All three quarterbacks still have shot to win job

By Staff     Jun 11, 2018

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Kansas quarterback Miles Kendrick drops back to throw as he is protected by Kansas offensive lineman Antione Frazier (75) and Kansas offensive lineman Larry Hughes (73) during an open practice on Saturday, April 28, 2018 at Memorial Stadium.

Fourth-year Kansas football coach David Beaty gave no indication during the 15-practice spring session as to the identity of the starting quarterback this coming fall.

A look at Beaty’s first three seasons on the job doesn’t help narrow it down much because he has had a tendency to change his mind more than once during the course of the season.

In his first season, Beaty used three different starting quarterbacks in a three-week span. Montell Cozart started in Week 2, Deondre Ford started in Week 3, back to Cozart in Week 4 and Ryan Willis in Week 5.

Willis set the Beaty-coached record for most consecutive starts by getting the call in the final eight weeks of the 2015 season, but then Beaty switched back to Cozart to start the 2016 season. In two different stints as the starter, Cozart had seven starts in 2016, Carter Stanley three and Wills two.

So whatever Beaty saw in games Willis that made him start the final eight games of the 2015 season wasn’t as powerful as whatever the coach saw during the offseason that made him switch back to Cozart to start the 2016 season.

Peyton Bender, who started eight games last season, Stanley, who started four, and newcomer Miles Kendrick, who spent one semester at junior college out of high school, all have legitimate chances to win the job during the summer.

Year Quarterback Com-Att TD-Int Pct. Yds. YPA Rating Starts Longest
Starting
Streak
2015 Ryan Willis 164-315 8-10 52.1 1,719 5.5 99.9 8 8
2015 Montell Cozart 66-105 2-1 62.9 752 7.2 127.4 4 2
2015 Deondre Ford 11-23 0-1 47.8 132 5.7 87.3 1 1
2016 Cozart 112-191 7-9 58.6 1,075 5.6 108.6 7 4
2016 Carter Stanley 93-156 6-6 59.6 959 6.1 116.3 3 3
2016 Willis 72-117 3-7 61.5 811 6.9 116.3 2 2
2017 Peyton Bender 148-273 10-10 54.2 1,609 5.9 108.5 8 7
2017 Stanley 101-185 4-7 54.6 1,108 6.0 104.5 4 4
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