whether it’s to be on the defense, to be outside, lined up at receiver.’ I was willing to do whatever it took for us,”"
It’s not as if Cozart doesn’t have the physical attributes to play wide receiver. In fact, very few guys on the Jayhawks’ roster have Cozart’s combination of size and speed.
The redshirt junior is 6’2” and he runs a 4.5 40-yard dash. He just lacks the decision making to be a successful Big 12 quarterback, and there’s no evidence that’s going to change after three years of trying.
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So why not give one of the best athletes on the team a few months to practice with the wide receivers and see if he can make an impact?
The Jayhawks will lean on Texas A&M transfer LaQuvionte Gonzalez to be the top threat at wide receiver. Outside of Gonzalez, the Jayhawks don’t have any proven playmakers at wide receiver.
Tre’ Parmalee was the leading receiver last season with 599 receiving yards but he was lost to graduation. The Jayhawks do return both Steven Sims Jr. and Tyler Patrick, but the pair of sophomores combined for just 604 yards.
Outside of the lack of depth at wide receiver, it seems very unlikely that Cozart is going to see any time at quarterback thanks to the emergence of Ryan Willis.
After Cozart suffered a season ending shoulder injury last October, Willis took his place and was a bright spot in an otherwise dark 0-12 season for the Kansas Jayhawks. He appeared in 10 games and threw for 1,719 yards, eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
With an offensive line that struggled to protect him, a below average running game and average receivers, it wasn’t surprising to see Willis struggle at times.
When given time, Willis showed off his elite arm strength, good accuracy and more promise from the quarterback position than anybody the Jayhawks have had since Todd Reesing.
The bottom line is the Jayhawks are in desperate need of playmakers on offense. So why should Beaty let one of his most athletically gifted players stand beside him with a clipboard for the entire season?