When Kansas University’s offensive veterans look at quarterback Montell Cozart, they don’t see the guy who struggled to an 11-for-27, 89-yard passing outing at Duke, with two interceptions.
That wouldn’t do anyone involved a bit of good. Cozart’s teammates [know the QB left the road blowout disappointed][1], feeling as if he alone had let down the entire program
So when the Jayhawks look in the 19-year-old’s direction, they choose to see a young, confident sophomore signal-caller with the ability to bounce back for KU (1-1) against Central Michigan (2-1) on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
It doesn’t get much rougher than a 41-3 loss, so senior wide receiver Nick Harwell said there was only one reasonable way for the offense to respond: keep things upbeat.
In the days since Kansas returned home, Harwell has focused on motivating and inspiring, instead of tearing down.
> “I just told (Cozart) to keep pushing,
> keep going forward,” the senior
> captain said. “We’ve got a saying that
> goes: Keep choppin’ wood. Keep working
> hard and work on things we did poorly
> last week and hopefully this week will
> be better.”
That’s coming from a talented offensive weapon who only had two catches for nine yards against the Blue Devils. KU coach Charlie Weis said Duke didn’t shut Harwell down, offering instead that Cozart was the one to blame for the receiver’s lack of production.
The same claim could be made by senior receivers Tony Pierson (two catches, 17 yards) and Justin McCay (two catches, eight yards). But, like Harwell, they know supporting their QB is the proper solution right now.
McCay has told Cozart to keep his head up, and trusts that he will, because the receiver sees him as a competitor.
> “I know for myself I would like to
> catch more balls and do more for the
> team,” McCay said, “but he can only do
> so much. He’s only a quarterback. I
> think he does a good job, and we’ll be
> fine.”
Obviously, every player on the team felt down about the Duke outcome. But Pierson said the Jayhawks had put it behind them by Sunday, and he trusts that Cozart just suffered through a bad afternoon in Durham, North Carolina.
None of the QB’s offensive cohorts want him worrying about that performance anymore. Pierson said they think he will be back on track against Central Michigan.
> “Montell is confident in himself,”
> Pierson said, “and he’s just gonna
> keep on coming in each day and just
> working hard.”
Senior tight end Jimmay Mundine, who has just three catches for 17 yards through two games, said there are simple things holding back KU’s offense (145.5 passing yards a game) right now, and although those issues have made the Jayhawks look bad, they are correctable.
Mundine didn’t want to get into the specifics of the problems, but said Cozart isn’t the only Jayhawk responsible for fixing them.
> “He’s got growing to do, just as well
> as I do and other guys do,” the senior
> tight end said. “We’re still all
> figuring this out. This (was) Week 2
> and we’re just excited to get back out
> there and redeem ourselves for last
> week’s performance.”
Receivers Pierson, Harwell, McCay and Nigel King have combined for just 16 receptions so far this season. Harwell said while the receivers haven’t had as many pass-catching chances as they expected, they know they’re capable of more and they will do their part to help Cozart salvage this season.
> “I’m definitely confident in how we
> play,” Harwell said. “We have very
> little dropped balls. I just feel like
> if we continue to catch most of what
> is thrown to us, then we’ll do well.”
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/tale-tait/2014/sep/17/cozart-talks-with-media-about-duke-outin/
