Jayhawks land early QB target
A few days before going to see the Jayhawks go through football practice Montell Cozart said he wanted to make his decision early. His timeline prior to the visit was by the end of his senior year or the summer. That all changed Saturday.
During the visit Cozart met with Kansas head coach Charlie Weis. His parents and good friend Anthony, were also in the meeting. Cozart knew beforehand what was going down.
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"My parents knew KU is where I wanted to go," Cozart said. "Before we went in to talk with coach Weis I told my parents I wanted to verbally commit. My parents really liked coach Weis. He's very real and one thing I liked is he stressed academics. They were happy."
Cozart said he pulled a "Lebron" and told Weis he wanted to take his talents to Lawrence. After Cozart committed he said he talked to Weis about helping the Jayhawks attract recruits.
"Coach Weis was telling my mom how much I could help the program," Cozart said. "He was saying how much I can talk to other recruits. Since I am a local guy I can help recruit. He said I can help get KU back on the map."
Before meeting with Weis, Cozart said he had a long conversation with Tim Grunhard. Before arriving at Kansas Grunhard was Cozart's high school coach at Bishop Miege.
"He was joking with me and giving me trouble when I was going to make my decision," Cozart said. "I came back out and told him I committed. He was pretty excited. I know I am in good hands with him there."
Last year Cozart threw for 2441 yards and 31 touchdowns. He was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Kansas. Last week he picked up offers from Minnesota and West Virginia.
"It feels good to commit," he said. "It feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders. I'm speechless. Now I can focus on my senior year and work for that 5A championship."
Cozart visited Kansas twice this spring. But this was the first time he was able to watch practice. He focused on Dayne Crist and Jake Heaps.
"There was a lot of enthusiasm and you can see how much the coaches like what they are doing," Cozart said. "I was watching the quarterbacks and they had a lot of velocity and zip on the ball. I can tell it is another level. I'm looking forward to getting there."