What caught my eye on Day 12 of KU football’s spring practices

By Matt Tait     Apr 5, 2014

Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart throws during drills during a KU football practice Saturday, April 5, 2014, at Memorial Stadium.

After going through much of the spring without getting a look at the 2014 version of the Kansas University football, we got a peek and then some on Saturday morning.

Not only as the media able to attend the annual “>Hannah & Friends football clinic
where the Jayhawks and dozens of local people with different abilities ran through football drills and had a rocking good time, but we also were treated to more than an hour of an actual practice, complete with individual drills, one-on-one competitions and seven-on-seven scrimmage.

There was too much out there to waste any more time leading into what I saw, so let’s just get right to it. Short and sweet, but it should give you answers to a bunch of questions about this team.

Make sure you scroll down to the bottom for my best guess at what the current spring depth chart looks like, based mostly off of what I saw today.

Here goes:

Kansas cornerback Kevin Short (7) knocks the ball loose from a receiver during a KU football practice Saturday, April 5, 2014, at Memorial Stadium.

**• It looks as if senior Jake Heaps and sophomore Montell Cozart have established themselves as the top two quarterbacks.** Both took reps with the first team on Saturday and Heaps was the first to go out there. After that, Michael Cummings took the next most reps followed closely by UCLA transfer T.J. Millweard.

**• Offensive line coach John Reagan looks like a difference maker.** He coaches with a style that is 100 percent hands-on all the time and he really emphasizes little details and gives great one-on-one attention to every player in his group. Check next week for another blog entry about Reagan. I was so impressed by what he did and how he did it that I think it warrants its own blog.

**• The new KU passing game, which was featured during seven-on-seven drills, includes a variety of short, intermediate and deep routes and uses the entire field, sideline to sideline.** The tempo is good, the routes appear to be simple but effective and the quarterbacks (all of them) really seemed to have a good feel for how the offense is run and how the routes develop.

**• The first-string defense that KU used on Saturday** featured five defensive backs and included seven seniors and four juniors.

**• It may just be spring practice,** but it’s obvious that these guys have been working hard. Many guys look bigger and leaner and almost the entire roster gave maximum effort on every drill.

Kansas offensive lineman Damon Martin, left, works with other offensive lineman during drills at a KU football practice Saturday, April 5, 2014, at Memorial Stadium.

**• You might have read the coaches’ comments** about sophomore defensive back Greg Allen having a great spring. Now I see why they were so impressed. Allen is playing with a ton of confidence and even a little swagger right now. He’s big, physical and appears to be playing on instinct rather than having to think.

**• It’s a minor detail, but I overheard defensive backs coach Dave Campo getting after newcomer Ronnie Davis** a little bit during the seven-on-seven portion of practice. It wasn’t Campo’s ribbing that caught my ear, rather what he said. He pointed out that Davis’ feet are too good to allow a receiver to beat him to the inside and such a comment along with when he took his turn during drills leads me to believe Davis already is a second-string cornerback in KU’s secondary.

**• Before seven-on-seven got under way, the wideouts and DBs did a few rounds of one-on-one battles.** The best battles by far were: Tony Pierson vs. Dexter McDonald; Nick Harwell vs. JaCorey Shepherd; and Rodriguez Coleman vs. Kevin Short. Each guy won a battle or two during the time these guys locked up but it was the all-out competitiveness that existed between them that most impressed me.

**• I already talked about Reagan and how he coaches the offensive line, but it’s worth pointing out a couple of things about the players he coaches.** Walk-on center Joe Gibson has good size and appears to be in an intense battle with juco transfer Keyon Haughton at center. Haughton appears to be a little more polished and comfortable at the moment, but this one could go on for a while. Pat Lewandowski worked with the first team at left tackle and he looks a little more cut than what he played at last season. Senior Zach Fondal seems to be right there with him, competing for the job, though, so that one is far from settled. Mike Smithburg and Ngalu Fusimalohi appear to be locked in at the guard spots (both have added five pounds) and Damon Martin looks very good at right tackle. If today is any indication of how the rest of the spring has gone, it’s safe to say the offensive line is coming together much more quickly and much nicer than the group did last year.

**• Another new coach who I got my first look at on Saturday was wide receivers coach Eric Kiesau** and I was nearly just as impressed by him as I was Reagan. Kiesau is active during drills and he goes out there and physically demonstrates how he wants things to be done and what he wants his guys to do. It was just an hour of one practice, but the receiving corps looks a lot better already.

Kansas wide receiver coach Eric Kiesau participates in drills during a KU football practice Saturday, April 5, 2014, at Memorial Stadium.

**• Nothing major here either,** but the guys who went back to field punts during the final session we saw were: Tre’ Parmalee, Isaiah Johnson, Nick Harwell and Kevin Short. All except Parmalee are projected starters elsewhere on the field and all should be in the mix for the job come fall.

**• Here’s a quick look at some seven-on-seven stats** (which might very well be meaningless but give you an idea of how the passing game looked): **Passing –** Jake Heaps 4-for-7; Montell Cozart 1-for-5; Michael Cummings 3-for-4; T.J. Millweard 3-for-4. **Receiving –** Rodriguez Coleman 4 receptions on 6 targets; Nick Harwell 2 receptions on 3 targets; Tre’ Parmalee 2 receptions on 2 targets; Andrew Turzili 2 receptions on 2 targets; Justin McCay 1 reception on 1 target; Jordan Shelley-Smith 0 receptions on 1 target; Tony Pierson 0 receptions on 4 targets; Trent Smiley 0 receptions on 1 target. **Defensive Pass Break-Ups –** Dexter McDonald 3 (1 interception), Jake Love 1, Kevin Short 1.

All right, now onto my best guess at the current depth chart, which has probably changed a lot over the spring and, no doubt, will change some more when the rest of the 2014 recruiting class arrives this summer.

OFFENSE
——-

**WR** Nick Harwell 6-1, 193, Sr.
Tre’ Parmalee 5-10, 175, Jr.

Kansas wide receiver Tony Pierson, (3) goes against cornerback Kevin Short (7) in drills during a KU football practice Saturday, April 5, 2014, at Memorial Stadium.

**LT** Pat Lewandowski 6-5, 290, Sr.
Zach Fondal 6-5, 295, Sr.

**LG** Ngalu Fusimalohi 6-2, 315, Sr.
Bryan Peters 6-3, 295, Jr.

**C** Keyon Haughton 6-2, 300, Jr.
Joe Gibson 6-3, 295, RS-Fr.

**RG** Mike Smithburg 6-3, 305, Sr.
Joey Bloomfield 6-6, 295, RS-Fr.

**RT** Damon Martin 6-3, 305, Jr.
Brian Beckmann 6-6, 300, Soph.

**TE** Jimmay Mundine 6-2, 240, Sr.
Ben Johnson 6-5, 235, RS-Fr.

**RB** Brandon Bourbon 6-1, 225, Sr.
Darrian Miller 5-10, 195, Jr.

**QB** Jake Heaps 6-1, 210, Sr.
Montell Cozart 6-2, 195, Soph.

**WR** Tony Pierson 5-10, 175, Sr.
Andrew Turzilli 6-3, 194, Sr.

**WR** Rodriguez Coleman 6-3, 190, Jr.
Justin McCay 6-2, 210, Sr.

DEFENSE
——-

**LC** Kevin Short 6-2, 190, Jr.
Ronnie Davis 6-0, 185, Jr.

**NB** JaCorey Shepherd 5-11, 190, Sr.
Greg Allen 5-11, 210, Soph.

**LE/T** Andrew Bolton 6-3, 285, Jr.
Tyler Holmes 6-3, 280, Soph.

**N** Keon Stowers 6-3, 297, Sr.
Tedarian Johnson 6-2, 290, Sr.

**RE/T** Ben Goodman 6-3, 250, Jr.
T.J. Semke 6-2, 265, Jr.

**BUCK** Michael Reynolds 6-1, 240, Sr.
Victor Simmons 6-1, 225, Sr.

**RC** Dexter McDonald 6-1, 205, Sr.
Brandon Hollomon 5-10, 175, Jr.

**SS** Isaiah Johnson 6-1, 210, Jr.
Tevin Shaw 5-11, 192, Soph.

**MLB** Ben Heeney 6-0, 230, Sr.
Colton Goeas 6-2, 245, RS-Fr.

**WLB** Jake Love 6-0, 220, Jr.
Schyler Miles 6-2, 235, Jr.

**FS** Cassius Sendish 6-0, 195, Sr.
Fish Smithson 5-11, 190, Soph.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.