Kansas quarterback Montell Cozart reacts after a turnover on downs by the Jayhawks against Duke during the first quarter on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2013 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Durham, N.C. ? Montell Cozart needs to start using his feet, even if for no other reason than to give punter Trevor Pardula’s left foot a rest.

Cozart, a sophomore from Bishop Miege High who came later than most to the quarterback position, is fond of saying he’s a pass-first quarterback who will run when he has to run.

That’s a nice long-range goal, but at the moment his running ability is far superior to his passing, so it’s time for him to rearrange his self-image. If he doesn’t start running when the opportunities arise, the next option could be sitting. In that case, he could only sit and watch, and watching KU play football isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

In fact, at times it can make for boo-them-off-the-stage theater. Saturday’s 41-3 loss to Duke in front of an announced crowd of 25,203 spectators was particularly poor work. Then again, it has plenty of company in recent KU football history. In the past four-and-one-sixth seasons, Kansas has an 0-22 record in games decided by 27 points or more. And then there is the road losing streak. Kansas is 0-28 in games played outside Lawrence, including a few played at Arrowhead Stadium.

So much of what happened Saturday with KU’s offense seemed so out of joint. For example, Kansas didn’t start protecting Cozart until the game was over, at which time that was the last thing he needed in order to grow into the job of starting quarterback.

Cozart’s day started with a miscommunication with the center on the game’s first play, which ended with the quarterback falling on the ball for an 8-yard loss. It stayed on that path all long day long. He completed 11 of 27 passes for 89 yards, threw two interceptions and was involved in a series of choppy handoffs and pitches.

“I knew we could run the football, but if we don’t throw it and catch it better than that, it’s going to be a problem,” said head coach Charlie Weis, who just as easily could have been talking about his first two seasons and change at Kansas, where his record is 5-21.

Moments after Weis said that everyone needs to be accountable, starting with himself, some of the Kansas players requested by the media showed up for post-game interviews. Cozart was requested, but was not brought into the room. He was rocked hard on his final play, but Weis said after the game that he was fine, other than his back probably hurting, so that could not have been the reason.

Cozart played poorly under trying circumstances, but as the quarterback, also takes on the roll of team spokesman. He usually handles that part of his job well and seems to enjoy it, but was blocked from doing it Saturday. That’s unnecessarily soft treatment for a starting quarterback. He played a bad game. Let him explain it.

Cozart has shown the first two weeks of the season that he’s not afraid to take a hit. He has taken many, the most vicious coming in the fourth quarter Saturday. Duke defensive end Jonathan Jones easily hurdled freshman running back Corey Avery’s attempted cut block. Standing in the pocket, Cozart never heard Jones coming. Jones rocked Cozart so hard between the top of his left hip and the bottom of his left rib cage that the quarterback’s body almost folded into a C shape. That was Cozart’s last play.

It’s more difficult to hit a moving target than one standing still. Utilizing Cozart more often in the running game and Cozart deciding to finish his scrambles and rollouts with runs more often and throws less often, is a good place to start in trying to juice the offense.

Consecutive passes in the first quarter, with Kansas trailing 7-0, showed why Cozart needs to run when he can, not when he is forced to run.

Kansas faced a second-and-7 from its 32. Cozart jetted outside the defense along the right sideline and had an open field in front of him, one that pretty much guaranteed at least a first down. Instead, he heaved an off-target bomb in the direction but nowhere near Nick Harwell, who had sprung open behind the secondary. Incomplete. On the next play, he telegraphed a pass for an interception. 

Cozart’s speed, exceptional for a quarterback, only helps the team if he uses it. Perhaps because he has so little experience at a position he didn’t start playing regularly until his junior year in high school, Cozart does not appear to multi-task well. Running the option, he slowed himself down to read the defense, which appeared to throw off the timing of the offense and led to awkward pitches and handoffs.

“There were too many times in the game where things didn’t look smooth,” Weis said.

Tony Pierson and Nick Harwell repeatedly broke open on short routes only to be ignored as Cozart locked in on the primary target. He looked like a quarterback inexperienced at blitz recognition and was unable to react quickly enough to burn those attacks in the decisive manner that savvy Duke senior QB Anthony Boone did.

“It just seemed like when I would be seeing somebody open, it wasn’t being delivered,” Weis said. 

It looked that way from the press box, as well.

Playing quarterback for Kansas presents a challenge for anybody, given the state of the offensive line.

Yet, having a fast quarterback can take the defense from its toes to its heels, but only if that quarterback has the knowledge to know when to run and the desire to do it.

In other words, a quarterback’s speed only matters if he uses it.